NORDIC WALKING - TAKE THE EXTRA
STEP TOWARD FITNESS
written by Bill
Connor, University of Montana - Western
What
is Nordic
Walking? Nordic walking is an easy to do activity that
has a multitude of health related fitness benefits. It is
simply walking with poles. It is closely related to Nordic
skiing, which we know is an excellent aerobic activity. Its
historical roots, which go back to early twentieth century
Scandinavia, lie in off season training for competitive Nordic
skiers. More recently, it has become a popular fitness activity
for all ages, particularly in Europe. It is truly a lifetime
activity.
Benefits of Nordic Walking
Based on solid research as summarized
by Downer (Downer, 2006), "Nordic walking has been shown
to provide many health and fitness benefits. This unique and
increasingly popular form of exercise has many advantages,
both for healthy and fit individuals who want to increase
their workouts and gain additional cardiovascular benefits,
as well as for those with medical conditions that restrict
them from jogging or running."
Briefly, walking with poles adds physiological
stress to regular walking in both fit and less fit individuals.
Walking with poles improves mainly aerobic fitness and muscular
endurance. Specifically Nordic walking is effective in increasing
cardiovascular functionality, managing weight, and providing
upper body resistances which developmentally stresses muscles
and bones which can aid in preventing osteoporosis. Nordic
walking also decreases neck-shoulder area disabilities and
pain, promotes mechanically sound walking mechanics, and can
even have positive effects on mood state (how do you walk
when you are happy?) Interesting stuff!
The Cooper Institute in Texas compared
Nordic walking with regular walking (Church, 2002). The caloric
expenditure and oxygen consumption increase on an average
of 20%, and heart rate increases about 10 beats per minute
when using the Nordic walking poles. Some individuals increased
as much as 46% in oxygen consumption and just about the same
in caloric expenditure.
The interesting thing is that even
through the body works harder using the poles, the RPE (rated
perceived exertion) was the same walking with or without poles.
Increased caloric expenditure with no corresponding increase
in perceived exertion may have important public health applications.
Individuals who poled more intensely had higher oxygen consumption.
There is potential for considerably more or less benefit depending
on the selection of poling intensity. This may have particular
significance for individuals who need to increase caloric
expenditure but have walking speed limitations.
While Nordic walking in a mall, I
was recently approached by a physical therapist about the
potential of Nordic walking for the elderly populations' physical
activity, and the devastating long term postural orthopedic
effects of "walkers." I believe the use of Nordic
walking poles is particularly promising for the elderly population,
as the poles provide the stability that can promote physical
activity among older individuals with gait, orthopedic and
balance concerns.
Equipment
Nordic walking poles are manufactured
by a variety of distributors. The retail cost can range from
approximately twenty dollars to as high as two hundred dollars.
For starters, a set of used ski poles can be modified and
utilized. Basically, you get what you pay for in quality,
durability and ease of use. Poles can be of fixed length or
can be adjustable. There are obvious durability advantages
to each type; however, in a setting where the poles are used
by multiple populations, adjustable poles eliminate the sizing
issue. Pole length should be just short of elbow height when
the pole is gripped and planted vertically.
Straps vary in quality and functionality
from basic ski straps to far more effective, specialized arrangements
which cradle the hand. Straps are important as the grip on
the pole is released during a good part of the poling movement
allowing circulation to occur. A variety of replaceable "feet"
are available to aid in traction on varied surfaces. Just
like automobile tires, they do wear out.
Getting Started
Let's get started. Here is a teaching
progression that has proved to be effective for introducing
Nordic Walking.
Adjust or select a pole so that when it is held upright
the forearm angles just slightly downward from parallel
with the ground. With the Nordic walking poles strapped
on, the fingers loose (don't squeeze the pole grips), the
arms relaxed and down at your side and the poles angled
back – start walking without moving your arms. Let
them hang straight down at your side. Let the pole tips
drag along the ground.
Now, start to gradually swing
your arms just like you would while casually walking. Emphasize
basic walking technique using cues such as: arm swing, opposition,
erect posture, heel/toe technique and knee lock. Continue
to let the pole tips drag. Keep the fingers loose.
Next, with poles angled back,
start to push back on the poles - gripping then gradually
releasing your grip after the plant. Let your hands push
down through the straps to help you push off the ground
and propel yourself along. Work for full extension of the
elbow and adjust gait accordingly. Continue to drag the
pole tips on recovery to the plant position just ahead of
the lead heel. You should feel the developmental stress
being applied to the shoulder girdle and arms.
Finally, continue to keep your
fingers relaxed by not squeezing the poles after planting,
and stop dragging the rubber tips on the ground. The lead
pole tip never goes further ahead than the opposing lead
foot's heel and the poles are angled slightly back. This
is a crucial teaching point! The motion isn't out in front,
except for balance when negotiating challenging terrain
or a steep downhill. Intensity can be added by punching
the pole into the ground and pushing harder through the
movement as the elbow extends and/or by walking up hills.
Some final thoughts
A traditional walking program requires supplemental upper
body work in a well rounded fitness program. Nordic walking
adds an upper body dimension. Physiological response is compounded.
As mentioned, Nordic walking is extremely popular in Europe
but needs to be promoted in North America. It meets the criteria
for lifetime physical activity, which include (Pangrazi, 2010):
1) potential for participating at varied intensities 2) can
be done alone or with others 3) does not require extensive
amounts of equipment 4) does not require a membership 5) does
not require a specific playing field or surface.
In my experience, the activity is well received by high school,
college students and adults. They are pleasantly surprised
by the physiological response that this activity provides,
as I was the first time I tried it. The activity is developmentally
appropriate for elementary children after mature walking form
is developed and mastered, and it gives an added dimension
to school walking programs including those using pedometers.
It can be an activity of choice for overweight students starting
at the upper elementary and secondary level (Pangrazi, 2010).
Part of the attraction of walking, and Nordic walking, is
in the variety of interesting locations it can be practiced
in, and the potential for collaboration with other academic
areas in the school setting exists. Well grounded walking
programs are readily available for populations ranging from
elementary to mature populations (Pangrazi, 2010, www.walk4life.com,
www.thewalkingsite.com),
and the results can certainly be enhanced through the use
of Nordic walking poles.
As the perceived exertion of the activity is no greater than
regular walking, durations of activity are similar. The benefits,
however, are greatly enhanced. There are numerous outstanding
free online materials which you can use to gain further information
on this interesting topic (www.leki.com,
www.nordicwalking.co.uk,
www.skiwalking.com).
If you give Nordic Walking a try, you will probably be approached
by passer-bys with some smiles and interesting queries like
"Did you forget your skis?," or "Where's the
snow?" Perhaps you can use this opportunity to initiate
a conversation about the benefits of this remarkable, easy
to do, inexpensive, readily accessible activity. Try it –
you will like it! Pass it on!
BIO:
Bill Connor earned his B.S. in Physical Education from UW
– La Crosse and holds M.S. and ED. D degrees from the
University of Northern Colorado. His fifty year career has
taken him from inner city K-12 environments in Los Angeles
to Indiana University. For many years he held dual roles in
college and university settings coaching a variety of sports
while being involved with or leading PETE programs across
the country. More recently, he led the PETE program at Northern
Michigan University. wconnor121@hotmail.com
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