Want a Better Butt? Try “Glidewalking”

What is Glidewalking? We ask Esther Gokhale!

So, just about everybody wants a fit and strong booty, right? While squats and lunges are great for that, everybody seems to want a quick fix these days (remember us trying these sandals?). However, a new book claims that just walking in a specific way will get you the booty you’ve always wanted. After enduring glute issues myself, I was interested in hearing more…

According to author Esther Gokhale of 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, poor walking technique may under-use some muscles and over-use your joints, risking injury and degeneration. (Nobody wants that.)  However, walking in a controlled, forward propulsion—called “Glidewalking”—contracts the butt and leg muscles. Strong gluteus muscles also support pelvic anteversion (the key to healthy posture, she says) and play an important role in maintaining balance and preventing falls.

We got the chance to ask Esther a few questions about Glidewalking—and how to get a stronger more Brazilian-looking butt—and here’s what she had to say!

• FBG: What is Glidewalking?
• EG: Glidewalking is walking the way your hunter-gatherer ancestors did and the way you used to when you were a child. It’s a natural and highly desirable way to walk.
• FBG: Why is it necessary?
• EG: You have two choices on how to use your body—whether in walking, bending, exercising or any other daily activity. You can build yourself up or wear yourself down. Glidewalking helps you build yourself up in stature, in tone, in health and even in mood.



• FBG: How is it different than how we normally walk?
• EG: Most people we see around us walk by falling forward and then sticking their front leg out to break the fall. This under-utilizes the butt muscles and jars all the weight-bearing joints. In Glidewalking, you propel yourself forward powerfully and land gently. You use your muscles and spare your joints. You reap the double benefit of avoiding arthritic changes in the joints and toning the glutes.
• FBG: Is it hard to Glidewalk? How do you recommend changing your walking style?
• EG: There are a lot of aspects to Glidewalking. Learning to use your glutes to propel yourself forward is easy and gives you a lot of bang for the butt.* Other aspects, like using your foot muscles to add to the propulsion, letting your leg muscles take a break in the swing phase after they have worked hard in the push-off phase, and driving off your back heel, take a little more attention. All aspects of Glidewalking are very doable if you have the right guidelines. After all, this is the way you used to walk when you were a child. Do I recommend you change your walking style? Butt* of course!
• FBG: Does it look odd?
• EG: On the contrary, Glidewalking looks elegant, powerful and sexy.
• FBG: Anything else we should know?
• EG: 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back offers a step-by-step approach to learning to walk naturally if you’ve forgotten how. The Gokhale Method Foundations course (taught internationally in small groups of up to eight people) gives hands-on guidance in these techniques. You can find teleseminars and a forum at egwellness.com to help augment your understanding.

Get your glide on! —Jenn

* Butt jokes never get old.