Alot Of Different Heel Walks

[newguy]

I am sure u guys already talked bout this . I am seeing more women than usual lately wearing heels. After I got on hhplace I am have watching women walk more. There are alot of toe walkers, toe out, toe in, waddle, pick the whole foot up instead of heel toe. I seeing a high school girls at my church are toe walkers. I see very few master high healers. But I will say they walk better than me right now.

[Eager2heel]

I see the same thing. And i think it would be normal to do what some say. heel down then toe . I have watched many videos on youtube and most say heel to toe . But some videos that people put up have it wrong. The expert says toe first. I see so many girls walking all wrong and I feel like telling them how they should walk. But I can't even walk in the pair of heels I have..lol

[Histiletto]

Each person has their own style or gait of walking. They just need to practice enough so that they feel comfortable with their stride and its initiation, just like they did as toddlers. Keep in mind high heels are not the same as flats, as if you didn't know, and the feet and ankles will continue to do their part once they are familiar and reach the right strength to deal with the differences in the process. Some people can do a runway type strut, while others will tend to look more bold legged. There really is no exact correctness that everyone will naturally imitate.  

[NewfieGuyInHeels]

I find the worst thing you can do is think about how your walking, you have to clear your mind and just walk. I got use to heels by vacuuming in them. There's a lot if stepping and weight shifting when you vacuume, also you have something to hold on to for balance. So it's the perfect way to get use to, or break in new heels. Also I find wearing heels make housework more fun haha.

[newguy]

I have been watching utube videos also. But I have no one to watch me in how I walk. I did ask a sales at payless to watch me. She said I walk with heel to toe but I walk fast and get clumsy. I dont have that sexy sway. I have alot of work to do. Newfie has a good suggestion I am gonna try vacuuming in heels. Often as I can I am trying. Practice practice. I should find a high heel school. Lol

[jetheelsfan]

The "masters of walking in heels" appeaer tobe gliding in the air.  So few ladies seem to be able to accomplis that walk an appearance.  I personally don't know how to make that appearance myself.  Still too much "clomp" when trying to gracefully do heel-to-toe.

[Shafted]

The secret is stilettos don't clomp, no matter what.

[ilikekicks]

The secret is stilettos don't clomp, no matter what.

 

No ' Cattle ' sound. Its a huge confidence builder.

 

My youngest niece asked me how I can walk around in ' spikes ' and not sound like a bunch of cows pounding on the hardwood floors. I told her that not having a huge surface area or something allowing gravity a greater pull helps ( physics ).

 

I wouldnt go as far as to say stilettos dont ' clomp ' or cant be that loud, but it would be harder to get such a sound then compared to other footwares. I can say I have heard ( literally )  a cattle-clomp from someone in stilettos on the wood floors here in the house. Granted, it was a first-time-wearer but it can happen.

[veryhigh]

heel to toe for me I have been heeling for about 4 years, street for about 2 yrs. I have practiced a lot at home on hard floors and soft ,stairs etc when I street hell it is never above 4 inches yet, and always a boot of some sort a wide ish heel and covered. I have been out for upto 4 hours in my next boots and feel fine just get a sore ankle sometimes after long walks. I also switch to different pairs during the day if I am at home, 3 inch wide fit leather new look office style heels if I am studying then maybe 5 inch holly willoughby heels for cooking etc. that way I find I get a good workout with different toe and ankle positioning and no pain in my calves because of varying my heel height a lot. this has also allowed me to walk quietly and easily in many heel types and heights so when shopping with a block heel I don't clomp or make to much noise.

[mlroseplant]

Like several have mentioned, everyone has his own walk. It's funny, on a big job like what I've been on lately, I can recognize somebody 100 meters away by his walk, long before I can see his face. I'm not the only one with this ability.

 

I have several thoughts on the matter. I think we all agree that we probably should modify our normal male gait when walking in heels (at least 99% of us). From there, it all depends on what you're after. For me, what I'm after is speed and agility. I want to be able to say that heels don't slow me down. Of course, that's not really true, heels do slow a person down, but I want to create the illusion that they don't. That's why I get mildly irritated at so many so-called instructional videos that claim you should take little, tiny steps. There is no reason to do that, unless that's the "look" you're going for. Besides, some of us would like to arrive at our destinations before the cows come home. Somebody has to be there to milk the cows, after all.

 

When I first started thinking about "going public," I set a camera up on a tripod and took videos of myself walking from various angles. This is tedious and time consuming, but valuable. Also, the neighbors may wonder what you're up to, as you can't really do it inside effectively--there's not enough room to really hit your stride. What I found for me personally is that I am significantly bowlegged, and I need to take measures to look more graceful in heels. This is where the video camera became very helpful. I discovered that when I was trying to walk with my knees close together, I was unconsciously walking slightly pigeon-toed. Maybe that's good for the Japanese, but not the athletic gait I was going for. If it's possible, I would highly recommend video-ing yourself.

