Tips to help you improve your walking technique

PACE YOURSELF. A dramatic increase in the frequency, duration or intensity of your walk can raise your risk for stress fractures. If you increase any of the above in your training program,

after an extended layoff, do it gradually,” Kor says. “If you haven't been walking or doing impact exercises during winter, or if you're coming back from an injury, don't go

from doing nothing to walking three days in a row, at least for a month." FLEX THOSE FEET. Stretching can go far to fend off achy feet. TENDON STRETCH: “The Achilles tendon typically

tightens as we age,” says Kor, who recommends this daily fix: Sitting on the floor, legs straight in front of you, wrap a towel around the ball of your foot, holding the ends in each hand.

Pull the ends toward you, until you feel a slight pull. (Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat five times on each leg.) WALL STRETCH: Facing a wall, with legs straight and slightly apart, bend one

knee and bring it toward the wall, keeping both feet flat and pointed straight. Slowly move your hips forward, keeping the back leg straight and foot flat, until you feel a stretch. (Hold

for 30 seconds, repeat five times, then switch legs.) HEEL RAISES: These are a great pre-and post-walk stretch that target calf muscles and the arches of your feet. Steady hands on a park

bench or telephone pole for balance and simply lift your heels up off the ground. HIPS "From dance to martial arts, everything emanates from the hips,” Lischin says. The problem is, as

we get older, the glute muscles surrounding the joints get tighter and tighter, and that can cause problems with your stride. (Tight hips, by the way, can lead to back pain, too.) WORK UP TO

IT. “Start your walk at a lower effort than you hope to maintain. It will allow your muscles to get into the groove and allow your joints to gradually get into the range of motion,”

Hamilton says. “During the first few minutes, walk slower than your ideal pace, then pick it up a bit. As you do that, tune into your body by asking yourself: Is everybody on board? Any

squeaky wheels here I need to deal with?” Return to a slower cooldown pace during the last five minutes. TAKE A BREAK. The most common injury that walkers experience is an overuse injury.

“I'm a big fan of nonimpact exercise to compensate for or supplement a walking activity,” says Kor, who suggests riding a stationary bike, swimming or elliptical training for a few

weeks in order to give temperamental hips a break. BOLSTER THOSE HIPS. Do a combination of stretching and strengthening, two to three times a week, to protect hips from wear and tear. Try

these. BUTTERFLY STRETCH: Sit up straight, with the soles of your feet pressed together and your knees dropped to the sides as far as they will comfortably go. Pulling your abdominals gently

inward, lean forward from your hips. Grasp your feet with your hands and, pulling your abs gently inward, carefully pull yourself slightly forward. SQUATS: “These can be nothing more than

getting up and down from a chair,” Hamilton says. Standing with feet slightly apart and hands on hips, lower your bottom, but don't quite sit all the way down —just brush your butt to

the chair and come right back up. BASIC BRIDGE: Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Lift your bottom off the ground, pushing your heels into the floor and

tightening your glutes and abdominal muscles as you lift your hips. THE CLAM: Lie on the floor, on your side, knees at a 45-degree angle, legs and hips stacked. Keep your feet in contact

with one another as you raise your upper knee as high as you can, without moving your hips.