What is Nordic walking?

I first came across Nordic walking back in my days as a Countryside Ranger. The ‘green health’ initiative was just starting and my employer suggested that I go to a workshop to learn to deliver Nordic walking sessions. ‘Nordic walking’, I said, ‘that sounds like a load of anoraks and bobble hats! Not my scene thank you very much’ (you have to remember that I was in my mid-20’s and clearly too cool for Nordic walking school. Nowadays, I love a cosy bobble hat!). Coerced by my boss and my love of fitness, I decided it might be worth a try. Thankfully, I had an amazing instructor. With her Nordic walking know-how, Jackie coached me through the proper Nordic walking technique and within minutes I could feel the muscles in my upper body spring into action and I was hooked! I knew right then that I had to share this with the world (or at least the folk in my local area) and that Nordic walking was about to become a very large part of my life.

What's the difference between walking and Nordic walking?

Muscle recruitment

What I first noticed and the thing for me that sets Nordic walking apart from regular walking was muscle recruitment! Now don’t get me wrong, I love regular walking and believe me I can turn that into an effective workout all-the-same, but, with the Nordic walking poles, over 90% of the muscles in your body are recruited.¹ Thanks to the glove-like strap, you are able to push down into the strap and this recruits the large muscles of your back, shoulders and triceps. With the poles angled and the tips positioned behind your body throughout the entire walk, that same downward force propels you forwards encouraging a longer stride and more muscle activation of your hips, legs and feet.

Improved cardiovascular health

Now this might sound like a lot of effort but Nordic walking poles actually make walking feel easier allowing you to get your heart rate up and reap the cardiovascular benefits – I have been known to raise eyebrows by the sweat dripping from my brow during Nordic walking! The increased muscle recruitment along with the longer stride and increased propulsion can increase exercise capacity, lower blood pressure, improve oxygen intake and lead to a lower risk of future heart troubles.²

Nordic walking as a tool for rehabilitation

So that’s all great if you’re looking to up your fitness game by increasing the intensity of your walks but what if you’re just starting out on your fitness journey and consider yourself to be somewhat ‘unfit’? What if you’re post surgery, recovering from illness, have a neurological condition, a bone or joint problem or some other physical barrier? Well, this is where I believe that Nordic walking REALLY excels!

Although the origins of Nordic walking are very much athletic, the technique started to become more mainstream as it gained popularity and was eventually picked up as a rehabilitation tool by physiotherapists. Using a strapless design to reduce the chance of injury should a fall occur, these poles are extremely effective in assisting balance; improving posture; increasing stride (aka gait) length; reducing gait width; encouraging the natural arm swing and improving the overall fluidity of walking. Through the ledged handle, downward pressure is applied, effectively ‘lifting’ you up by recruiting your upper body muscles and reducing the weight and pressure in your lower limbs.

During my many years as a Nordic walking instructor, my clients have found Nordic walking to be effective for a multitude of issues including: reducing knee pain; improving posture, balance and coordination; walking faster; walking further and strengthening their upper body. One client praised the Nordic walking technique for aiding her in being able to push herself out of the bath thanks to a stronger back and triceps. From a quality of life perspective, such seemingly insignificant achievements are huge!

Better stability

When people feel that they are likely to fall they understandably become tense, rigid and will walk tentatively or shuffle to try and remain balanced. This can have devastating consequences to long term body function and overall health. The use of Nordic walking poles offers a sense of security to people who are at a greater risk of falling. With the support of the poles, the stride length will be longer and there will be more tendency to use the foot through a fuller range of motion, switching on under-active muscles, ultimately leading to happier joints further up the chain.

Improved posture

With our predominantly sedentary lifestyles where sitting for 12 hours a day is not uncommon, our posture can suffer greatly. As we repetitively hunch over a computer or grasp a steering wheel, the muscles in the back of our body switch off and become under-active whilst the muscles in the front become tight and over-worked. Hunched backs, forward protruding heads and tilted pelvises are all too common but the Nordic walking technique helps us to push ourselves straight and pull our shoulders back, lengthening, activating and strengthening the necessary muscles required for good posture. And when we have good posture this can help prevent pain, help improve our lung function and much more besides.

Improved coordination

I used to tell my clients that Nordic walking was just an enhancement of their natural arm swing, until one day I noticed that not everyone has an arm swing when they walk. I researched and found that this could be due to a number of factors including: shoulder pain, lack of mobility of the spine, pelvic dysfunction, stroke recovery and even an early indication of Parkinsons. The Nordic walking poles encourage contralateral movement (which simply means as the left arm or leg swings forwards the right one swings back), which facilitates healthier movement and can help retrain neurological circuits in the brain.^{3, 4}. One particular client, I’ll call her D, had suffered a stroke and through our weekly Nordic walks together by the beach, she managed to quickly progress from a shuffling gait to a lovely roll through the foot.

Stronger bones

It’s fairly well known that walking increases bone density on load bearing bones. In simple terms, the action of the striking of the heel against the ground, under the force of gravity, causes microtrauma to the bone, thereby stimulating it to grow back stronger. Nordic walking goes one better by creating this same stimulation in the upper limbs. This makes Nordic walking a particularly beneficial exercise for people with degenerative bone conditions such osteoporosis.^{5, 6}

How to start Nordic Walking

As you’ll now be starting to understand, Nordic walking is accessible to most people, of course you need the poles but beyond that it’s fairly easy to get going. However, there is a bit of a learning curve so here are some tips on how to start Nordic walking:

From standing and with your hand in the straps or around the handles, allow your arms to rest by your sides. This will bring the poles to an approximate 45^o angle behind you and this is where they will remain for the duration of the walk.

Start walking and allow the tips of the poles to ‘drag’ along behind you, be aware of them gently bumping along the ground and don’t be tempted to lift them.

With your arms relaxed and swinging from the shoulder, keep a relaxed grip with all fingers cupped around the handle.

In the drag, you’re likely to be feeling some resistance at the tip of the pole and perhaps in the strap or handle as your arm comes back towards your body, you’ll now push gently into that feeling in order to get some forward propulsion. It can be helpful to imagine yourself on skis on the snow, how would you make yourself move forwards?

From here you will quickly transition into what I like to call the ‘plant and lift’, where the poles will start to clear the ground as you swing your arm forwards. Don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately, the brain has to take time to learn this new way of moving. Practise regularly; it will come.

Once you are reasonably comfortable with the action of the poles, try to have an awareness of your feet. Ideally you will want to land on your heel, roll through the full length of your foot and push off of your toes. This improved motion at the foot has a knock-on effect up the kinetic chain leading to better function of the entire body!

How to improve your Nordic walking technique

So now you have the Nordic walking basics dialed in but you may still come across issues like one arm appearing weaker than the other or feeling that the poles are still dragging more than you’d like. All normal, all fixable and there are specific techniques that can be used to resolve these. I recommend working with a qualified instructor when starting out. In the UK you can find instructors through Nordic Walking UK or British Nordic Walking or internationally through the International Nordic Walking Federation.

Contact me

If you would like to learn more about how to get started with Nordic walking, please feel free to contact me.

In the meantime I’m off for a walk…now, where did I put my bobble hat…

Disclaimer

This blog is intended to help inform. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any health conditions. Please consult your Doctor before trying Nordic Walking if you have any health concerns.