Nordic Walking
Nordic walking with the use of trekking poles helps give both your lower and upper body a good workout.
What is Nordic Walking?
Nordic walking is a form of physical activity that is characterized by walking with poles that are specifically designed for Nordic walking. These poles are used with each stride to apply force to the ground, and incorporate more of your body into the otherwise predominantly lower body exercise. The sport is enjoyed by thousands of people across the world, of all ages, genders, and levels of physical fitness. Either as an alternative to normal walking, or as a supplementary exercise, Nordic walking is an activity that can be performed in any weather conditions. It incorporates your entire body into your walking, as opposed to ordinary walking which does not incorporate your upper body or core nearly as much. Some people have estimated that Nordic walking incorporates over 20% more of your body’s muscles than ordinary fitness walking does, and this is due to the unique characteristic of Nordic walking; the poles. During Nordic walking you use poles, much like a skier does, as this enables you to walk with more power, and eliminate chronic pain from walking long distances. Even the most seasoned walkers will experience knee, foot, back, and hip pain while walking long distances, although this is drastically reduced when walking with poles, due to the increased work by the rest of your body.
Nordic walking originated as a form of off-season training for competitive skiers, as it allowed the skiers to exercise in a similar fashion to skiing, even when there was no snow on the ground. These cross country skiers noticed drastic benefits in their skiing when they implemented waking with poles into their training, and from here Nordic walking began to develop. Hikers and trekkers soon began walking with poles, and they noticed many of the aforementioned benefits as well.
How Can Nordic Walking Benefit You?
Regardless of how old you are, how physically fit you are, or how much experience you have skiing or fitness walking, Nordic walking will benefit you in many ways. The first and possibly most important benefit is that it can decrease pain experienced while walking. We exercise to get healthier and feel better, so it can be extremely frustrating if exercising is doing the complete opposite, and making you feel pain, and consequently worse. Due to the use of poles in Nordic walking, there is much less weight and force applied to your feet, knees, and hips, so the amount of stress applied is significantly decreased. For older individuals who might already have pain in these areas, this can be a life saver, as it will enable these individuals to exercise without making the pain worse.
In addition to reducing the amount of pain experienced while walking, and decreasing soreness, Nordic walking transforms fitness walking into a whole body workout. During ordinary walking, the upper body is relatively inactive, and the little activity is of very low intensity, as your arms swing naturally with your stride. With the incorporation of Nordic walking poles, however, there is intense stimulation of your upper body muscles including, but not limited to, your chest, triceps, biceps, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, and core muscles. All of these muscles are being used to help propel you with each stride you take. This can lead to immense improvements in upper body strength and muscular development, while still getting the same lower body benefits that are obtained during regular fitness walking.
Due to the increased incorporation of your upper body, Nordic walking also significantly increases your heart rate during activity. This is great for those individuals who are looking to improve cardiovascular fitness, either for general health or for a sport. As we previously mentioned, cross-country skiers use Nordic walking as a form of cross training, as it enables them to keep their heart rate elevated during a safe form of exercise. The elevated heart rate, combined with increased muscle incorporation, can result in a much greater amount of calories being burned compared to ordinary fitness walking. Over time, the increase in heart rate will help improve how efficient your body is at delivering oxygen to its muscles, and will allow you to be able to perform all forms of physical activity at higher intensities for a longer period of time.
Nordic walking also provides benefits relating to balance, which can be ideal for those individuals who find that they having a hard time balancing, or could stand to improve their balance a bit. The increase in balance results from two characteristics of Nordic walking. The use of poles significantly helps balance, as the poles help support your body with each stride. If your knees or back are problems for you, then the poles help take some of the weight off of them, and allow you to balance much better. Over time, the strengthening of your core and spinal muscles will help with balance as well. Even individuals who do not believe that they have issues balancing will notice these benefits, as everyone can improve the strength of their muscles, especially their core muscles. Another useful benefit for older Nordic walkers is that since the poles reduce the amount of weight applied to your body for each stride, there is less stress on your bones.
Different Nordic Walking Styles
There are many different styles of Nordic walking, all of which have unique benefits. Some are more suited for some individuals than others, so just because one style of Nordic walking doesn’t sound like it is what you are looking for in a form of physical activity, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a style out there for you. As we mentioned earlier, individuals of any age, gender, and fitness ability can perform Nordic walking, so there is definitely a style that will suit your needs.
Ski Walking
Ski walking is a style of Nordic walking that is quite similar to the next style that we will mention, which is hill bounding, but there is a unique difference between the two. Instead of allowing both feet to be off the ground during the activity, at least one foot is always on the ground during ski walking. This means that instead of bounding, as in hill bounding, you it is more similar to ordinary walking. Typically ski walking is of lower intensity than some other styles of Nordic walking. Ski walking has been known to put a lot of emphasis on your back muscles, specifically your latissimus dorsi.
