App or some other trick to set walking pace?

December 23, 2024 7:25 PM

Two people like to walk together, but their natural pace differs. The faster person would like to go at the pace of the slower person. But the slower person feels pressured to go faster. Is there an app or some other trick that we could use to clearly set the pace?
posted by NotLost to Health & Fitness (15 answers total)

The faster person needs to consciously walk slower than the slower person, until the slower person tells them to pick up the pace already.
posted by moosetracks at 7:27 PM on December 23 [2 favorites]

The above is really the only way to do it.
posted by canine epigram at 7:51 PM on December 23

Slower friend finds a few songs at the tempo they walk at. Creates a "this is the pace I walk" playlist. Sends the playlist to the quicker friend.

Quicker friend can, on their own time, get a feel for the pace slower friend walks at, and then have that as a subconscious reminder when they're walking together.

When quicker friend accelerates, slower friend can then say "hey man, Kraftwerk?" and clue the quicker friend back into the achievable pace without calling any direct attention to a personal level of speed.

It can also be useful to literally look at the lengths of each other's legs and consider that. 3" of height difference is 1 foot distance faster with every left right gait, even if yall's thighs are churning at the same rate.
posted by phunniemee at 8:09 PM on December 23 [5 favorites]

It can also be useful to literally look at the lengths of each other's legs and consider that.

This can play a pretty big part - a hiking group I was in had everyone take 100 steps to see where they ended up and there was a really wide difference between the tallest and shortest people, like over 50 feet.
posted by LionIndex at 8:17 PM on December 23 [5 favorites]

As above for two people.

And also, side note (for larger groups): if walking long distances over hours+, if the faster people stop and take a break waiting for the slower members of the group to catch up.. please let the slower group have a decent rest themselves, before setting off again as a group.
And then keep those people at the front of the group thereafter leading the pace.
posted by many-things at 8:23 PM on December 23 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: The slower person actually is taller and has longer legs.
posted by NotLost at 8:29 PM on December 23

The slower person actually is taller and has longer legs.

This makes total sense. Short people are used to scurrying to keep up.
posted by kate4914 at 8:55 PM on December 23 [4 favorites]

Would said people be comfortable holding hands? That helped me a lot in one case.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:01 PM on December 23 [3 favorites]

My mother had a walking partner who was materially faster and wanted company without sacrificing their workout/walkabout. My mother would walk at her pace. The faster walker would walk at their pace, but not in a straight line. They would walk a serpentine route sort of next to my mom. This was on suburban streets so there was plenty of room for her to weave to the other side of the street and back while my mother walked direct ahead. I may not be describing it well, but it worked. It was like a sine or cosine line next to a straight line. They could maintain a conversation, but they were not next to each other at all times.

The other thing that comes to mind is the military. Regardless of size or natural stride, they all march to the same pace. Maybe if the slower person would call cadence they could get in sync. If you call cadednce or "Leffft, righhht, leffft, righht for a while, it will become natural to both and they can stop calling. It also may require some compromise as to meeting somewhere between the two paces.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:02 PM on December 23 [2 favorites]

To keep a steady pace, I used to powerwalk with a portable metronome. It was lightweight, the size of a pack of cigarettes and unobtrusive. The beats were infinitely variable by spinning the dial.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:51 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]

There are all kinds of technicalities which can be considered when looking at what a leisurely/moderate/brisk/walk should be - age, terrain,fitness,etc. But if I was aiming for a number of paces per minute to agree on would be in a group: I would start at 100 - have somebody play that on their phone or choose a playlist set at that pace.
posted by rongorongo at 4:03 AM on December 24

Try walking on a track or path with few other distractions. A track in particular will highlight when someone is pulling ahead.

I don’t think tempo will do it, I take about 10% more steps when walking with a friend ~a foot taller. It also sounds counter to enjoying walking together. Converse more, so you have a cue that you’re getting separated?

And yeah, just be considerate and make sure the slower person feels allowed to ask to slow down as often as needed.
posted by momus_window at 6:46 AM on December 24

Hold hands
posted by TDIpod at 7:04 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]

Sorry to give another non-app answer, but I see this as an emotional problem for slower person to solve for themselves. The fast person wants to match the slow person, but is doing it imperfectly. They're not pressuring anyone by accidentally walking at their natural pace. As the slow person in this scenario I've had to realize that the pressure is coming from within, and I can drop the rope. When I see my partner prance ahead, I squash my instinct to scurry and remind myself that I'm an adult who walks by themselves all the time, so there's no emergency if I'm "left behind". It's freeing!

Seeing the slower person behind them will also remind the fast person to slow down.
posted by umwelt at 8:29 AM on December 24 [6 favorites]

With my walking group we often walk on the track which can help spread out pace difference by putting some people on the outside, others on the inside.

I'm a much faster walker than most of the people in my family b/c it's my main form of exercise and so when we're together I often get frustrated that I'm not walking fast enough to get my heart rate up. My solution as the faster pace person was to purchase a weighted vest, this makes the walk more challenging for me and I can more enjoy the time with my slower companion.
posted by snowymorninblues at 12:35 PM on December 24