Subtleties of gait and movement, and getting a steady inner rhythm

[Andy3142]

I'm new but I  get the basics of walking in heels and I do a pretty good job in the street in stable 9 cm / 3.5 inch block heels. What I notice though is that I have MANY subtly variant ways of walking, only slightly different from each other. From the point of how I look I don't think it matters much. But I find it takes work to settle down into any stable rhythmic pattern, especially as walking speed varies.

It's hard to put into words, but a big part is how much my pelvis moves, and another part is how much work my big toe does.  There are other components and I could say more but I don't want to complicate things. Right now I'd just like to know if others find this too.

For avoidance of doubt, the problem is not tottering, instability, lack of balance, etc. I've got past those things, at least in block heels.

Does anyone else have this experience? Do you have any advice/thoughts for getting a stable rhythmic walk, or good Youtube videos?

I'd appreciate if you could please keep replies on-topic.

 

[mlroseplant]

Ah, we've started a whole new thread on this subject, which is probably a wise decision. Without getting into great detail about it, I have found that yes, indeed, the "push off" is probably more important than the step forward. After all, other than momentum, the leading foot, which we all tend to focus on, provides no energy at all to get us from Point A to Point B. So it is really these series of pushes from the trailing foot that keeps us moving.

The question is how to transfer the energy from one foot to another. It is my belief that the best looking way is for the bottom of the trailing foot to be perpendicular to the ground at the time of power transfer. This may also coincide with being the most efficient way to walk. Your mileage may vary. What I do not find efficient, though somewhat attractive, is excessive movement of the opposite hip immediately after power transfer. It might be more natural for biological females to walk this way, but it is mostly an affectation of models and beauty queens. Which is not to say that we can't take cues from these people, but their example needs to be toned down for the street.

The main thing I have found is that there needs to be fluidity and relaxedness when walking in heels, however that presents itself. While at the same time retaining an upright posture to an almost rigid degree. Particularly, pay attention to your head. As we get older, it for some dumb reason becomes easier for us to jut the head forward, ahead of the neck, instead of keeping it on top where it belongs. That doesn't make any damn sense to me, but I only know that it is so. I have to consciously fight "turtle neck." That alone can completely ruin the effect of heels.

Pay attention to all of these things, but relax. I know, nearly impossible, init?

Edited March 30, 2024 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

I’ve never really taken the trouble to analyse my walk, although I know I could be better, smoother and more fluid. I guess I think if it more like ice skating - so many things needs to come together for you to do it well. I tend to go for overall movement, the whole of the motion, rather than try to break it down into parts. To me that complicates thinks too much.

[Bubba136]

On 3/30/2024 at 5:23 AM, mlroseplant said:

Ah, we've started a whole new thread on this subject, which is probably a wise decision. Without getting into great detail about it, I have found that yes, indeed, the "push off" is probably more important than the step forward. After all, other than momentum, the leading foot, which we all tend to focus on, provides no energy at all to get us from Point A to Point B. So it is really these series of pushes from the trailing foot that keeps us moving.

The question is how to transfer the energy from one foot to another. It is my belief that the best looking way is for the bottom of the trailing foot to be perpendicular to the ground at the time of power transfer. This may also coincide with being the most efficient way to walk. Your mileage may vary. What I do not find efficient, though somewhat attractive, is excessive movement of the opposite hip immediately after power transfer. It might be more natural for biological females to walk this way, but it is mostly an affectation of models and beauty queens. Which is not to say that we can't take cues from these people, but their example needs to be toned down for the street.

The main thing I have found is that there needs to be fluidity and relaxedness when walking in heels, however that presents itself. While at the same time retaining an upright posture to an almost rigid degree. Particularly, pay attention to your head. As we get older, it for some dumb reason becomes easier for us to jut the head forward, ahead of the neck, instead of keeping it on top where it belongs. That doesn't make any damn sense to me, but I only know that it is so. I have to consciously fight "turtle neck." That alone can completely ruin the effect of heels.

