Building Your Technique

This page is for walkers who’ve got the two rules down and are comfortable on a Sunday morning — and now want to get faster, go further, or just train with a bit more structure.

Training principles worth understanding

You don’t need a sports science degree to train well, but a few ideas from endurance training generally apply directly to race walking:

• Progressive overload — improvement comes from gradually asking more of your body over time, not from occasional big efforts

• Periodisation — training works better in structured blocks (typically 3–6 weeks) with a specific focus each, rather than doing the same session every week indefinitely

• Easy days should be genuinely easy — most of your weekly volume should be at a comfortable, conversational pace. It’s tempting to push every session, but the walkers who improve fastest are usually the ones with real discipline on their easy days, which is what makes the hard days effective

• Recovery is part of training, not a break from it — this is where the adaptation actually happens

The building blocks of a training week

A well-rounded week at this stage typically includes:

• One long walk — your main aerobic session, gradually building duration

• One tempo/threshold session — sustained effort at a “comfortably hard” pace, e.g. 3 x 10 minutes at threshold with 2–3 minutes easy recovery between

• One interval session — shorter, faster efforts with recovery, e.g. 8 x 1000m at race pace

• Easy walks — the bulk of your week, genuinely comfortable effort

• Technique work — folded into warm-ups, cool-downs, or a dedicated session; becomes more important as fatigue increases, since form tends to break down first when you’re tired

• Strength training — 2–3 sessions a week (see below)

A sample intermediate week (roughly 60–90km):

Scale this to your own level — the pattern (hard/easy alternation, one long day, one tempo, one interval session) matters more than hitting these exact numbers.

Strength training that actually helps

Strength work isn’t optional at this level — it’s one of the most effective things you can do to prevent the injuries that come with increasing volume.

Core (2–3 x 15–20 min/week): planks and variations, dead bugs, bird dogs, Pallof presses

Hips (the priority area for race walkers): glute bridges, clamshells, monster walks with resistance bands, single-leg squats — these directly support the hip rotation and drive that race walking technique depends on

Lower legs: calf raises (both straight and bent knee), tibialis raises, single-leg balance work

Nutrition basics

• Carbohydrates: 5–7g per kg body weight daily for moderate training, rising toward 7–10g/kg for high-volume weeks. Whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes.

• Protein: 1.2–1.6g per kg daily, spread across meals rather than one big serve.

• Hydration: 2–3 litres a day as a baseline, more in heat or heavy training. During walks over 90 minutes, aim for 400–800ml per hour.

• Race day: a familiar, easily digestible carb meal 2–4 hours before; for anything 20km or longer, 30–60g of carbohydrate per hour during the race (practice this in training first — race day is not the time to try something new).

Managing niggles before they become injuries

In the first 48–72 hours of any minor strain, the RICE approach still holds: Rest, Ice (15–20 min every 2–3 hours), Compression, Elevation.

See a physio or doctor if: pain persists beyond 7–10 days despite rest, it’s sharp or severe, swelling doesn’t reduce, you can’t bear weight normally, or you notice numbness or tingling.

Coming back from injury: start with pain-free cross-training, return to walking at around 50% of your previous volume, and build back up at no more than 10% a week. Consider working with a physio to also address whatever caused the injury in the first place — a strength gap or technique flaw doesn’t fix itself just because the pain has gone.

Heat and cold: acclimatise to hot conditions gradually over 10–14 days rather than pushing hard on the first warm day of the season. In the cold, layer clothing you can shed as you warm up, and be extra aware of icy surfaces — a slip on race walking’s straight-leg technique is a different (and worse) proposition than a slip while running.

Equipment that’s actually worth spending on

Shoes are the one place to invest properly. Look for: - A flexible forefoot (you need that toe-off action) - Moderate, not heavy, heel cushioning - A relatively firm midsole for ground feel - A snug but not cramped fit

Replace shoes roughly every 600–800km, or sooner if the cushioning feels dead or the outsole is worn through. Many walkers rotate two pairs to extend the life of both and vary the load on their feet.

Clothing: moisture-wicking technical fabric over cotton, every time — cotton holds sweat and causes chafing and blisters on longer walks. Avoid anything loose around the hips, since it restricts the rotation your technique needs.

GPS watches and apps (Garmin, Coros, Polar, Strava, and similar) are genuinely useful for tracking pace, distance, and training load over time — but they’re a tool, not a requirement. Don’t let the numbers take over; an occasional walk without the watch is good for both body and head.

A 16-week plan toward a 20km under 1:45

This assumes a base of 60+ km/week and some race experience already. Talk to a club coach before starting it — it’s a guide to adapt, not a script to follow blindly.

• Weeks 1–6 (Base, 60–70km/week): long walk building to 2.5 hours; one tempo session (e.g. 25 min); one longer interval session (e.g. 8 x 3 min at tempo pace)

• Weeks 7–12 (Build, 70–85km/week): long walk to 2.75–3 hours; race-pace intervals (e.g. 10 x 1000m); tempo extending to 35 min

• Weeks 13–15 (Sharpen, 65–75km/week): shorter, faster race-pace work; long walk holds around 2.5 hours

• Week 16 (Taper): volume drops sharply, some short race-pace efforts to stay sharp, rest before race day

Come talk to a coach on a Sunday if you’re thinking about a structured block like this — getting the taper right matters as much as the training itself.