WHAT IS RACEWALKING?
Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. This is assessed by race judges. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 meters (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometers (62.1 mi). Racewalking is a noble sport with deep roots in track and field competition, including a long history in the Olympic Games. But that doesn't stop modern viewers and commentators from casting aspersions on racewalkers. You can take umbrage, learn to roll with the punches, or leave them in your dust. Race walking burns more calories than running at the same speed because the sport’s rules require them to expend more effort, according to “An Invitation to Health” author Dianne Hales. Race walkers have shorter strides than runners and, thus, must stretch their hips forward and backward. Race walking 8 mph can burn more than 1,000 calories per hour in 150-pound people.
The sport emerged from a British culture of long-distance competitive walking known as pedestrianism, which began to develop the ruleset that is the basis of the modern discipline around the mid-19th century. Since the mid-20th century onwards, Russian and Chinese athletes have been among the most successful on the global stage, with Europe and parts of Latin America producing most of the remaining top level walkers. Race walking can be dated back to about 400 years ago in England. It did not take long to become a very popular sport throughout the world. By the 19th century, race walking was just as popular as horse racing.
Race walking and horse racing had one thing in common, which was betting. Racewalking also has been forced to come to grips with same scourge facing the rest of track and field: performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes stay low to the ground by keeping their arms pumping low, close to their hips. If one sees a racewalker's shoulders rising, it may be a sign that the athlete is losing contact with the ground. What appears to be an exaggerated swivel to the hip is, in fact, a full rotation of the pelvis. Athletes aim to move the pelvis forward and to minimize sideways motion in order to achieve maximum forward propulsion. Race walking requires more arm strength and leg strength than power walking. Consequently, race walkers need to do more strength exercises. 스포츠토토
The best strength exercises for race walkers and power walkers include chest presses and bicep curls for your upper body, squats for your lower body, and abdominal crunches for both. Racewalking is very competitive and challenging sport. It is a race between two or more people in a championship and a battle against the time taken to finish the race compared to the other athletes. Racewalking is an efficiency-based method of moving on two legs that is quite distinct from running. For correct form, a walker must never be completely out of contact with the ground; the back foot cannot fully leave the surface until the front foot has touched the ground. As it has different muscular emphasis than running, it can be an excellent alternative for injured runners or those recovering from running injuries that do not wish to give up rigorous training.
Racewalking ideally is an important segment of athletics based on the foot race where athletes need to walk through the tracks with constantly maintaining the foot to ground contact. The sport was first originated in England. Dating back to 18th century the long distance power walking races were known as pedestrianism usually slightly lower paced then running and higher paced than walking.