Pay attention to all of these things, but relax. I know, nearly impossible, init?

 

On 3/30/2024 at 5:23 AM, mlroseplant said:

Ah, we've started a whole new thread on this subject, which is probably a wise decision. Without getting into great detail about it, I have found that yes, indeed, the "push off" is probably more important than the step forward. After all, other than momentum, the leading foot, which we all tend to focus on, provides no energy at all to get us from Point A to Point B. So it is really these series of pushes from the trailing foot that keeps us moving.

The question is how to transfer the energy from one foot to another. It is my belief that the best looking way is for the bottom of the trailing foot to be perpendicular to the ground at the time of power transfer. This may also coincide with being the most efficient way to walk. Your mileage may vary. What I do not find efficient, though somewhat attractive, is excessive movement of the opposite hip immediately after power transfer. It might be more natural for biological females to walk this way, but it is mostly an affectation of models and beauty queens. Which is not to say that we can't take cues from these people, but their example needs to be toned down for the street.

The main thing I have found is that there needs to be fluidity and relaxedness when walking in heels, however that presents itself. While at the same time retaining an upright posture to an almost rigid degree. Particularly, pay attention to your head. As we get older, it for some dumb reason becomes easier for us to jut the head forward, ahead of the neck, instead of keeping it on top where it belongs. That doesn't make any damn sense to me, but I only know that it is so. I have to consciously fight "turtle neck." That alone can completely ruin the effect of heels.

Pay attention to all of these things, but relax. I know, nearly impossible, init?

Oh, come now.  It’s really very simple.  First you put the right foot in then you take it out, then you put your left foot in and shake it all about —- that’s what it’s all about!

[mlroseplant]

13 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’ve never really taken the trouble to analyse my walk, although I know I could be better, smoother and more fluid. I guess I think if it more like ice skating - so many things needs to come together for you to do it well. I tend to go for overall movement, the whole of the motion, rather than try to break it down into parts. To me that complicates thinks too much.

I suppose there is something to be said for just walking, but so many people do it badly, even in flats. I suppose it's just like singing--everybody can do it, but few do it well. There is more to the story for me, though. I have always been fascinated by gait, at first among our four-legged friends. Even though it was considered a "fault," I always found it rather charming when my German Shepherd Dog mix, Sadie, would sort of turn at an angle when she broke into a trot, because otherwise, her trailing and leading feet would hit each other. At one time, I could tell you how many miles per hour was the line of demarcation between walk and trot, trot and canter, canter and gallop. If I overanalyze human gait, I come by it honestly. I'm a bit of a gait geek.

[Shyheels]

Well put! I know exactly what you mean, although I'm no gait geek myself. 

That said, I am conscious of the fact that in stilettos I am too stompy and would like to lose that stompiness.  Likewise I was aware of the moment when walking in my 3.5 inch heeled ankle boots suddenly 'clicked' and I could feel my gait shifting into something fluid and which I knew instinctively to be right. 

[Jkrenzer]

I wear stilettos almost 100% of the time. I admit I occasionally get stompy too, but that usually only happens when I'm tired.

[Shyheels]

3 minutes ago, Jkrenzer said:

I wear stilettos almost 100% of the time. I admit I occasionally get stompy too, but that usually only happens when I'm tired.

I’m relieved to hear that because you are obviously an expert 

[mlroseplant]

Resurrecting another old topic here. Since it has often been very cold here, sometimes I give up on actually walking outside and practice walking in heels inside. You would think that after all these years, I would have a great sense of balance. It turns out that when put to the test, I do not. I struggle to walk slowly, and have trouble balancing on one foot casually. If I think about it in advance and am prepared for it, of course I can do it, but if I walk super slowly and suddenly decide to pause mid-stride, I'm absolutely terrible! Even the pose shown here is not accomplished without thought. Some days are better than others.

