Nordic Walking burns 40% more calories!
Staying active outdoors during the COVID-19 virus crisis is easy and very accessible with Nordic walking, which is a fitness activity that combines walking with specially designed poles to engage the upper body muscles. Like cross country skiing, the poles are used to match each step a person takes and it’s an easy, inexpensive workout with remarkable benefits - according to a study by the Cooper Institute, Nordic walking burns up to 18% more calories compared to just plain walking.
It’s better than just walking because it provides an easier cardio workout by increasing the heart rate 5-17 beats per minute more than normal walking without increasing the perceived rate of exertion. It also provides an upper body workout that includes shoulders, arms, chest, and back muscles. And it’s a low impact exercise, so it’s easy on knees and joints. Core muscles are used and Nordic Walking can exceed ordinary walking in that area as well and it can provide enhanced balance (particularly for older people).
A good pair of walking or running shoes, comfortable clothing, and Nordic walking poles will get anyone started.
People of ALL ages and ALL fitness levels can unlock the calorie burning and aerobic benefits of Nordic Walking. The winning combination of improved posture, unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action and the shock absorbing benefits of the poles help many individuals to walk comfortably - even those with balance issues, knee issues or new knees, hip issues or new hips, back issues (including those with rods in their back), weight issues, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's (PD), neuropathy, arthritis, bursitis, scoliosis, lumbar stenosis, fibromyalgia, post polio, osteoporosis, stroke recovery and other limitations to walking.
There are many videos and books about Nordic walking (or ski walking) and the Human Kinetics book produced in 2009 entitled Nordic Walking for Total Fitness by Suzanne Nottingham and Alexandra Jurasin has still got it covered. For those who are unfamiliar, Trekking (hiking with poles) and Nordic walking are two different activities that use very different poles and techniques. It may sound silly, but perhaps "walking is not just walking." The pole angle, weight, grip, and straps are different between the aforementioned modes of walking. The Nordic walking pole is designed to allow your hands to relax in order to target the larger wrapping muscles of the back. But using poles of any kind automatically stimulates your spine and all of the muscles around it, even with inefficient technique. When walking, the key postural muscles of the core and upper body are engaged.
There are Nordic walking technique progressions, fitness exercises, power training, and variations for balance, agility, and flexibility. In the aforementioned book, common technique errors are reviewed as well as uphill and downhill techniques, advanced cardio training, and drills for strength training and calorie burning.
The book also includes fitness assessments, sample workouts for varying levels of interests from first timer to cross training triathletes. There are also suggestions about customizing your program. Training program recommendations are offered for building distance, fluctuating daily intensity, and rest days. If this all sounds a bit like overkill, that's because it is, particularly if you are a recreational fitness enthusiast but you need read only as much of the book as you feel is relevant to your personal situation.
I've been a Nordic Walker for a few years and found many of the claimed attributes for the activity regarding posture and exercise to be true. I've always been in search of a way to decrease the amount of time spent exercising, so I was sold when I heard that using the poles increases caloric burning. The pole clearly provide a boost in uphill walking. Cross country skiers will find it easy to quickly master Nordic walking. As a bonus, after a summer of Nordic walking, I noticed a marked improvement in my cross country ski poling in terms of strength and timing. It seemed that I increased the amount of forward momentum that was attributable to poling and I was able to pole stronger and longer when skiing.
Nordic Walking provides an exercise foundation for anyone, ranging from those just looking for an activity to lose weight to health aficionados interested in taking it to higher levels of fitness.