Improve your balance and walking posture with this 30-minute walking Pilates treadmill workout

Three women walking on treadmills in a gym — (Image credit: Getty Images / gradyreese)

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How to do heel-to-toe walk correctly
How to walk with a neutral posture and alignment
How to activate your deep core
How to breathe mindfully
How to swing your arms intentionally

One of the things I love most about Pilates is that it directs your attention to how your body moves, but I had never thought of bringing that degree of awareness to other types of exercise.

That’s what Pilates instructor and Balanced Body educator Portia Page suggested doing when I was looking for treadmill routines for Fit&Well readers to try.

“Treadmills also give you a level of control that walking outdoors doesn’t,” says Page, so you can maintain a consistent speed, adjust the incline and worry less about external distractions.

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“That means you can dial in form, breath and muscle engagement in a way most people never do outside,” she says.

Page encourages you to think of the treadmill as a “movement lab” to refine your walking technique, then to apply those skills the next time you hit the road to walk outdoors.

“If you train with intention, it becomes completely different,” she says.

“Good form and posture help to prevent injury and will help you improve your endurance, overall pace and strength.”

Developing body awareness can also help you to stay balanced if you walk on trails, bringing your attention to terrain changes and any physical discomfort you may otherwise miss.

1. Warm-up

Time: 5min Pace: Easy (2.5mph-3mph) Incline: 0-1%

As you start moving to warm up, focus on your breath. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Focus on being present in your body and in the moment.
Establish your posture by lengthening your torso and aligning your head over your ribs and your ribs over your pelvis.
Lightly activate your core.
Allow your arms to swing freely by your sides without tension.

2. Base walk

Time: 5min Pace: Moderate (3.2mph-3.5mph) Incline: 1-2%

Focus on rolling your foot from heel to toe and establish a rhythmic breathing pattern. Page suggests inhaling for three steps and exhaling for three steps, but settle on whatever you find most comfortable.
Every minute, check that your posture remains aligned (as described above) and make corrections if necessary. Then, return to rhythmic breathing.

3. Incline and posterior chain activation

Time: 5min Pace: Moderate (3.2mph-3.6mph) Incline: 3-5%

As you increase the incline, lean forward slightly from your ankles, keeping your hips level, facing forward and stacked under your ribs.
You should feel your posterior chain—the muscles in your calves, hamstrings and glutes—working.
Exhale on effort—that means breathing out as you push off your back leg.

4. Core integration intervals

Time: 5min Pace: 3.6mph-4mph / 3.2mph-3.4mph Incline: 1% / 4%

For the first minute, set the pace to between 3.6mph and 4mph, and the incline to 1%.
For the second minute, reduce the pace to between 3.2mph and 3.4mph and increase the incline to 4%.
Continue alternating between the faster pace and higher incline until the five minutes has elapsed.
Ensure you keep your core engaged so your torso is stable throughout.
Resist bouncing off your feet or slouching forward over your hips. Imagine you are carrying a tray of drinks and are trying not to spill any, keeping your chest and back upright.

5. Arm movement and rotation awareness

Time: 5min Pace: 3.3mph-3.6mph Incline: 1-2%

Standard swing x 1min
Slightly larger swing (avoid shrugging) x 1min
Place your hands lightly on ribs (feel your breath and rotation) x 1min

For the first minute, swing your arms naturally.
For the second minute, accentuate your arm swing, but avoid shrugging your shoulders.
For the third minute, place your hands lightly on your ribs to feel your breath and the rotation of your torso.
For the fourth minute, swing your arms naturally.
For the fifth minute, accentuate your arm swing, but avoid shrugging your shoulders.
Keep your attention on your breath throughout, noticing your ribs expand as you inhale. This section will focus on your thoracic mobility (how will the middle of your spine rotates).

6. Cool-down and integration

Time: 5min Pace: Gradually decrease to 2.5 mph Incline: 0%

As you decrease the speed, take slower, controlled steps. Do this gradually to avoid stumbling.
Breathe deeply into your belly, finishing with three to five long inhales and exhales after you stop the treadmill.
Take a moment to be still and notice how your body feels before stepping off the treadmill.

How to do heel-to-toe walk

Land softly on your heel, then roll through your midfoot, finishing with a push off from your toes.
Avoid flat-foot stomping. This reduces your body’s capacity for shock absorption and disconnects the posterior chain.
As you walk, think about rolling your feet over sand, rather than marching on concrete.

How to walk with a neutral posture and alignment

Keep your ribcage over your pelvis.
Imagine a string lifting you by the crown of your head to keep your spine upright and long.
Keep your eyes forward and avoid watching your feet as this will put pressure on your neck and round your upper back.

How to activate your deep core

As you exhale, gently draw your belly button down [same note as above on the doc - check you're happy with the change] and up. This should not feel like bracing for a punch, nor should you be sucking your belly in. You should still be able to breathe and talk.
Avoid clenching your abs, but rather gently holding your muscles.

How to breathe mindfully

To inhale, make sure you breathe into your ribs and back, not just push your belly out. Your breath should fill your whole torso.
To exhale, notice your ribs come back together and gently activate your core as your lungs are empty.

How to swing your arms intentionally

Swing your arms from your shoulders, not your elbows, while keeping your shoulders relaxed and your chest upright and open.
Avoid crossing your arms over the center of your body.
Try to swing your opposite arm forward to your leading leg, keeping the swing in time with your footfall and breathing.

Head and shoulders of smiling women with her hands on her hips. She is wearing a sweatshirt with the word thankful across the chest

Portia Page

Page has been teaching group fitness for over 30 years and has been a Pilates educator and teacher for more than 20 years. She's now a Balanced Body Educator and has authored the book Pilates Illustrated which has been translated into five languages.

Lou Mudge is a Health Writer at Future Plc, working across Fit&Well and Coach. She previously worked for Live Science, and regularly writes for Space.com and Pet's Radar. Based in Bath, UK, she has a passion for food, nutrition and health and is eager to demystify diet culture in order to make health and fitness accessible to everybody.

Multiple diagnoses in her early twenties sparked an interest in the gut-brain axis and the impact that diet and exercise can have on both physical and mental health. She was put on the FODMAP elimination diet during this time and learned to adapt recipes to fit these parameters, while retaining core flavors and textures, and now enjoys cooking for gut health.