[CrushedVamp]

On 12/24/2024 at 9:14 AM, mlroseplant said:

Resurrecting another old topic here. Since it has often been very cold here, sometimes I give up on actually walking outside and practice walking in heels inside. You would think that after all these years, I would have a great sense of balance. It turns out that when put to the test, I do not. I struggle to walk slowly, and have trouble balancing on one foot casually. If I think about it in advance and am prepared for it, of course I can do it, but if I walk super slowly and suddenly decide to pause mid-stride, I'm absolutely terrible! Even the pose shown here is not accomplished without thought. Some days are better than others.

May I ask a question, stated as such so you know this is not a challenge to what you said but rather a bonafide curiosity and with the utmost respect?

Isn't that the intrigue, and mystique about wearing high heels, that it's the wearing of something that can be mastered perhaps, but not every step, nor over every possible medium, and certainly having varying challenges with different shoes? 

I do not wear high heels so I cannot answer that question, but for those that do, men and women alike, isn't part of the fun treading that fine line between being comfortable in wearing them to not? To walking casually on a concrete sidewalk one moment and then having to thread grating the next? Perfectly posed one second, and then struggling to balance the next? I can say with utmost authority wearing my work shoes I barely give a thought to what is on my feet as I go about my workday, but I would think one of the huge drivers of wearing high heels is the acute awareness that you are wearing challenging footwear at almost every moment. I would think, to get to the point where you could walk anything but a slackline in high heels would get... well... boring.

I understand not wanting to look like you are doing the dying crab as you walk down a sidewalk, falling and stumbling as you go, but never fully mastering wearing of such challenging footwear would seem to me to be part of the thrill of wearing them?

I would think it would be good for ALL high heel wearers to keep that excitement and thrill. The wearing of high heels being a lifelong journey and not merely mastering them as being a goal.

 

 

 

 

[mlroseplant]

3 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

May I ask a question, stated as such so you know this is not a challenge to what you said but rather a bonafide curiosity and with the utmost respect?

Isn't that the intrigue, and mystique about wearing high heels, that it's the wearing of something that can be mastered perhaps, but not every step, nor over every possible medium, and certainly having varying challenges with different shoes? 

I do not wear high heels so I cannot answer that question, but for those that do, men and women alike, isn't part of the fun treading that fine line between being comfortable in wearing them to not? To walking casually on a concrete sidewalk one moment and then having to thread grating the next? Perfectly posed one second, and then struggling to balance the next? I can say with utmost authority wearing my work shoes I barely give a thought to what is on my feet as I go about my workday, but I would think one of the huge drivers of wearing high heels is the acute awareness that you are wearing challenging footwear at almost every moment. I would think, to get to the point where you could walk anything but a slackline in high heels would get... well... boring.

I understand not wanting to look like you are doing the dying crab as you walk down a sidewalk, falling and stumbling as you go, but never fully mastering wearing of such challenging footwear would seem to me to be part of the thrill of wearing them?

I would think it would be good for ALL high heel wearers to keep that excitement and thrill. The wearing of high heels being a lifelong journey and not merely mastering them as being a goal.

 

 

 

 

I am sure there is somebody out there who takes that view, and maybe several somebodies. However, my personal philosophy compares wearing heels to practicing an instrument. When you are learning to play the piano, for example, you don't ever worry that someday you'll be too good at it, and it will be boring. The fact is, you will never get too good at it, and even though you might be world class, you still have to practice every day, or you lose that laser focused edge pretty quickly. I understand that dancing ballet is much the same way. You can't just take a week off without there being consequences.

The goal is to make wearing heels look like it's very easy, even though oftentimes it is not. What I have mastered pretty well in the last 12 years is sheer endurance. What I have not mastered is super great form and making it look like it's no effort at all. Everybody has his own idea about what a good walk should look like, but I would find it doubtful that anybody gets a thrill out of struggling, unless it's a fetish thing, and that is really beyond the scope of this forum. To pursue the musical analogy further, I don't think I will ever find it thrilling to forget the lyrics to a song in front of hundreds of people, or lose the groove temporarily.

