Technique and Equipment

Steven Jonas

INTRODUCTION

For The Scheduled Training Exercise Program (TSTEP), good technique is important for any of the sports in which your patient may engage. This is true whether the sport is simple, like running, or somewhat complex, like swimming. However, to enjoy any of the sports or activities useful for regular exercise, one does not have to have great technique. No one needs to become especially focused on technique, unless it becomes apparent that he has the potential to become competitive in his chosen sport, and wants to do that. Becoming a technique fanatic can take away from the fun and enjoyment of what is a recreational activity for most regular exercisers, and might even get in the way of staying with it. On the equipment side, while for the sports that require specialized equipment, it should be of good quality, fortunately, one does not need expensive equipment for most of the sports suitable for exercising regularly. Nor is it healthful to become an equipment fanatic, buying various pieces of it just to have them, rather than to make good use of them.

It is a good idea to resist perfectionism as we strive to reach the suitable, realistic goals in health promotion that we have set for ourselves. “We can never be perfect; we can always get better” is a useful standard for the regular exerciser. Thus, some time spent on technique is time well spent. A reasonable amount of money spent for decent, safe equipment is money well spent. Good technique and equipment will make doing one’s chosen sport(s) comfortable and more fun.^*

Does good technique have utility if one is not a competitive athlete? Certainly. Take swimming as an example. Let’s say you naturally do what, in the New York City region at any rate, is called the “Coney Island Crawl”: head always out of the water, moving from side to side with each stroke, arms flailing away, much splash production. Unless you are in extraordinarily good
shape, you will get tired very quickly. While the exercise will most likely be aerobic, if you cannot finish your workout, or, more seriously, if you get into trouble in the water or suffer an injury, your health and fitness will not be served. In running, landing properly on the heel (the best technique for recreational running) can reduce the pounding that normally accompanies that sport, reducing injury risk. In cycling, learning proper gear selection is very important.

In this chapter, we offer some brief recommendations on technique for some of the more popular activities and sports used for regular exercise. Our primary focus is on the one many people will use as their first sport, if they have not exercised regularly before (and, in some cases, even if they have and are starting out once again): PaceWalking^TM. For three of the other sports commonly used by regular exercisers, a few of the high points on technique are presented. For details on any of them, we suggest that you consult one or more of any number of specialized single-sport books that are available.

While PaceWalking^TM is emphasized here, remember, the right sport for you is the sport that’s right for you: one that’s fun, that you can do comfortably with some proficiency, one in which you can reach your desired intensity level for the desired amount of time. In this chapter we will also cover the bare basics of equipment for several of the sports commonly used in a regular exercise program. Again, you are referred to one or more of the sport-specific books for details, much more details.

WALKING

Introduction

The late, great George Sheehan, M.D., from the mid-1970s until his untimely death in 1993 was widely known as the “guru” of running for health and fitness. In 1986, after having had for some years made disparaging remarks about walking, Dr. Sheehan pronounced it “the best exercise of all” (1). Exactly 200 years earlier, in 1786, Thomas Jefferson noted (2, p. 16):

“No one knows, till he tries, how easily a habit of walking is acquired. A person who never walked 3 miles will in the course of a month become able to walk 15 or 20 [!] without fatigue. I have known some great walkers and never knew or heard of one who was not healthy and long-lived.”

One might question his analysis of cause and effect in this case, but certainly not his enthusiasm for walking.

Ordinary walking is that motion of the body used by everyone who is physically able as the primary means of getting around. It is one of those activities we all do with little if any consciousness of the motion. The most important biomechanical characteristic of walking is that one foot is always in contact with the ground. That is what differentiates walking from running. In running, you are air-borne for at least an instant between each step.

As to its intensity potential, walking for exercise has become increasingly popular over the years. Increasingly one sees statements like, “walking is as good for fitness as running is,” or “walking burns about the same number of calories as running does.” At the same time, you might have read something like “well, walking is OK, but you have to walk twice as long as you need to run in order to achieve the same benefit.” As the first two quotes imply, any sport can be the aerobic equivalent of any other, if it is done intensively enough to raise your heart rate to the same level achieved with any of the other sports. If not, then, yes, you may need to spend up to twice as much time to achieve the same result. It is intensity and heart rate, indicating a given muscle oxygen uptake level, that count, not the particular sport or activity being done.

