;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=medium&hash=033e49f368d03ed4408c64f9ddf5dcf80d346434cd337aba19d93cefd4366130 "The “Silly Walk” looks stupid – but burns a lot of calories")
So far you only know the “Silly Walk” from the cult series Monty Python? Then it’s high time you incorporated the silly walk into your next walk. We explain how the walking style works.
Monty Python is a classic and never fails to make us laugh – but who would have thought the cult series also offered fitness tips? You can actually burn calories with the “Silly Walk”.
We know that walking helps you lose weight. When we exercise, we burn calories. But instead of walking normally, you should try the “Silly Walk”. Because it consumes a lot of calories, as researchers have found out.
That’s how effective the “Silly Walk” from Monty Python is
The “Ministry of Silly Walks” is a sketch by Monty Python. In it, John Cleese plays a civil servant whose job it is to encourage crazy and silly gaits. He also walks in a strange way, for example stretching one leg in the air, squatting down or making other strange movements.
Viewers laugh at the silly gait, but it actually burns calories – a whopping 2.5 times more calories than regular walking. came to this conclusion
American researchers
. They studied 13 people who performed the silly walk.
2020 study confirms researchers’ findings
Already examined in 2020
two researchers from Dartmouth College
the different steps of the silly walk. They examined both the original gang, which incidentally aired as early as 1970, and those performed at a live performance in Los Angeles in 1980. They found that the silly gait is up to 6.7 times more variable than a normal gait. What that means? There are many more ways to move than with normal walking.
Does the Silly Walk really work?
Humans have evolved to be as efficient as possible – walking actually burns as few calories as possible. Raising your leg or squatting puts more work on your body.
This is of course not always practicable in everyday life. But when it comes to fitness, inefficient exercise can make sense. The subjects in the study, men and women between the ages of 22 and 71, all used 2.5 times more energy than with normal walking.
The American researchers point out that the data collection was not so easy due to the frequent laughter fits of the subjects. The calorie consumption of the so-called “teabag” course can even keep up with that of intensive training.