The following is best viewed as a companion piece to
the following offerings:
·
Burn Some Fat, Build Some Stamina, See the World!
·
The Rocky Mountain Iron Man: A Portrait in Warrior Walking
·
Warrior Walking: Cardio, Fat Loss,
Problem-Solver, Relationship Binder, Escape Protocol & More
Walking, when performed correctly, has copious
endurance records.
That is, account upon account of astonishing distances
travelled.
Be these records scrupulously observed and sanctioned
by various organizations or anecdotal accounts of tremendous distances covered
in remarkable time by warriors, explorers of the past and present.
For some, these endurance feats raise few “Huzzahs!”
in present day society as the fashion for speedier endeavors has overtaken the “exercise”
fashion of the moment we live in.
In former times, endurance walkers, be they Apache “lopers”
or practitioners of the sport called pedestrianism were held in awe.
Today, it seems, many require the other extreme—that of
speed—to attract notice.
With that in mind, let us look to the record for instances
where both speed AND distance were exhibited in remarkable capacity.
In viewing these feats, we will…
·
Look only at official records so we can be
sure that no subjective legend has intruded.
·
With that said, many of the feats of
Indian “runners” [actually walkers] were recorded by military men [US Cavalry]
who were making official reports—men not subject to exaggeration. But since
these were not sporting records we will leave them out for now. We can discuss
these another day.
·
We will only look at records pre-1910.
·
Why that date cut-off?
·
Prior to 1910 we are closer to the form of
walking we call Warrior Walking—with all its gliding, posterior extension,
pendulum relaxation, psoas as slingshot and other mechanics at work.
·
After that date, more of the “new” style
of walking—what we now think of as Olympic Racewalking begins to intrude.
·
Racewalking has more anterior stride extension
[anathema to Warrior Walking,] increased contralateral swing amplitude
[likewise anathema,] allows for Trendelenburg hip shift [another no-no,] and an
increase in impact forces.
·
The pre-1910 view allows us to keep our
eye on the true Old School way rather than blending in the technique that we
see today when we see racewalkers or fitness walkers.
Step, Stride & Pace
A few definitions.
Step: What we all do
when we put one foot in front of the other.
Stride: An educated step.
A step with tactical and technical deliberation. Not what most of us do.
Pace: The rate at which
we step or stride, that is, our walking speed.
Contemporary Average Walking Speeds
The following material is taken from a 2020 study
titled Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal by Fernando B.
Alves, Sara Santos Cruz, Anabela Ribeiro, Ana Bastos Silva, João Pedro Martins,
and Inês Cunha.
It gives a view of average walking speeds over a
lifetime—notice how they decline.
Also note, the study only addressed speed, not the likewise
decline in the amount of walking done.
[BTW-Many of the Warrior Walking feats recorded in the
18th century were by men and women in their 60s and above. Some in
their 80s and 90s.]
Age MPH
Below 30 3
30-39 2.8
40-49 2.8
50-59 2.75
60-65 2.7
65-70 2.1
[No data for 70 and above but, we do see a trend here.
An all-time high below the age of 30 walking at 3 MPH.]
The study authors note the benefits of regular
walking, even at low-rates as being:
- improved
circulation
- increased
life expectancy
- improved
mood
- strengthen
muscles
- weight
loss or maintenance
- joint
support
- increased
bone density
- improved
sleep
- decreased
Alzheimer’s risk and decreased mental decline
- improved
breathing
- increased
stamina
In the Warrior Walking material we echo these benefits
plus a few others that are specific to the Warrior Walking manner. These additional
benefits are not insignificant.
Step-Stride-Pace Confusion, Part 1
The average step length of the so-called average man
is an assumed 30 inches.
This can become more granular to get to a point about walking
mechanics.
When man began quantifying the everdayness that is
walking, one of the first measurements to fall under the microscope, so to
speak, was step-length.