 

In addition to the walk itself, it is very important to remember to engage your abs (I think of it as simply sucking in my gut when walking), stand up straight, and look significantly ahead. Of course, it's important to glance down from time to time to make sure you're not headed for catastrophe, but don't let your eyes linger 3 feet in front of you. Oh, and another thing to think about--most guys carry a great deal of tension/stiffness in the lower back. I've never seen anyone mention this in an instructional video, but it's what allows a woman to swing her hips when she walks. I'm not suggesting that you adopt a super feminine walk at all, but what I find is that relaxing the lower back allows me to take longer steps without looking as though I'm lunging, thus allowing me to walk faster.

 

Gee, have I given you enough things to think about while getting from Point A to Point B? I know that I sound like I'm directly contradicting NewfieGuy, but I'm really not. You really can't think about all these things simultaneously while you're walking in the real world. To me, it's just like any other skill--learning to serve in tennis or learning to play the violin spring immediately to mind. When done well, you shouldn't and can't think about each individual muscular motion, or you will fail. However, when learning, it is important to think about and practice individual things that you wouldn't normally think about in performance.

[Eager2heel]

I saw a woman that had classic black heels on that were 4 inches. She was in arm with her hubby . She had to best walk i had ever seen. Not to fast and not to slow. she must live in heels. I was beautiful just to see her walk. She was doing the heel to toe walk. and she just glided across the mall smiling.

 

Some day I hope to be that good.

[SleekHeels]

I think it's important to be "light on your feet" and the key to that is, like mlroseplant says, to involve your whole body posture. It's become quite "natural" to slump, and badly designed furniture encourages that too. It really takes a lot of effort to try and break out of it. Just like constant heel-wearing shortens the achilles tendons, constant slouching collapses the muscular support to your skeleton. When you first correct that, by straightening your back and pushing your shouldres back and down, it feels unnatural until you can train your muscles into a better shape. It's not only physical, it's psychologial too, you feel more confident and that's the right attitude to match the heels.

 

One thing I've found helpful is a little practice walking in stilettos on a lawn where your heels sink into the ground if you put too much weight on them, as this makes you learn to walk lightly on your feet. Start with a relatively low heel height so that your not teetering on your toes the whole time. At first you'll find your leg muscles will be doing a lot of work to compensate for the lack of weight on the heel, but once those muscles are trained you'll feel more comfortable and even graceful walking across the lawn, and that improved walking action will help on harder surfaces with higher heels. Some of the places I wear heels have stone paving with a really soft rubber filling between the gaps, and at first I used to ruin heels that sank into the gaps, but now I seem to catch the heels as soon as they start to sink, and avoid scuffing my heels.

 

I still walk heel-to-toe but most of my weight stays on my back foot until my front foot can take the weight transfer onto the toe. That's different from walking heel-to-toe in flats where most of the weight goes onto the heel of the front foot as it contacts the ground, and then rolls onto the toe as your other leg comes forward. With heels that rolling action isn't there and the weight stays on the back foot a little longer until the front foot is ready to take the transfer. Even on a hard surface in higher heels (even wedges), practice walking very slowly keeping your weight on the back foot as long as possible, then very gradually speed up to a natural walking pace.

[Eager2heel]

I think it's important to be "light on your feet" and the key to that is, like mlroseplant says, to involve your whole body posture. It's become quite "natural" to slump, and badly designed furniture encourages that too. It really takes a lot of effort to try and break out of it. Just like constant heel-wearing shortens the achilles tendons, constant slouching collapses the muscular support to your skeleton. When you first correct that, by straightening your back and pushing your shouldres back and down, it feels unnatural until you can train your muscles into a better shape. It's not only physical, it's psychologial too, you feel more confident and that's the right attitude to match the heels.

 

One thing I've found helpful is a little practice walking in stilettos on a lawn where your heels sink into the ground if you put too much weight on them, as this makes you learn to walk lightly on your feet. Start with a relatively low heel height so that your not teetering on your toes the whole time. At first you'll find your leg muscles will be doing a lot of work to compensate for the lack of weight on the heel, but once those muscles are trained you'll feel more comfortable and even graceful walking across the lawn, and that improved walking action will help on harder surfaces with higher heels. Some of the places I wear heels have stone paving with a really soft rubber filling between the gaps, and at first I used to ruin heels that sank into the gaps, but now I seem to catch the heels as soon as they start to sink, and avoid scuffing my heels.

 

I still walk heel-to-toe but most of my weight stays on my back foot until my front foot can take the weight transfer onto the toe. That's different from walking heel-to-toe in flats where most of the weight goes onto the heel of the front foot as it contacts the ground, and then rolls onto the toe as your other leg comes forward. With heels that rolling action isn't there and the weight stays on the back foot a little longer until the front foot is ready to take the transfer. Even on a hard surface in higher heels (even wedges), practice walking very slowly keeping your weight on the back foot as long as possible, then very gradually speed up to a natural walking pace.

