The key to enhancing your walking or hiking might not be just doing more of it. Instead, incorporating strength and mobility training into your routine could be the secret.
Strength training helps build durable, powerful muscles and stable joints, which translates to better performance, fewer injuries, and improved recovery.
Mobility work, meanwhile, is “going to unlock your body for the work you’re going to be doing, which helps with proper muscle recruitment, range of motion, and all the things that can help lead to injury prevention,” says NASM-certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist Carrie Boyle.
Incorporate these expert-recommended moves to help level up your performance.
Mobility
Standing Single-Leg Hip Circle
Warm up your hips with this move before a walking or hiking workout.
Full Instructions
- Standing with feet hip width apart, place your hands on your hips or hold on to a railing, pole, or other sturdy object for balance support.
- Raise one knee as high as you comfortably can, keeping your toes pointed forward. Bring the knee out to the side to open the hip before slowly moving it down toward the floor.
- Continue moving your knee in a big circle until it’s pointing straight ahead again. Do 10 circles in one direction before repeating in the opposite direction. Switch legs.
Strength
Mini Band Squat With Calf Raise
Perform this exercise two or three times per week on walking or nonwalking days.
Full Instructions
- Place a mini band around your thighs just above your knees and stand with your feet hip width apart, toes pointed forward.
- Squat down as far as you comfortably can, gently pushing your thighs outward to create slight tension on the band. Maintain that tension throughout the whole movement. Keep your chest up, with your shoulders down and away from your ears, and knees in line with your toes. (If you feel your knees pull in during the squat, switch to a lighter band.)
- Push through your feet to return to the starting position. Once standing, shift your weight onto the balls of your feet to raise your heels off the ground.
- Lower your heels to the floor before starting your next squat. Do three sets of 10 repetitions.
More On the Moves
The hips are ball-and-socket joints that play a central role in walking. “We want to make sure that we have a full range of motion in the hips and that they’re working properly for us because they anchor several big muscle groups that power us through our walk,” says Boyle, who is also a walking coach.
Single-leg mobility moves like the standing hip circle can improve range of motion in the hips and engage and optimize the surrounding muscles and joints — including those found in the core, spine, and legs.
In addition to mobility, hip strength is important for walking. There are many hip muscles, but the glutes are major ones. The banded-squat variation targets the gluteus maximus (the meaty muscle in your buttocks that powers forward movement) and the gluteus medius (the side-butt muscle that stabilizes your pelvis and hips, which helps your knees and ankles maintain their proper alignment). It also strengthens the legs to help push you through every step and targets the calves and ankles for an added boost.
Level Up
From basketball to Zumba, discover the mobility and strength exercises that can enhance your favorite cardio workout and boost your overall performance. Learn more in “Level Up Your Favorite Cardio With These Strength and Mobility Moves,” from which this article was excerpted.
