The Walking Challenge – Day 4: Growing Taller in Dulwich.
How did you get on with yesterday’s tips? 
Another glorious day of sunshine in London had me doing headstands on the grass rather than in my mind.lol x
Liz Chukwu in a Headstand
And later, much later……..off I went for a walk. I bumped into my neighbour Bobby, ex-dancer extraordinaire and such a lovely man, full of the joys of spring.
And 4,000 steps later or 3.3km/2.05miles, I was back in my home and stretching out. Today, I decided to go up an incline and boy I felt it, so in tomorrow’s blog, I will talk about how I cooled down from my walk and stretched out the larger muscles – the Gluteals.
So how did I prepare for my walk today? Here are a few tips below.
Tip 1
Warm up. Get your body ready for what you are about to ask it to do.
I know this may be another obvious tip, however, consider that assisting your body through it’s neural awareness and wiring(I love this word) makes it easier for your body to comply.
Tip 2
Standing with your bare feet together, lift, your toes up off the ground and then replace them down on the floor about 3 times, just to get a sense of where your toes are in relation to your heels and the balls of your feet.
Tip 3
Then facing a nearby wall, place your hands on the wall and feet a short distance away from the wall as you lean into the wall. This will stretch your gastrocnemius and your soleus.
These calf muscles, are the powerhouse of your lower legs and the soleus has the added function of assisting in calf-pump action.
Tip 4
Then come up to standing (hands still on the wall) and step one foot forward, so that toes are facing the wall and bend into this leg, whilst the other leg stays back – you are now in a small forward lunge. Take 5 breaths (inhaling and exhaling for one cycle), release your leg and come back up to standing with your feet together, swap legs and repeat.
Tip 5
Shake your legs out. Stretch your right and left quadriceps (*avoid this stretch if you have challenges with your knees or injuries.*)
Tip 6
Shake your legs out and stretch your right and left hamstrings. * Have a look at where the model has his hands. lol.
Tip 7
Trainers on and off you go.
As promised, today’s blog is dedicated to Mark Hughes(@DaMaHug)
Video on the way later in the week…..
Enjoy your walks………
Many blessings.x
Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees.
Karle Wilson Baker
