How to Walk on Ice

Let’s take a lesson this winter from penguins and Canadians: two species of rugged animal that have perfected the ice walk. Have you ever seen a Canadian fall on a surface of ice while not playing hockey, or a penguin fall without the intention of sliding belly down on glacier?

The thing about walking on ice is that you can’t walk with your long-strided natural gait. You have to switch up your movement to shorter shuffling steps that are very close to your center of gravity to prevent your legs from slide from under your center of gravity. The idea is to keep your center of gravity over the leg you are stepping with and committing your body weight to that leg rather than keeping it on the back leg. Make sure to keep a little bend in your knees not tighten them up like you’re walking on stilts. If you look like a penguin shuffling, you’re doing it right.

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