Your thought is not without merit. What has happened over the last 12 years is that it takes a steeper heel to get that certain feeling. When I started, a 3 inch heel felt like a heel. Today, I typically don't even bother with anything that shallow. It takes at least a 3 1/2" difference between toe and heel before a shoe begins to feel like a heel, and 4" is about right. But, just like I will never be a concert pianist, you are quite correct that I will never master walking in the highest heels. Therefore, there will always be something to work toward.

[Shyheels]

I remember reading a quote from some famous classical musician - I forget the name or the instrument he played. He said, if I don’t practice for a day, I notice. If I don’t practice for two days, the critics notice. If I don’t practice for three days, the world notices 

[Cali]

7 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

May I ask a question, stated as such so you know this is not a challenge to what you said but rather a bonafide curiosity and with the utmost respect?

Isn't that the intrigue, and mystique about wearing high heels, that it's the wearing of something that can be mastered perhaps, but not every step, nor over every possible medium, and certainly having varying challenges with different shoes? 

I do not wear high heels so I cannot answer that question, but for those that do, men and women alike, isn't part of the fun treading that fine line between being comfortable in wearing them to not? To walking casually on a concrete sidewalk one moment and then having to thread grating the next? Perfectly posed one second, and then struggling to balance the next? I can say with utmost authority wearing my work shoes I barely give a thought to what is on my feet as I go about my workday, but I would think one of the huge drivers of wearing high heels is the acute awareness that you are wearing challenging footwear at almost every moment. I would think, to get to the point where you could walk anything but a slackline in high heels would get... well... boring.

I understand not wanting to look like you are doing the dying crab as you walk down a sidewalk, falling and stumbling as you go, but never fully mastering wearing of such challenging footwear would seem to me to be part of the thrill of wearing them?

I would think it would be good for ALL high heel wearers to keep that excitement and thrill. The wearing of high heels being a lifelong journey and not merely mastering them as being a goal.

And now for a different reason.

After multiple ankles reconstructions, I finally determined it was the shoes that were a major cause of my problems. Simply put, my foot shape meant that I could never get a solid footing in men's shoes. I switched to women's shoes and have had an ankle issue since.

Then I had a large tear in a calf. They should have operated on it, but they didn't. You must raise your heel to heal (it never comes back, but just calms down) the calf. Because of the metal that holds me together, I had to raise both heels. That instantly put me in high heels (at least 3.5 inch net difference). During that period, the pain in my hip greatly reduced and quickly returned when I tried to go back to flat (  < 4 cm) shoes. Since I have this dislike of pain, I wear high heels. And now I have fun with it, frequently during the colder months in knee high boots, including stilettos.

Even though I have been in heels for at least 10 years, I frequently encounter challenging surfaces. It’s amazing how a slight slant is magnified in heels. Old asphalt, uneven tiles, wet tiles, …

There are places and situations where I don’t wear high heels, but I try to limit those.

[CrushedVamp]

15 hours ago, Cali said:

And now for a different reason.

After multiple ankles reconstructions, I finally determined it was the shoes that were a major cause of my problems. Simply put, my foot shape meant that I could never get a solid footing in men's shoes. I switched to women's shoes and have had an ankle issue since.

Then I had a large tear in a calf. They should have operated on it, but they didn't. You must raise your heel to heal (it never comes back, but just calms down) the calf. Because of the metal that holds me together, I had to raise both heels. That instantly put me in high heels (at least 3.5 inch net difference). During that period, the pain in my hip greatly reduced and quickly returned when I tried to go back to flat (  < 4 cm) shoes. Since I have this dislike of pain, I wear high heels. And now I have fun with it, frequently during the colder months in knee high boots, including stilettos.

Even though I have been in heels for at least 10 years, I frequently encounter challenging surfaces. It’s amazing how a slight slant is magnified in heels. Old asphalt, uneven tiles, wet tiles, …

There are places and situations where I don’t wear high heels, but I try to limit those.

