The Art of Walking

We all know what a great activity walking is. You can do it almost anywhere with no equipment other than something for your feet. It is simple, free and one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit. Many studies have shown that walking has lots of mental and physical health benefits. Exercise releases feel-good hormones, and it can help you to cope with difficult times by reducing stress, managing anxiety, and improving your confidence and self-esteem. It also helps you sleep better, maintain a healthy weight, keep your muscles, bones and heart healthy, and it reduces your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

Walking for most people is an unconscious competence – we do it without any thought. It is almost as automatic as breathing. Can’t any able-bodied person walk without thinking about it? Well, yes, but moving effectively over uneven ground is far from automatic, particularly when there is any danger, real or perceived. Many walkers don’t understand what it is that helps them to move effectively, so when something goes wrong they don’t have the tools to sort out the problem.

If you’re one of the many people who have pain or discomfort when walking, then you won’t be very keen to do it. Giving up on walking can be the start of a downward spiral: you do less exercise than you used to, so you become less able, so you do less, and so on. Or you might be someone who doesn’t have pain when walking, but as soon as you get off the easy paths on to broken or steep ground, you find it difficult to stay on your feet and keep moving.

Did you know there is a solution to this problem? For most people, the pain, discomfort and awkwardness are caused by poor technique. Poor habits can be replaced with good movement, and with practice the new way of walking becomes automatic.

Imagine what that would feel like. You would be able to walk so much further than before, because you would be walking more efficiently and so wasting less energy. As a result, you would be safer and once again be able to enjoy long walks or days in the mountains with very little pain. You wouldn’t be confined to level ground and easy paths. Your confidence would be boosted, and your physical and mental health would improve. You’d be feeling and looking fitter, healthier and younger.

We know how difficult it can be to travel and attend a course in person, hence this online course is for all of you who really want the freedom that comes with better walking technique.

When is the course?

It is a four-session online course delivered via Zoom on four consecutive weeks on the same evening. The four sessions are:
Session 1: What do we do when we walk?
Session 2: The art of walking uphill
Session 3: The art of walking downhill
Session 4: The art of walking over big steps and boulders
The sessions are a mix of teaching, practical exercises and discussion. You will be given the Powerpoint slides from each session, and homework exercises are given to reinforce what you are learning. As each session builds on the previous one, attendance at all four is important.

Dates to be confimed.

How much does it cost?

Early bird price £50
Standard price £56

How many places are available on each course?

We ran the first course with 20 people - we wanted to keep it fairly small so that everyone had a chance to interact. From that we decided that a few more people wouldn’t affect the quality of the experience, so the next course will have 25 places. We need a minimum of 15 bookings to run the course.

Does it count towards my CPD points?

Yes!
Mountain Training Association members: 0.5
British Association of International Mountain Leaders: 0.5 peripheral
Association of Mountaineering Instructors: 0.5

How do I book a place?

Complete the booking form - when you hit the SUBMIT button, you will be taken to the How To Pay page.

What do our clients say about us?

Take a look below the next photo…

I was expecting it to be much more talking-based so was very surprised - and pleased - to find that it was actually very practical. I was impressed by the amount of thought and creativity that had gone in to how we might create hills in our homes. Thank you for creating and delivering this online course. It's an unusual topic to find as an online course but an important one and doing it via Zoom has enabled those of us who don't live near any mountains to access content that would otherwise mean a long trip away.
Rachel Sheldrake, January 2022

The content of each session was clear and helpful. The info given before booking, and before and after each session, was excellent. I know the exercises were important but I like sitting and chatting. Fully accept though that it won’t get me anywhere - literally! Learn a lot - now it’s down to me.
Bernard Jarvis, January 2022

An hour is the perfect length for each session, and the homework was just enough to fit into an already busy schedule. The info given after each session was more than excellent, I love the fact that you have shared the slides as it will always be good to refer back to. Although I have covered these elements in Chris's live Movement Masterclass it was great to go over them again in such a friendly way.
Sam Armstrong, January 2022

I think it was a really innovative move to try to teach movement skills online. I have done the Contour Masterclass and Mountain Leader Steep Ground Masterclass with Chris and found both really informative and useful. I think for something as individual I personally would have liked to have had some feedback as I was actually trying out techniques on the hill. Now having said that I have been out probably five or six times since the start of the course and I am working hard to improve my posture - it may be working - hard to tell. But I would add that Chris and Anne have a very personable and helpful approach and I will seek out face to face training for the future. Thanks to you both.
Peter Cloran, January 2022

Brilliant and informative. I even used it to help me learn to snowboard and the drill to correct shoulder posture has made its way to Bulgaria as my snowboard instructor loved it and is using it to help his students. Thanks.
Chris Unsworth, February 2023

You have made me think how I move when out on the hills and the course has given me pointers on how to make this more efficient. The course allowed me to do this when the option of a traditional outdoor input was not viable due to my availability.
Neil Jarvis, February 2023

Over the past few years, I think I have adopted a better walking style and seen the benefits when trekking and climbing in Nepal. Walking further and harder, with less arthritis, injury or my leg locking. I have adopted a nice steady descending walk without feeling that running would be more enjoyable.
The course pulled together what I had learnt in the past and seen watching my Nepalese friends. The course gave me the tools to remember and keep things right in the longer term. holding a tray stance, etc. Very useful course, thanks Chris.
Arthur Davis, February 2023

I particularly liked the multi-week format. Initially, I was disappointed that I couldn't find time to attend an in-person day but in hindsight I feel that having bite-sized chunks to process and think about gave more time for these ideas to embed. I feel over a single day the content would have been great, but I might not have remembered as much of it afterwards. It also meant I was actively thinking about walking patterns for nearly a month instead of perhaps a week that I would have had from an in-person day.
Mehmet Karatay, February 2023

I found it useful and thought provoking. When I spent a week up at the CIC hut in Scotland a couple of weeks ago. I had it in the back of my mind. I think the follow up for me would be to do the Movement Masterclass to really figure out how to refine and embed the techniques.
Ivan Evans, February 2023

We’ve been running in-person Movement Masterclasses for several years now, and we’ve helped many people to correct their poor walking habits. You can read lots of testimonials about these courses here.