Hill Bounding
Hill bounding is a unique form of activity that involves bounding up hills, as the name suggests. If you’re not sure what bounding is, it is a form of stride that has been compared to a “deer going over a fence”, and is a very physically demanding form of exercise. It allows you to feel as if you are almost running, but with extra emphasis on your ankles and quadriceps. Each stride should feature very high knee lifting, and your arm should be straight and swinging.
Hiking
Hiking is a style of walking which is performed in natural environments, such as trails, mountains, or other forms of scenic terrain. Hiking can be performed with poles as it allows you to handle the potentially hazardous or difficult to maneuver. Since the Nordic walking poles can help assist with balance and power, nearly any terrain is conquerable with the assistance of the poles. For example, if there is an obstacle that you cannot get over, due to height or angle, the added power from using Nordic walking poles can help you get over this obstruction. Hiking often requires additional equipment, due to the nature of the activity. For longer hikes, items such as food, water, maps, or compasses may be required to ensure that the activity is performed safely. GPS devices are also used to help navigate unfamiliar areas. The amount of equipment used may vary depending on skill level, familiarity with the area, and the terrain found in the area. For longer hikes, more pieces of safety equipment may be carried, such as a first aid kit, fire starting materials, flashlights, and many more. Due to the potential hazards in long hikes, or hikes in unfamiliar areas, these items are regarded to as essential items by some.
Trekking with Poles
Trekking is much like hiking, although it is typically a much longer journey. Treks may last days, so the ability to walk with comfort and as much power as possible is essential. The Nordic walking poles allow people who are going trekking for long durations of time to avoid injury which might influence the outcome of their trek, or future treks. Treks are often quite difficult, mainly due to the long distance of them, and as a result, extra equipment is often carried.
Trekking Poles and Other Nordic Walking Equipment
Trekking poles are often shorter than the typical poles used for cross-country skiing. It is very important that the proper size pole Is used for Nordic walking, as injury can occur with the use of improperly sized ski poles For example, incorrect sized trekking poles can cause stress to your knees, back, and hips, and feet. While this is detrimental to your health, it also negates some of the aforementioned benefits of Nordic walking, which are decreased pain to those body parts. Trekking poles are often found in one, two, or three-piece variations, in both adjustable and non-adjustable forms. The two and three-piece trekking poles telescope, and lock into position to allow them to be used by multiple people, or to allow you to fine tune your poles and get the exact length that you want. The poles have grips, and some will feature straps, or a simple loop of fabric, much like the straps found on cross-country ski poles, but some will not have any at all. The poles might come with rubber tips, which are often removable. This is so that on hard surfaces, such as a street, you can use the rubber tips, but on rougher, harder to navigate terrain you can remove the rubber tips and navigate the terrain much more effectively. The metal tips are much more suited for terrain such as sand, ice, snow, trails, or loose gravel. The poles are made out of a wide variety of lightweight materials, although the most common trekking poles are made out of carbon fiber, aluminum, or lightweight composites.
Other Nordic walking equipment depends on the environment of your walk. For example, if you are walking at night in an area you are not too familiar with, then it would be better to err on the side of caution and bring a flashlight and map with you. If the terrain is potentially hazardous and difficult to walk on, then bringing first aid materials would also be a safe decision. If you want to focus on the fitness side of things, then some other equipment you can get for Nordic waking includes heart rate monitors and GPS devices. Many GPS devices now include heart rate monitors, and can provide you with useful information that simple heart rate monitors cannot, such as your current pace, your distance travelled, your elevation, or even the amount of calories you have burned. GPS devices can also be used to help navigate your terrain, with or without the use of a map. They can help supplement a map quite nicely, and allow you to spend less time figuring out where you are going, and spend more time doing what you enjoy; Nordic walking!
So by now you should have a good idea of what Nordic walking is, and whether or not it is the right form of physical activity for you. Due to the relatively low cost to get started, it is not a very large investment if for some reason you decide that it isn’t for you. With that being said, given the number of different styles of Nordic walking, it is likely that you will enjoy it, and find the perfect style for you. Many elderly individuals perform Nordic walking, so it is an activity that you can perform for your whole entire life. Not only is it fun, Nordic walking is also an extremely healthy activity to perform. Whether you want to tone up your body, build strength, build endurance and stamina, or simply feel healthier and happier, Nordic walking can help you with that. Since people of all ages and skill levels can perform Nordic walking, it is an amazing activity for families to perform together. Each participant needs a set of poles, but that’s it! You can even purchase one set of adjustable poles, and allow your friends or family to adjust them to their appropriate height, and try Nordic walking out. This way they don’t risk spending money on poles and not enjoying Nordic walking. If your friends and family are like most people who try Nordic walking, then there is a great chance that they will enjoy it, and they will go buy their own set of poles. So if you don’t already have your gear, what are you waiting for? Get out there and enjoy life!