I am not sure what to say here; certainly feeling sympathy and empathy for you on your feet and calf health issues, but also impressed with how you chose non-traditional ways of improving your situation for the best. It is inspiring to hear that high heels alleviated pain rather than hearing about so many people who claim to have been crippled by the wearing of them.

I have not had the issues you have had of course, but once worked at a factory where we had to stand on concrete for 10 hours per day, 5 days a week in mandatory footwear where you could not fully lift your heel. EVERYONE suffered, but I got an acute case of placiar fasciitis. IT HURT. That is why I said I sympathize and empathize with you both. Not quite the situation you had I know, but do know debilitating foot pain.

20 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I am sure there is somebody out there who takes that view, and maybe several somebodies. However, my personal philosophy compares wearing heels to practicing an instrument. When you are learning to play the piano, for example, you don't ever worry that someday you'll be too good at it, and it will be boring. The fact is, you will never get too good at it, and even though you might be world class, you still have to practice every day, or you lose that laser focused edge pretty quickly. I understand that dancing ballet is much the same way. You can't just take a week off without there being consequences.

The goal is to make wearing heels look like it's very easy, even though oftentimes it is not. What I have mastered pretty well in the last 12 years is sheer endurance. What I have not mastered is super great form and making it look like it's no effort at all. Everybody has his own idea about what a good walk should look like, but I would find it doubtful that anybody gets a thrill out of struggling, unless it's a fetish thing, and that is really beyond the scope of this forum. To pursue the musical analogy further, I don't think I will ever find it thrilling to forget the lyrics to a song in front of hundreds of people, or lose the groove temporarily.

Your thought is not without merit. What has happened over the last 12 years is that it takes a steeper heel to get that certain feeling. When I started, a 3 inch heel felt like a heel. Today, I typically don't even bother with anything that shallow. It takes at least a 3 1/2" difference between toe and heel before a shoe begins to feel like a heel, and 4" is about right. But, just like I will never be a concert pianist, you are quite correct that I will never master walking in the highest heels. Therefore, there will always be something to work toward.

Thank you for setting me straight, and taking my question as I truly meant it.

I love discussion where my views are challenged by well spoken people who can explain a differing view. What you and @Shyheels said makes perfect sense. The music analogy makes a lot of sense and was a great way to convey your thoughts.

Not that it is the best for me. 🙂 One strange thing about my wife and I is that we both greatly dislike music. We even skip the first part of church so we are not subjected to that, or ever listen to it in the car, and never at home. 

[Shyheels]

1 hour ago, CrushedVamp said:

I am not sure what to say here; certainly feeling sympathy and empathy for you on your feet and calf health issues, but also impressed with how you chose non-traditional ways of improving your situation for the best. It is inspiring to hear that high heels alleviated pain rather than hearing about so many people who claim to have been crippled by the wearing of them.

I have not had the issues you have had of course, but once worked at a factory where we had to stand on concrete for 10 hours per day, 5 days a week in mandatory footwear where you could not fully lift your heel. EVERYONE suffered, but I got an acute case of placiar fasciitis. IT HURT. That is why I said I sympathize and empathize with you both. Not quite the situation you had I know, but do know debilitating foot pain.

Thank you for setting me straight, and taking my question as I truly meant it.

I love discussion where my views are challenged by well spoken people who can explain a differing view. What you and @Shyheels said makes perfect sense. The music analogy makes a lot of sense and was a great way to convey your thoughts.

Not that it is the best for me. 🙂 One strange thing about my wife and I is that we both greatly dislike music. We even skip the first part of church so we are not subjected to that, or ever listen to it in the car, and never at home. 

