Walk more and faster, a simple way to do yourself good

2024-03-27 17:00:11
In Nantes, in February 2023. JACQUES LoïC / PHOTONONSTOP

Ten thousand steps and more. There are ten of them, five women and five men, participating in an exercise to assess their walking speed, this Tuesday in March, at the Charléty stadium, in Paris. These employees of the French Athletics Federation (FFA) did not hesitate to brave the rain to participate in this test, carried out at the initiative of the sports organization. “We know how fast we ride, how fast we cycle, how fast we run, but rarely how fast we walk”notes Thibault Deschamps, national sports health business referent of the FFA.

Participants must first walk to a point at a low speed (3 km/h), in thirty-six seconds, and return to the starting point, then to another point at 3.5 km/h, and so on up to 8 km/h, a fast walking pace, the average pace being around 5 km/h. A beep tells them if they are at the right pace. Flexibility and balance workshops are then offered in order to identify possible deficiencies and above all to prevent any injuries.

But ultimately what is the point of knowing how fast we walk? “The objective is to increase aerobic capacity, reduce resting heart rate, and see when we start to sweat”explains Ali Saddedine, FFA coach. “It is from this threshold that walking is effective in improving endurance, below that it remains window shopping, even if it is better than nothingcontinues the coach. The idea is to determine everyone’s pace, in order to get each person to go a little faster. »

The “poor relation” of physical activity

At the end of the test, the participants are soaked… but happy. “It’s easy, visual. We can clearly feel the phases between walking quietly and pushing a little, feeling the margins for progress”describes Philippe Boidé, director of the development center at the FFA. “I felt that at one point I had to use my arms to reach the beep”, underlines Céline. Not very sporty, Claudine was apprehensive, but said to herself “very happy to have participated”.

Certainly, the cycling and active mobility plan, launched at the end of 2018 by the government, has become a cycling and walking plan for 2023-2027, allowing us to give a boost to these two activities that are beneficial to health and the planet. But “walking is still a bit of a “poor relation”, even though it is the most accessible physical practice, regrets Thibault Deschamps. This allows citizens to reconnect with their bodies, their sensations”. It also has no medical contraindications.

You have 36.5% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.