What is Nordic walking?
Getting a full body workout quickly and easily is
the goal of men and women across the country. Simply getting out and walking
is a healthy way to improve your overall fitness, and if there was a way to
get regular walking to involve more of your body (thus improving heart rate,
fitness and weight loss), millions of people across the globe would look to
this kind of activity to improve their overall health and wellness.
Enter Nordic Walking
Originally known as “ski walking,” Nordic Walking
is a form of exercise where walking poles are used in a similar manner to
cross country skiing, except on dry ground during all parts of the year.
Over 10 million people have taken up Nordic walking as a form of
year-round exercise, especially in
How Does it Work?
Nordic walking is fairly simple. Using specialized
walking poles, you go to an area that you would normally walk (such as a
sidewalk or flat walkway) and use the poles to support your weight, allowing
you to walk more quickly for longer. The poles also move the energy from
your feet and legs and disperse it around your body, giving you more of a
full body workout as your arms, shoulders and torso are all used with each
movement.
Benefits of Nordic Walking
·
Increased energy consumption with each
step.
·
Reduced stress on the knees and joints
for longer walking.
·
Improved full body endurance (rather
than just leg endurance).
·
Extra balance for those that struggle
to maintain their stability.
·
Greater heart rate for any given
walking pace.
·
Burns more calories across your body.
·
Less joint discomfort and additional
support with hills.
Walking poles make long distance walking and
exercising considerably easier, supporting your body as you try to improve
your overall fitness. However, despite making walking easier, it still
disperses that energy around your body, so calorie burning isn’t decreased.
Since you will be experiencing less joint discomfort over the course of your
walk, you will be able to walk for longer, allowing you to more easily reach
your fitness goals.
The Growth of Nordic Walking
Nordic walking is a relatively new form of
exercise, only growing in popularity for the last 20 years. Though it is
uncommon in some areas (such as the
Nordic walking may take some time to get used to,
but if you are looking for a full body exercise that you can do year round
without adding excess stress on your joints, ski walking has shown itself to
be an effective exercise method, and one that has worked for millions of
other individuals that have given in a shot. Anyone can learn it and it is
used by individuals of all ages and all shapes and sizes.
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