Without adequate preparation, starting a program, increasing milage and/or intensity can increase stress on the Achilles tendon, knees, hips, and plantar fascia. The good news: specific drills can significantly reduce injury risk by improving strength, coordination, and movement control during run/walk transitions.
Each transition requires the body to:
Rapidly generate force (walk → run)
Absorb and control force (run → walk)
Coordinate timing between muscles and joints
Maintain posture and alignment under fatigue
Drills help bridge the gap between walking and running by training the nervous system and musculoskeletal system to handle these changes smoothly.
Effective drills should aim to:
Improve acceleration mechanics
Enhance eccentric control during deceleration
Strengthen single-leg stability
Reinforce proper posture and cadence
Reduce abrupt loading spikes
Why it helps:
Improves hip flexor strength, glute engagement, and postural control- critical for smooth walk-to-run transitions.
How to do it:
Stand tall
Drive one knee up to hip height
Maintain upright posture
Alternate slowly and deliberately
Injury benefit:
Reduces excessive quad dominance and improves controlled acceleration.
Why it helps:
Trains elastic loading, coordination, and rhythm without full running impact.
How to do it:
Skip forward with controlled knee lift
Land softly under your center of mass
Focus on quick, light ground contact
Injury benefit:
Prepares the Achilles tendon and calves for repeated acceleration demands.
Why it helps:
Builds eccentric strength in the glutes and quadriceps- essential for run-to-walk deceleration.
How to do it:
Step into a lunge with control
Maintain knee alignment
Push through the heel to return
Injury benefit:
Reduces knee pain and patellar tendon stress during slowing phases.
Why it helps:
Improves posterior chain strength and pelvic control on one leg- the foundation of safe running transitions.
How to do it:
Balance on one leg
Hinge at the hips
Keep spine neutral
Return with glute engagement
Injury benefit:
Decreases hamstring strain risk and improves braking control.
Why it helps:
Calves absorb and generate force during every transition.
Progression:
Double-leg calf raises
Single-leg calf raises
Slow, eccentric lowering
Injury benefit:
Protects against Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis.
Why it helps:
Teaches controlled slowing instead of abrupt stopping.
How to do it:
Jog lightly
Gradually shorten stride
Maintain upright posture
Smoothly transition to walking
Injury benefit:
Reduces eccentric overload on knees and hips.
Why it helps:
Improves rhythm and reduces overstriding during transitions.
How to do it:
Use a metronome
Practice maintaining cadence as you slow and re-accelerate
Focus on shorter, quicker steps
Injury benefit:
Decreases braking forces and joint stress.
Before run/walk sessions as part of a dynamic warm-up
On non-running days as movement prep
During return-to-run programs following injury
Even 5-10 minutes can make a meaningful difference.
Skipping drills because they feel “too easy”
Performing drills sloppily or too fast
Ignoring single-leg work
Using drills only after pain starts
Drills are preventive tools, not just rehab exercises.
Run/walk programs work best when the body is prepared for the repeated transitions they require. Drills that improve acceleration, deceleration, and single-leg control can dramatically lower injury risk and make run/walk training safer and more effective.
From a sports medicine standpoint, the runners who stay healthy are not the ones who avoid walking- they’re the ones who train for the transitions.
At Fuse Sports Performance and Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, P.C., our professionals specialize in sports medicine services, including run specific evaluations and training to assess your risk for injury and assist in your performance goals.
