WALKING: THE OTHER ENDURANCE WORKOUT
Most endurance athletes think of walking as something that’s done during a bad race. But walking is a powerful tool that can further help in the process of warming up and cooling down and help build even more aerobic function. Walking can trigger the use of many small aerobic muscle fibers that are not used during training—turning these muscles on increases fat burning and additional circulation. Walking is also very useful during rehabilitation from injury, an important way to extend long workouts, a vital part of training for ultramarathons, and a tool for cyclists, swimmers, skaters, and other non-runners to implement a cross-training effect. Through cross-training, athletes can expand the fitness and health benefits of training.
Walking can be useful for all endurance athletes before and after competition. Even more important is that during the pre-race period, walking can help an athlete relax—an important habit to develop for more successful racing as this can help prevent too much stress which will trigger too much sugar burning and reduce fat burning.
As part of a cool-down, walking can help complete the process and begin recovery. Walking is especially helpful following competition as many athletes don’t feel like running or biking, for example, but walking is usually not only comfortable, but once they’ve tried it, most athletes realize how important it is for better recovery.
There are also three types of endurance athletes who use walking as a primary component of their competition:

 

 

 
  • Olympic race walkers compete in both 20K and 50K distances, walking at speeds of less than seven minutes per mile.
  • The modern road-racing trend has given birth to a very large group of recreational walkers who perform at much slower paces. These athletes compete in distances as short as 5K and as long as marathons and beyond.
  • Ultramarathoners run distances beyond the 26.2-mile marathon, with the most common ones ranging from 50K (31 miles) to 100 miles. Some are based on time rather than distance, with events such as the twenty-four- and forty-eight-hour races and six-day races, where the athlete who accumulates the most miles wins. While most ultra athletes train by running, without adding a significant amount of walking to the training schedule, the time spent walking in a long event may not be as effective, or as fast. When training Stu Mittleman in preparation for his six-day races, I encouraged him to focus on walking, which he did, attaining speeds of eight minutes per mile with a normal walking gait (not Olympic-style race walk).

One common example used to show the increased injury rate in stretchers versus nonstretchers is the hamstring muscles. It is both the most frequently injured muscle group and the most stretched. Studies show that stretching exercises do not make tight hamstrings less stiff.

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A recent study published in Research in Sports Medicine reviewed the previously published research on static stretching and injury prevention. They concluded that there is “strong evidence that routine application of static stretching does not reduce overall injury rates.”

In the October 2009 issue of Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, two different studies were published on the potential harmful effects of stretching. The first showed that muscular force was diminished in those who performed static stretching just before activity. This was performed on female athletes in their sixties. Another study performed with younger male athletes showed that sprint ability may be compromised following static stretching.