Do you dislike all music or just some types? It is certainly odd to dislike all music. I certainly don’t care for much that was written after 1985 or so, but before that my tastes are varied and eclectic - blues, jazz, rock, swing, musicals, classical, Charleston-era, ragtime etc… I must say though that hymns leave me rather glassy eyed. If I went to church at all I’d probably try to avoid any and all hymn singing …

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, Shyheels said:

Do you dislike all music or just some types? It is certainly odd to dislike all music. I certainly don’t care for much that was written after 1985 or so, but before that my tastes are varied and eclectic - blues, jazz, rock, swing, musicals, classical, Charleston-era, ragtime etc… I must say though that hymns leave me rather glassy eyed. If I went to church at all I’d probably try to avoid any and all hymn singing …

I will turn your own question on yourself. Do you dislike all hymns, or only certain types? My personal favorites tend to have been written before 1850 or so. I dislike these modrun praise songs, although I'm pretty good at them. We get to put that claim to the test tomorrow, yay!

[Shyheels]

I have to say I pretty much dislike all of them. They strike me as either dirge-like or too overtly pious. Not a huge fan of organised religion in general. 

[CrushedVamp]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Do you dislike all music or just some types? It is certainly odd to dislike all music. I certainly don’t care for much that was written after 1985 or so, but before that my tastes are varied and eclectic - blues, jazz, rock, swing, musicals, classical, Charleston-era, ragtime etc… I must say though that hymns leave me rather glassy eyed. If I went to church at all I’d probably try to avoid any and all hymn singing …

Pretty much all music. There are a few songs I like, but very few.

I guess my detest of it is because most of it is forced on me. Walmart Radio... Really? But in other stores, or in being in an elevator, or even putting gas in the car, there it is, some noise that someone somehow thinks I will like, or actually think I need as I stand there and pump a few gallons in? Really?

What are people so scared of? The thoughts running through their heads? What is wrong with silence?

Music Pollution is just so prolific that people do not realize how much they are subjected too. I just don't need it. Give me silence so I can think about the content of my novel. How I am going to renovate the upstairs bathroom. What I am going to post on a forum about high heels. I got better things to do with my mind then uselessly scroll over some words that someone else has created and other people have sung or played instruments too.

Now that I have said this, you will realize it too. Music is EVERYWHERE and most of it is garbage we don't even like. More to the point, the next time you are in a place where music is forced on you, ask yourself, who would die if there was silence at this moment? What would it really hurt (and how much money in totality would it save) if music was not being played? 

We are inundated with music pollution.

[Shyheels]

Oh I agree with you on that front! I love silence too and do not go around with earbuds stuck in my ears. I can never understand cyclists who have to listen to music when they ride - aside from the safety implications how nice it is to hear birdsong and the rustling in the hedgerows. On my boat I listen to birds each morning. I play music at a time of my choosing and when I’m don’t am happy to enjoy silence and my own company 

[mlroseplant]

Oddly enough, as a musician, I don't listen to music near as much as your average person. Even as I write this, the only sound in the room is the gentle "tick-tock" of the wall clock. I rarely listen to music in the car (my son sure does), and I certainly do not listen to music during my morning high heeled walks. It is the rare occasion that there is not a tune or harmony in my head, though.

I am somewhat a student of hymnody, and as the guy who has the responsibility--er, I mean privilege--of leading the hymns (the traditional ones, anyway), I try my best to make my interpretations expressive and interesting. Usually bombastic, too. It doesn't work well every time. It all depends on how well I'm jibing with the organist. We've been frienemies for 20+ years.

[CrushedVamp]

19 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Oddly enough, as a musician, I don't listen to music near as much as your average person. Even as I write this, the only sound in the room is the gentle "tick-tock" of the wall clock. I rarely listen to music in the car (my son sure does), and I certainly do not listen to music during my morning high heeled walks. It is the rare occasion that there is not a tune or harmony in my head, though.

I am somewhat a student of hymnody, and as the guy who has the responsibility--er, I mean privilege--of leading the hymns (the traditional ones, anyway), I try my best to make my interpretations expressive and interesting. Usually bombastic, too. It doesn't work well every time. It all depends on how well I'm jibing with the organist. We've been frienemies for 20+ years.

