On walking quickly
Discussion
A friend of mine is convinced that tall people walk faster than short people because their feet are bigger. She says that if their feet are, say, 3" longer than the short person's, every step is 3" longer.
I tried explaining that they walk faster because their stride is longer because they have longer legs, but she was insistent that they still gain an extra 3" with every step. It doesn't make sense to me but I couldn't find a way to explain it. Can you?
I tried explaining that they walk faster because their stride is longer because they have longer legs, but she was insistent that they still gain an extra 3" with every step. It doesn't make sense to me but I couldn't find a way to explain it. Can you?
Most people walk by landing on their heel and transfering their weight onto the ball of the foot, lifting their heel and pushing off for the next step. So the length of the foot is an integral component of stride length.
Whether that means a longer foot is quicker or not probably has all sorts of variables and I suspect there is an optimal foot length for speed and too long/too short is slower.
Whether that means a longer foot is quicker or not probably has all sorts of variables and I suspect there is an optimal foot length for speed and too long/too short is slower.
Simpo Two said:
A friend of mine is convinced that tall people walk faster than short people because their feet are bigger. She says that if their feet are, say, 3" longer than the short person's, every step is 3" longer.
I tried explaining that they walk faster because their stride is longer because they have longer legs, but she was insistent that they still gain an extra 3" with every step. It doesn't make sense to me but I couldn't find a way to explain it. Can you?
Ask her to explain why I can walk faster on stilts with a "foot" length of 1" vs someone with size 13 feet.I tried explaining that they walk faster because their stride is longer because they have longer legs, but she was insistent that they still gain an extra 3" with every step. It doesn't make sense to me but I couldn't find a way to explain it. Can you?
ChocolateFrog said:
CanAm said:
Super Sonic said:
The total distance per step is distance between footprints plus length of footprints.
But that isn't the stride length.thebraketester said:
Ask her to explain why I can walk faster on stilts with a "foot" length of 1" vs someone with size 13 feet.
Again, step length + footprint.On stilts you gain a couple of feet or so in a stride, which more than compensates for the foot or so you lose in foot length
Super Sonic said:
ChocolateFrog said:
CanAm said:
Super Sonic said:
The total distance per step is distance between footprints plus length of footprints.
But that isn't the stride length.Super Sonic said:
thebraketester said:
Ask her to explain why I can walk faster on stilts with a "foot" length of 1" vs someone with size 13 feet.
Again, step length + footprint.On stilts you gain a couple of feet or so in a stride, which more than compensates for the foot or so you lose in foot length
marksx said:
Put your heels against a wall and stride forward until your heels are together. You've travelled that ~1m heel to heel. Not to the end of your toes.
Except nobody actually walks like that, putting their feet next to each other every step...Stand against a wall and take ten steps, then put your feet together.
If your feet are a foot long, and you're footsteps are two feet apart, how far have you travelled?
ETA boundary conditions.
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 7th September 22:34
Super Sonic said:
Except nobody actually walks like that, putting their feet next to each other every step...
Stand against a wall and take ten steps, then put your feet together.
If your feet are a foot long, and you're footsteps are two feet apart, how far have you travelled?
ETA boundary conditions.
If you're standing still and your feet are a foot long, how far have you travelled?Stand against a wall and take ten steps, then put your feet together.
If your feet are a foot long, and you're footsteps are two feet apart, how far have you travelled?
ETA boundary conditions.
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 7th September 22:34
wibble cb said:
I'm 6ft 5, my wife can't keep up with me when walking ( she is 5ft 1)......I find most people can't keep up with me!
I'm the same height, my ex wide was 5'6" but was a fast walker. I couldn't always keep up, but she would take 2 or 3 steps for my one. Used to boast how her step count was higher, yeah but we covered the same f
king distancethegreenhell said:
If you're standing still and your feet are a foot long, how far have you travelled?
If you're standing still you're not travelling, so not relevant.If your feet are a foot long, and you put one foot heel to toe in front of the other, then bring the other foot next to it, how far? 1'
Do it again. How far now? 2'
Three times? 3'
Ten times? 10'
Now do similar, but instead of putting your feet heel to toe, leave a 1' gap between them. You have traveled 1' farther than if you had 'heel & toed' as per the first instance. Therefore you have travelled 2'.
Do it twice, and you travel 4' (2×2=4)
Ten times, 2×10=20'
Comparing standing still to walking and wondering which causes you to travel farther? Shouldn't need maths to explain it!
Two friends in a Canadian winter.
One 6’5” the other about 5’4”. Tall one walks first.
Shiort one jumps into his footprints. Two work colleagues, not made up. I laughed when I heard it.
I’m somewhere in between on height. My walking pace is faster than mosts including the lanky lad. It might correlate with height but only roughly.
ETA, I'm convinced people from properly hot countries walk more slowly regardless of height.
One 6’5” the other about 5’4”. Tall one walks first.
Shiort one jumps into his footprints. Two work colleagues, not made up. I laughed when I heard it.
I’m somewhere in between on height. My walking pace is faster than mosts including the lanky lad. It might correlate with height but only roughly.
ETA, I'm convinced people from properly hot countries walk more slowly regardless of height.
Edited by cheesejunkie on Sunday 8th September 00:19
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