PaceWalking^TM

THE BASICS

We have used the term “PaceWalking^TM” throughout this book. It is simply walking fast using a defined technique that differs from that of ordinary walking (3, 4). Fast walking also goes by a wide variety of other names: “exercise walking,” “fitness walking,” “health walking,” “power walking,” “aerobic walking,” “sportwalking.” Functionally, PaceWalking^TM is walking for sport, exercise, and health, done at your own pace. As noted, it may be done aerobically and non-aerobically. Done at the same level of intensity for the same amount of time, PaceWalking^TM will do for your body and your mind what any of the other exercise sports will do.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TECHNIQUE

PaceWalking^TM is simple to do. You walk fast with a purposeful stride of medium length. With each stride, you land on your heel, roll forward along the outside of your foot, and push off from your toes into the next stride. With each stride, be sure that one foot is always on the ground. Always having at least one foot in contact with the ground is what makes PaceWalking^TM walking, and what makes it a rather more gentle sport than running. The PaceWalker tries to be relaxed, standing comfortably straight, not rigidly so, head up, shoulders relaxed and dropped. Muscle tension just leads to pain. Also, having the upper body nice and loose makes it easier to develop a smooth, rhythmic, comfortable, arm swing. To achieve a higher level of intensity, unlike in running, the arm motion is as important as the leg motion. Most people find it impossible to walk fast enough to get their heart rate up without a determined and constant rhythmic swing of the arms.

Your arm swing should be forward and back, in the direction you are moving. Your elbows should be comfortably bent. If you keep them straight, like some fast walkers do, you will end up pooling fluid in your hands. You should not move your arms across your chest. Although that may look good and feel vigorous, it hinders your forward momentum, and may lead to body
imbalance and possible injury. Obviously, your left arm should go forward with your right leg, and vice versa. Your fingers should be closed lightly, your fists never clenched. Swinging your arm forward, your hand should reach about to upper chest level. On the swing back, you should stop when you feel your back shoulder muscles gently but firmly stretching. It is the combination of leg stride and arm swing that provides PaceWalking^TM with one of the advantages it has over most of the other major distance sports. That is, PaceWalking^TM exercises two, not just one of the major muscle groups.

“PACE” AS SPEED

As in all forward-motion sports, the speed you can eventually reach in PaceWalking^TM is the product of natural ability, practice, and level of fitness. When you begin, you will probably be doing the mile in about 15 to 18 minutes. (The average pace for ordinary walking is about 20 minutes per mile.) With some practice, you can get down to 13-14 minutes per mile; 11-12 minutes per mile is a good clip in PaceWalking^TM.

PACEWALKING^TM: THE FOUNDATION AEROBIC SPORT; FAST

Finally, PaceWalking^TM is truly the FAST exercise. How, you might ask, can a sport that’s intrinsically slow compared with the other forward-motion sports be fast? Well, it’s not that it’s fast, but rather that it’s “The FAST,” the foundation on which you can build a basic level of fitness from which you can then go on to do other sports. You will gradually, easily, but steadily work yourself into shape. Your injury risk will be low. Your workouts will be pleasant, with little pain. Once you have established your fitness base with PaceWalking^TM, you will find that any of the other regular exercise sports (or two or more of them in a PaceTraining program) can come very easily to you, if you want it to.

THE OTHER POPULAR DISTANCE SPORTS FOR REGULAR EXERCISE

In this section we will briefly review some aspects of technique for three of the other popular distance sports that you can do in TSTEP. It should be noted that these sports can be done both indoors and outdoors.

Running

Running is familiar to just about everyone. It is one of the most popular sports for regular exercise, although fast walking is gradually catching up. For most people, running is aerobic at all but the slowest of speeds. Basic running technique is simple. A former national-class hurdler once described as “left, right, left, right.” Well it’s not quite that simple, but it’s close. As in PaceWalking^TM, it is important to keep your body relaxed, back comfortably but not rigidly straight, shoulders dropped, elbows comfortably bent, fingers lightly closed (fists
not clenched). For the foot strike, as in PaceWalking^TM, you land on your heel, not the sole or ball of your foot. You roll forward along the outside edge of the foot, and then spring forward off the ball of your foot into the next stride. Just as in PaceWalking^TM, you should aim for balance, rhythm, and smoothness.

Cycling

Outdoor cycling is most enjoyable, but if you want it to be aerobic, you need to work fairly hard to make it so. On a bicycle, it is very easy to glide along at 8-10 miles per hour. But most people need to ride at least 13-15 miles per hour to achieve and maintain an aerobic heart rate. And that takes some effort. Top-form outdoor cycling technique is complex. It takes instruction, time, and practice to learn. However, there are a few simple principles which will serve to get you started safely and help you to ride effectively and efficiently.

Most important is “cadence,” the cyclists’ term for pedal revolutions per minute (rpm). The most efficient way to bike is using a relatively high cadence in a relatively low gear. For beginners, that means pedaling in the 60-70 rpm range. With experience, you will easily be able to work up to the 80-90 rpm range, called “spinning.” At the other end of the spectrum, except when going up a really steep hill, pedaling slowly in a high gear, below 50 rpm, pushing a heavy load with your legs, is an invitation to knee problems. You should try to avoid it.

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