How simple changes to the way you walk could cut your flab by 15 per cent

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Walkactive is a technique that can tone, slim and improve posture
Claudia Connell tries it out - and is suprised to discover how effective it is
Brisk 20 minute walk a day can add up to seven years to our lives

Published: 19:42 EST, 1 November 2015 | Updated: 20:21 EST, 1 November 2015

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There are plenty of things in life I've failed to master. I'll never be able to crochet, keep an orchid alive or bake a souffle. When it comes to walking, however, I was confident I'd nailed it.

Placing one foot in front of the other and repeating the process until I reach my destination is a given. But it turns out that despite following this formula, I've been doing it all wrong.

And I'm not alone. Just as most of us are wearing the wrong-sized bra, according to fitness expert Joanna Hall, we're also not walking correctly.

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On the road to fitness: Claudia is walking tall

Joanna is the inventor of 'Walkactive' - a technique that she claims can turn everyday walking into an entire body workout to tone, slim and improve posture.

I'm in Lydiard Park, a beautiful historic estate in Wiltshire, for a fast-track camp to learn Joanna's method. Yes, I'm going to learn how to walk.

A recent study by the European Society of Cardiology found that a daily brisk walk of just 20 minutes is enough to halve the risk of a heart attack and add up to seven years to our lives.

There are 16 of us on the course of all shapes and sizes and ranging in age from mid 40s to late 70s. Some are veterans of Joanna's camps but most, like me, are novices.

We begin by introducing ourselves and explaining what we hope to gain. We are united in our desire to be thinner and fitter.

Joanna explains why we all walk incorrectly - and mostly it's due to our inactive, modern lifestyles.

Too much sitting has resulted in the shortening and tightening of our leg and hip muscles, as well as a slumped posture. Staring at computer screens means we have a tendency to jut our heads forward.

A study by the European Society of Cardiology found a daily brisk walk of 20 minutes is enough to halve the risk of a heart attack, as well as increasing life expectancy by up to seven years

And we use all of these bad habits when we're walking. Our biggest downfall, though, is walking with a 'passive foot'.

This means plonking the foot down like a wooden block instead of rolling through the foot from the heel to the toes.

Joanna demonstrates this by first walking incorrectly and then walking using the Walkactive method. I can't see any difference. Clearly I have a lot to learn. We are all videoed walking as we do normally and then head outside.

I've been to exercise bootcamps before and I've always been the least fit. While everyone else keeps pace, I'm huffing and puffing at the back.

But Joanna points out this is a workshop, not a bootcamp. No one must feel under pressure and we should all go at our own pace.It's on this first walk that we learn the importance of placing our feet on the ground and lifting it off again. Instead of shuffling, I should place my lead foot on the ground, heel first, rolling through to the balls of my feet and the tips of my toes.

STEP OUT

During your lifetime, you will walk the equivalent of five times around the equator

I should also leave my back foot on the ground for as long as possible and slowly peel it off. After a few minutes it's clear how a few tweaks can make a walk more of a workout. While all I'm doing is moving my feet in a different way, I can feel the muscles in my calves and thighs twitching into action.

One thing we've noticed is what a fantastic body Joanna has. Though she's slim and toned it's her lean, sculpted arms that have caught my eye. 'No way did she get those arms just from walking,' is the whisper going around the camp lunch table.

One brave soul raises her hand during our Q&A session and Joanna tells us Walkactive is the only form of exercise she has done for the past six years. Walking your way to bingo wing-free arms? Now you're talking. In the afternoon we work on lengthening our stride, speeding the pace and the importance of lifting the torso upwards to elongate the body, to improve posture.

As well as giving you an all-over workout, Joanna says the biggest impact on the body is that it whittles down the waist.

The dreaded middle-age spread has found my stomach with a vengeance. So if I can just deflate by an inch or two I'll be more than happy.

Fortunately, science is on my side. After seven years of perfecting Walkactive, Joanna submitted it for scientific testing at London Southbank University.

Compared with walking normally, those using the Walkactive technique experienced an increased speed of 24 per cent, improved posture, less stress on joints - and a 15 per cent fat loss around the middle.

Walkactive features a specific method of swinging the arms in a controlled way that opens up the shoulders, creating a natural rotation that works the waist-whittling muscles of the mid-section.

It's tricky and awkward at first, but after a couple of hours it starts to feel natural.

B y the end of the day, I have covered four miles striding, swinging and lifting out of my hips for all I'm worth.

Next morning I wake expecting to ache all over. But instead I experience a slight, but bearable ache in the back of my legs.

Day two starts with a bracing walk at 7am. I 'feel the peel', and 'show my sole' - two of Joanna's favourite catchphrases.

After a hearty breakfast we view the videos we made yesterday. I am astonished to see I look about 100 - hunched over, staring at the ground and shuffling along.

Then I am shown a recording of me using Walkactive and the transformation is staggering. I look young and sprightly.

The second day ends with a walk. We have a choice of two, three or 4½ miles. Had you asked me on day one I'd have said that I'd have gone for the shortest option. I opt for the longest walk. The sun is shining and I walk the distance in about an hour and love every minute of it.

At the end I feel invigorated and slightly breathless. As we prepare to leave, Joanna says she can already see an improvement in my posture and that if I walk a little every day then, eventually, the technique should become second nature.

I've spent 20 years attempting every fitness fad. Was the answer really as simple as a walk in the park? I do hope so.

walkactive.com