Learning How To Walk In Heels

July 20, 2013 in News by Bernd Ruhl

Written By Catherine Townsend for DailyMail

A former shoe designer has created a workshop that teaches women how to navigate the tricky terrain of New York’s sidewalks, cobblestones and Subway steps while wearing high heels.
Victor Chu claims that his $50 one-hour class at the Legwork School, ‘How To Walk In HIgh Heels New York City’, is the first of its kind.
The New York Post reports that Chu created the group class when he noticed women stumbling in the subways.

At the same time, his business partner, shoe-designer Cece Chin, noticed her professional dancing friends could spend 12 hours in 7-inch spikes without a stumble.
‘Ninety-five percent of women don’t know how to walk in high heels,’ Chu told reporter Doree Lewak. ‘Women think heels are sexy. . .but you see women wear this pained expression and shuffle.’
‘I’ve seen guys giggle at them — it’s not sexy.’

Stilettos have long been a fashion staple for celebrities and career women, but Sex and the City is credited with taking women’s love affair with the high heel to a whole new level and making them a must-have for the mainstream.
Now even heavily pregnant stars like Kim Kardashian don’t want to give them up.

But a long-term heel habit can tale take the idea of suffering for fashion to a whole new level.

According to the American Osteopathic Association, wearing heels two inches and higher can lead to health complications from ingrown toenails to irreversible damage in leg tendons.
That’s what Chu is trying to prevent: HIs class starts off by walking barefoot, and explaining to his students that they should walk from heel to toe, rather than on the balls of their feet.
Then he leads a series of calf and ankle stretches, and follow with a lesson on the three tenets of good posture: engaged abs, relaxed hips and knees, and straight-back shoulders.

Marnie Hampton, a 38-year-old Bronx-based investment banker attending the class, said that high heels are a must for ambitious women.
‘You see the successful women in high heels,’ she told the paper. ‘I’m not going to get ahead in ballet flats.’
Chu reminds the women that, when it comes to elevated soles, practice makes perfect.
He also encourages them to make the transition slowly. in other words, it’s not a good idea to go straight from bedroom slippers to six-inch heels.
And Chu isn’t afraid to cut to the chase. After analyzing the sole, pitch and heel of a shoe, he can quickly tell students if their Louboutins are leading to leg cramps.
Even with good technique, it seems that there are limits.
‘Most women do not want to hear this,’ he adds, ‘but anything above 3 inches is really, really dangerous.’

STEP BY STEP: HOW TO WALK IN HIGH HEELS
Stand tall, as if being pulled by a string from the top of your head
Tighten abs by pulling belly button in toward spine
Walk heel to toe
Sway hips slightly!

Watch the video below!

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