I can understand that. When you truly love something and what to carve your own niche, most artisans are pretty cognizant of not using other people's stuff but really try and be creative on their own front. I am that way as a writer. I write fictional novels but read non-fiction one prolifically. It just ensures that I have my own writing style without so much a subtle copying of another writer in any way.

As for hymns, our church is more progressive in its music choice, as we have drums, base guitars, electric guitars and keyboards, but my Great Great Great Uncle wrote a hymn in 1871 that is still sung in churches today. He had a very interesting life, and despite 2/3 of the cemetery being family members, I take my hat off when I walk past his headstone. He is the only one that I do as he deserves a lot of respect.

But in taking this reply full circle, it was interesting that Mark Twain, a prolific plagiarist who read other peoples literary works and resold them to support his afflicted lifestyle, stole an account from this great great great uncle of mine regarding a strange sailing trip he took around Cape Horn. Like others Mark Twain stole from, his account was almost word for word my great uncle wrote. It is why I have such a deep hatred of those who plagiarize and guard so well against it in my own writing.

[Shyheels]

Sounds like there was more of Huck Finn in Mark Twain than met the eye

[Cali]

9 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

But in taking this reply full circle, it was interesting that Mark Twain, a prolific plagiarist who read other peoples literary works and resold them to support his afflicted lifestyle, stole an account from this great great great uncle of mine regarding a strange sailing trip he took around Cape Horn. Like others Mark Twain stole from, his account was almost word for word my great uncle wrote. It is why I have such a deep hatred of those who plagiarize and guard so well against it in my own writing.

As an author of many college science textbooks (one of many hats I have worn), I am very concern over AI STEALING my work (without conpensation).

Edited December 30, 2024 by Cali

[Shyheels]

Same here. As a writer and photographer I can get screwed two ways. It’s a serious worry 

[CrushedVamp]

I am a writer so I am worried as well.

I want AI to wash my clothes and do the dishes, you know the mundane stuff. The creative stuff I want to do, but AI is so backwards, its making being a human robot like.

I want it the other way around and see it as imploding on itself. Its just not sustainable.

[Shyheels]

Yes, what kind of society have we created where humans do the drudge work and computers create music, literature and art?

[mlroseplant]

I know the advent of AI is going to create a lot of work for me, but maybe not the kind I want. Sometimes, I even miss working at Firestone.

Shifting the topic back to the subject of gait, one thing I have definitely noticed in 2024 is that I can no longer just put on a pair of shoes and go. I really need to warm up for 10 or 15 minutes first. I do not know whether this is because of age, or whether it's because the heels I typically wear nowadays are considerably steeper than they used to be, or a combination of both. On most days, I will wear around a 4 inch effective heel for my morning walks, and I find that on most days it takes a good ways before I finally feel like I'm gliding down the street. Sometimes the better part of a mile. I never noticed that so much before this year.

[pebblesf]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:50 AM, Andy3142 said:

I'm new but I  get the basics of walking in heels and I do a pretty good job in the street in stable 9 cm / 3.5 inch block heels. What I notice though is that I have MANY subtly variant ways of walking, only slightly different from each other. From the point of how I look I don't think it matters much. But I find it takes work to settle down into any stable rhythmic pattern, especially as walking speed varies.

It's hard to put into words, but a big part is how much my pelvis moves, and another part is how much work my big toe does.  There are other components and I could say more but I don't want to complicate things. Right now I'd just like to know if others find this too.

For avoidance of doubt, the problem is not tottering, instability, lack of balance, etc. I've got past those things, at least in block heels.

Does anyone else have this experience? Do you have any advice/thoughts for getting a stable rhythmic walk, or good Youtube videos?

I'd appreciate if you could please keep replies on-topic.

 

The more I concentrate on how I am walking in my boots, the worse my gait is for sure!

[Shyheels]

Yes, one can overthink these things 

[CAT]

I see the AI ending like Terminator. We are doomed