Thanks... That sounds like it would be helpful.

[Histiletto]

Some people can walk in 5"+ heels and make it seem as though they weren't wearing heels, while others struggle just to walk gracefully in 3" heels. Most of this has to do with the specific construction of our feet and ankles. With time and experience/familiarization in wearing the higher heels some of the physical limits or impairments can be exceeded, but you may still have to settle on wearing lower heels than desired for public appearances. I've always admired the people that can wear exceptionally high heels when they radiate the air of confidence along with an unencumbered stride. Of course, heels that tall are definitely for show and at their best during leisure strolls, rather than in hurried strides to reach a destination promptly (not that one can't walk somewhat hurriedly in them should the need arise). Even heels around 4" are a bit too high for hurried pacing, but since this height is the more commonly seen in the workplace and for the casual activities, they kind of set the standard graceful gait that people have grown to expect from those wearing high heels. 

[diannega]

Some people can walk in 5"+ heels and make it seem as though they weren't wearing heels, while others struggle just to walk gracefully in 3" heels. Most of this has to do with the specific construction of our feet and ankles. With time and experience/familiarization in wearing the higher heels some of the physical limits or impairments can be exceeded, but you may still have to settle on wearing lower heels than desired for public appearances. I've always admired the people that can wear exceptionally high heels when they radiate the air of confidence along with an unencumbered stride. Of course, heels that tall are definitely for show and at their best during leisure strolls, rather than in hurried strides to reach a destination promptly (not that one can't walk somewhat hurriedly in them should the need arise). Even heels around 4" are a bit too high for hurried pacing, but since this height is the more commonly seen in the workplace and for the casual activities, they kind of set the standard graceful gait that people have grown to expect from those wearing high heels. 

I totally agree with Histiletto, and there are definitely some genetics at play. I have been comfortable wearing heels forever and the first time I stood up in a pair of 4" heels I could walk in them comfortably, and for me wearing 5" heels for a day is also not a problem. That being said 4" heels are definitely the more practical and comfortable choice for me. I think a lot of that ability has to do with the suppleness of your ankle and if you can bend your foot down so the line down from your shin is straight to your toe area, you should be able to wear 5" heels, if not you will be more comfy in 4" and lower. There are not a lot of people who can wear 5" + heels comfortably as one needs to be able to bend your foot even further down so your ankle start looking like a lump, and very few girls can do that. Generally women are more supple in their joints than men, so I think there will even be fewer men able to do that. But no matter what heel height you are comfortable in, enjoy it and don't worry about it if you are not comfy in those 5" heels, most women who wears heels every day are are also only comfy in 4" heels too…..

[Shyheels]

I totally agree with Histiletto, and there are definitely some genetics at play. I have been comfortable wearing heels forever and the first time I stood up in a pair of 4" heels I could walk in them comfortably, and for me wearing 5" heels for a day is also not a problem. That being said 4" heels are definitely the more practical and comfortable choice for me. I think a lot of that ability has to do with the suppleness of your ankle and if you can bend your foot down so the line down from your shin is straight to your toe area, you should be able to wear 5" heels, if not you will be more comfy in 4" and lower. There are not a lot of people who can wear 5" + heels comfortably as one needs to be able to bend your foot even further down so your ankle start looking like a lump, and very few girls can do that. Generally women are more supple in their joints than men, so I think there will even be fewer men able to do that. But no matter what heel height you are comfortable in, enjoy it and don't worry about it if you are not comfy in those 5" heels, most women who wears heels every day are are also only comfy in 4" heels too…..

That's interesting. Having read your post I tried seeing how far I can bend my foot and find I can easily get the line of my foot to run straight down my shin, and even a bit farther. I know I can easily walk in 4" heels - only ones I have ever worn, being new at this. Maybe I should try a pair of 5" sometime, just to see.

[Shafted]

It's not just genetics. A much larger variable is how we use our feet in formative years. Someone who does sports in school will already be moving their foot shape away from the ideal shape for wearing a high heel. Why is it fewer and fewer women wear heels? probably because many more do sports now in their formative years.

 

Sports are great for pounding the feet out of shape.

[Shyheels]

I wonder. I did a lot of fencing in my younger days, as well as badminton, distance running and cycling - which I still do a great deal of - and my ankles and feet are strong enough and flexible enough for me, a rank beginner, to walk in 4" heels with no problems at all. I actually found myself wondering why it was supposed to be tricky. That flexibility test that Duannega mentioned, I can do with ease. I wonder if the case may be the opposite of what you suggest: maybe fewer people, of both sexes, doing sports. A lack of foot, ankle strength and flexibility.