Nordic Walking: What is it?

By: Michelle Rotell - | Saturday, April 22, 2006 7:49 PM PDT ∞

Where is the snow? What are you doing? Where are your skis?

These are a few of the comments you get if you go Nordic walking. But you do not need snow or skis to Nordic walk.

Tuula Niskanen of San Diego, born and raised in Finland, took me and my friend Liz for a walk at the Rancho California Ronald Reagan Sports Park. At first, it felt strange to be holding poles while I was walking and I wanted to dig them into the ground and lean forward like I was snowshoeing or skiing. Tuula quickly corrected me. You drag them behind you and push off to gain more force. Liz and I were cracking up because we could not get the rhythm. After a few minutes, I got the hang of it.

"Opposite arm, opposite leg," Tuula kept saying to me.

The poles remain behind you, pointing diagonally backward at all the times. Your feet roll from heel to toe. This will help lengthen your stride and work your glutes and hamstrings more. You may not feel that you are working any harder with poles, but in addition to working your legs, you are working on your arms, shoulders, upper chest and back muscles. This total body workout involves 90 percent of all muscles. The poles also provide additional stability, help reduce stress in knees and other joints and assist in bearing your weight.

Nordic walking is especially good for those who are rehabilitating from orthopedic surgery; people who suffer from back, hip or knee pain or have a joint disease; and people who have some extra weight and want to lose it safely.

Nordic walking is ideal for people who want to get outside and walk but need a more intense workout. Nordic walking allows both beginners and experts to participate together. You can decide how hard you want to work with poles. You can Nordic walk on the beach, at the park or in the hills. The poles are great for incorporating front lunges as you walk. You can hold them to stretch, as well.

Nordic walking is suitable for people of all ages and sizes. Everyone can find a pace and goal that is right for them.

Nordic walking increases your heart rate, oxygen consumption and calorie expenditure without increasing your preventive rate of exertion. Depending on the speed and the person, Nordic walking consumes about 400 calories per hour, whereas regular walking takes about 280 calories per hour.

Tuula recommends taking a class to learn proper technique. You can usually try the poles before you purchase them. Nordic walking is not difficult to learn and usually one lesson is enough to get started. You cannot grab your ski poles and go for a walk. The bottoms are designed to roll on the concrete. The poles have removable tips to walk on a soft surface in order to push off better. Nordic walking poles are lightweight and they come in different sizes and different brands. Exel www.nordicwalker.com and Leki www.leki.com are the leading manufacturers.

Tuula organizes Nordic Walking Clinics on Carlsbad's beach. You can visit Tuula's Web site www.polewalk.com or www.northcountyfitness.com and contact her by e-mail fysiofit@yahoo.com.

Walking techniques


1. Chest up.

2. Do not arch your back.

3. Make heel-toe-heel-toe strides

4. Breathe naturally.

5. Hold your abdominals in tight

6. Squeeze your glutes when climbing a hill.

7. Wear walking or running shoes. Proper footwear makes a huge difference in your performance.

8. Gradually work toward your speed to warm up your muscles and joints.

9. Stretch at the end of your walk.

Stretches


Hold each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds

1. Hamstrings ---- Hold the poles in front of you. Place one foot forward and lean toward the poles. Switch sides.

2. Back ---- Keep the poles in front of you with your feet together. Lean toward the poles, pressing the poles into the ground. Stretch your arms forward and press your tailbone back. Place your weight on the poles.

3. Inner thigh ---- Put one leg to the side. Lean to the opposite side while holding your poles. Switch sides.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.