Congratulations! If YOU walk, YOU are The Winning Walker!
Welcome!
My name is Marty and I created The Winning Walker to share my passion and knowledge of walking with you and the world. I am thrilled you are here!
I love to walk. I suppose the 40,000,000+ Fitbit steps I have racked up the past few years are a testament to that. I am also a pretty good power walker, racewalker and runner having won gold and silver National titles in racewalking in my age group and many local 5k’s and 10k’s walking against runners. More on that later. Most importantly I am not a world class athlete. I am like you with possibly a bit more experience in various walking genres. My goal is to share what I have learned for your benefit.
I have been approached for tips by many leisure, power and race walkers that see me training or read my inspirational story in Newsday, a major newpaper of overcoming a basketball injury, becoming a serious walker and within 11 months winning a USATF National Racewalk Championship 10k. They want to walk more effortlessly and have more fun.
Adelphi University also selected me out of a list of 200 entries to do a TedX talk on resilience, overcoming adversity and my 5 P’s for success.
I have also helped people train for Civil Service jobs in which they must run a mile in a certain time to pass. In addition, after most 5k’s and 10k’s in which I racewalk against runners I am approached by runners that want to incorporate fast walking into their running races to achieve better race times and enjoy their races much more. In every case I share my best tips, techniques and inspiration.
Using posts and videos I share tips, techniques and stories that have helped me and other successful walkers. Important – Before you begin: I am not a doctor or therapist. Everything on the The Winning Walker site is for entertainment purposes only. Before attempting any new physical activity always speak with your medical professionals. When I began I did so, and I am glad I did so.
Important – Before you begin: I am not a doctor or therapist. Everything on the The Winning Walker site is for entertainment purposes only. Before attempting any new physical activity always speak with your medical professionals. When I began I did so, and I am glad I did so.
I suggest what has worked for me and some of my tips may help you. If you are more comfortable with your current style it may right for you. Everyone is different. When I coached youth basketball I made suggestions but never forced a player to change their shot. Many players make it to the pros with unorthodox styles. If you are also a bball fan think Shaun Marion of tricky Dick Barnett. Thankfully, no coach ever changed their shots. So take what can help you and stay with what is best for you.
Who can benefit from The Winning Walker.com
The site is intended for anyone interested in becoming a better and more informed walker:
- If you are leisure walker, power walker, race walker, trail walker or Nordic style pole walker there is something for you on The Winning Walker.
- If you are a beginning, intermediate or experienced walker there is something here for you for you on The Winning Walker..
- If your goal is to enjoy your leisure walks more or become a competitive power walker or Often, in local running 5k’s I am the only race walker in a field of 300+ runners. While incorporating or fully race walking I have won many division championships and always finish in the top 18% – 45% versus all age-groups. These races are a blast.race walker there is something for you on The Winning Walker.
- If you are a fitness or competitive RUNNER doing distances 5k through ultra-marathons integrating power or race walking into your running races will make your races much more enjoyable and you can achieve faster times and faster recovery.
- During the past 3 years in addition to my State and USATF National race walk championships I have walk/ran 35 local and regional 5k’s through 1/2 trail marathons (more on doing trail races in another post) and often win or place in my division against runners. As a result of walking part or all of each race I am among the least exhausted participants during the medal ceremony. On occasion I have been fresh enough to do two 5k’s in one weekend.
Most of us begin walking very early in life, so you probably have some experience to build on. You may find some tips and techniques you can apply to make your style more efficient and your walks more effortless. I have found even a slight adjustment to my walking style can have huge impacts.
Think about it, on a typical walk you may take 1,000 – 20,000 steps. If you improve your style to add an inch to your stride or increase your leg turn-over (you will learn what that means) by 2%-3% per minute, you will find yourself going faster, further while utilizing less energy. An inch improvement can mean miles of success.
The Winning Walker Manifesto
The Winning Walker advocates moving toward more effortless walking, enjoying each step and having fun walking. We are not about ‘no pain, no gain’. We advocate ‘if there is pain, THERE IS NO GAIN!’ When you enjoy an activity you will yearn to do it again and again. You will make it a habit. You will achieve your walking goals. Habits lead to success. We discuss habits, strategy, using proper technique and building a road-map to success.
We DO NOT advocate what I call the typical ‘New Years Resolution’. You know, when you decide you are going to lose some weight, go out on New Years Day and put in more hard miles than your body is capable of after not having run or leisure/power walked for months or years. Huffing, puffing, bent over you power through it that first day. The rest of the day you are exhausted and the following day it so hard to get out of bed the last thing you want to do is walk or run. Soon it is history. The next year, possibly the same resolution. Most New Years resolutions fail.
I hope you enjoy The Winning Walker. I would enjoy hearing from you. If you have ideas for enhancements, tips, techniques, walking equipment you find useful or a good walking related story please contact me. If you overcame adversity or a disability to become a walker I would also like to hear about it. Possibly we would be interested in adding your story to our word-wide platform.
Happy Walking!
Marty
