Movement Masterclass

This week Dorothy and I attended a 'Movement Masterclass' in the Lake District. This was given by Chris Ensoll. Following on from my last posting about Gait, Chris also talked about the way we can use our legs as springs and use the momentum from the previous step. 

If you have a big step up you can go down a little and then step up. This allows you to use the leg you are standing on to push up rather than the leg you are about to use to pull you up. You can see Chris demonstrate this here.

He said that many people take too long a stride and that by taking shorter steps on the flat you can strike the ground using your mid sole rather than your heel, thus reducing the impact. We should stand up "straight and strong" and be "fluid and dynamic".

Something I really need to concentrate on personally is keeping my shoulders back and my chest out. You can feel your stomach flatten if you do this and it helps to engage your core.

When walking up or down a steep slope it helps if a line drawn through both your hips is at 45 degrees to the slope, with you facing downhill slightly. This allows you to put your feet at the same 45 degree angle, with the toes pointing downhill - allowing your heel and the whole of your foot to be in contact with the ground. You can see Chris demonstrate this going uphill here. On scree you should try to keep moving, in order to stay dynamic and cope with the scree moving as well.

Taking a break on steep ground

In a previous post on using walking poles, I recommended reaching forward and planting each pole in front of, and below you. This is based on advice from the British Mountaineering Council. Chris is not keen on this. He feels that it makes you lean forward too much and stops you from driving your movement from the hips. He is keen for people to avoid using poles going downhill if at all possible. This way you are strengthening the muscles around your knees. If you must, use the pole for balance by descending diagonally and holding a shortened pole next to your uphill hip so that it just touches the ground uphill from you. Change hands as you zig-zag down - similar to the way you would use an ice axe.

I will definitely try this but if someone is feeling very tired, I think it would be hard to dissuade them from putting some of their weight onto downhill poles. Going uphill you naturally hold the poles by your hips so no issues there.

I would really recommend the course. You might think that you learnt how to walk when you were about one year old but most of us have had years of learning to slouch since then and a course like this sets you back on the right path - so long as you practise the techniques.