update to walking and pilates

A brief update on a couple of things:

Walking: At one of the AGMs I went to someone was describing their walking technique as "heels down", And I also recall hearing that from my physio. It seems like a good way of concentrating on walking. As an alternative, my orthotist suggested another way of getting the same result, and that is to walk "toes up". I've tried this, and it feels like a refreshing change to find a new way to think about this. I think I'll alternate between these.

At the same time, I'm also thinking about my knees, and making sure that I move my knee joint each step, particularly extending my lower leg before it touches the ground.

Pilates: New 'trick' at pilates this week. The class in the gym before pilates is body pump (or something like that...) in which they use steps within this class. This week my instructor suggested that I lay on the step for things like the half roll-back, which seemed to help me. Obviously, by getting my back up in the air, my legs are more straight, my hamstrings are not so tight, and that means I can get more out of the exercise.

My instructor observed "wish I'd thought of this week's ago". Looks like the step will be another part of my pilates apparatus. I think this will replace the foam blocks I'm using for those sitting exercises, e.g. spinal rotation.

A quick look on the Internet suggests this is called an "aerobic stepper" and the height is adjustable. I can't find the exact ones at the gym, but this is the kind of idea. http://stepup4fitness.com/21/equipment/aerobic-stepper/