In the Roman Army, a pace was defined as a unit
of length. It was the distance that could be taken with two normal steps—this equaled
5 Roman feet, or 58.2 inches.
Thusly we can figure that a single Roman step was 29.1
inches. [Not far from the assumed 30” step we opened with.]
The average Roman soldier height comes to 66.14 inches
or around 5’5”.
It was figured that the ratio of a Roman soldier’s
step to his height was 29.1/66.14, or 44%.
Average heights have increased since the days of the
Roman Army so we can assume that step-length would increase as well.
But, there is actually a complicating factor in trying
to use the Roman calculation of height to step.
We now know that leg-length, on average, increases at
a faster rate than does overall height.
With this in mind we may wind up with purported leg to
height length disparities that render mere overall height as a single factor in
stride useless.
Let alone the fact that in Warrior Walking stride
length is NOT the primary driver of increased speed or endurance.
As a matter of fact, extending the stride in an
assumption that it will increase speed or distance traveled is the opposite of
the Warrior Walkers approach.
Which brings us to…
Pace/Rate-of-Turnover
You’re likely ahead of me here, the gains in speed and
chewing up long-distances are NEVER acquired via lengthening step or stride—always
by rate of turnover, that is, increasing pace rate.
If we are walking at the Below 30 Years of Age
speed of an assumed 3.5 MPH and we are of average height, we are looking at a
pace of 120.
That is one step per ½ second to achieve that 3.5 MPH
for covering a mile in 17 minutes and 8 seconds.
Turnover is key.
But…
Pace/Turnover is not increased via
increased activation of the hip-flexors or quadriceps to the anterior portion
of the stride. Recall stride-length is not the way.
Nor is it fired by additional gastrocnemius [calf]
engagement out of the posterior portion of the stride. This would cut off the active/relaxation
yin-yang of the stride.
It would call for too much work and thus not
contribute to the ability to sustain high speed over long distance.
Warrior Walking mechanics are mighty different from the
manner of walking we do every day.
Subtle, but decidedly different.
Now, let’s keep the average walking pace per age group
in mind as outlined in the 2020 study.
Also keep in mind all the other tips we’ve discussed
or alluded to.
Now, let’s how a look at some of those pre-1910 records.
Distance in Miles Time MPH Athlete
¼ 1:22:5 10.91 F.H.
Creamer
½ 2:59 10.06 G.H. Goulding
1 6:18.3 9.52 Ronald
L. Zinn
2 13:02.4 9.22 S.F.
Vickers
3 20:49.8 8.64 G.H.
Goulding
4 28:06.2 8.54 Ibid
5 35:48.4 8.38 Ugo
Frigerio
6 43:09.8 8.34 Ibid
7 48:23:0 8.68 K.J.
Matthews
8 58:15:8 8.24 Ronald
O. Laird
9 1:05:45.6 8.21 Ibid
10 1:13:17.6 8.19 Ibid
20 2:28:37 7.57 R.
Hardy
30 4:00:46.8 7.47 G.
Klimov
52 8:11:14 6.35 H.V.L.
Ross
100 18:04:10.2 5.53 T.E.
Hammond
131 23:57:10 5.47 Ibid
The 100-Yard Dash
Usain Bolt ran the 100-Yard Dash in 9.14.
Dr. Harry Klink Warrior Walked the 100-Yards in 12.3
which is a speed of 16.23 MPH over this short haul.
I repeat, he walked the same distance and came in at a
time that most people over 40 would be pleased to have run it in.
BTW-Dr. Klink was 68 years-old at the time he set this
record.
Warrior Walking, the Original Roadwork is
not the same breed of cat we all think of as fitness walking or “getting your
steps in.”
This is a wildcat of a method.
To start putting one foot in front of another with the
efficient and mighty unusual technique used by Old Schoolers, to garner all the
benefits set forth here see Unleaded: Warrior Walking, the Only Cardio You Need for Combination Fighting, Physical Culture and Attacking the Outdoors
Mull these further resources,
Warriors!
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