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 The activity burns more calories and works more muscles than walking
alone, but to embark on a public trek that looks like cross-country
skiing without the snow can require a modicum of unselfconscious
courage.
Malin Svensson a Swedish-born athlete, fitness coach and author of
the book “Nordic Walking,” has been teaching it in America since
2002.
“It is something you have to try out to understand,” she explained.
“Also people think it looks a little nerdy. My ex-husband disguised
himself the first time.”
Svensson’s Santa Monica, California-based company, Nordic Body,
folds Nordic walking into group fitness classes that range from
basic training to athletic interval training that incorporates
30-second plyometric, or jumping training.
“In Europe it has become this old people walk,” she said. “They
haven’t embraced the different techniques.”
Nordic walking began in Finland, where it first appeared in 1960’s
physical education classes and later in off-season cross-country
ski-training.
Today Nordic walking is done in around 40 countries and practiced by
an estimated 10 million people worldwide, according to INWA
(International Nordic Walking Federation), the official
international federation promoting it.
In a study published in the American College of Sports Medicine
Health & Fitness Journal in 2009 researchers found that Nordic
walking elicits oxygen consumption values that rival jogging.
Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist at Miramar College in San
Diego, California, said Nordic walking poles come with changeable
tips that adjust to any surface, from dirt trails to asphalt.
“I’ve done it a few times and it’s actually really fun,” said
Matthews. “People burn more calories because the upper body
involvement engages more muscles.”
She said the poles, which sell for about $75, can also help maintain
good body alignment.
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“People have suggested they also help with impact forces,” she said,
citing a 2010 study that showed moderate-to-high intensity Nordic
walking improved functional capacity in people suffering from
fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal
pain.
“I think it’s a way to increase calorie burn without undue stress on
shoulder and arm muscles,” said Matthews, who is not sure why it
hasn’t gained more traction in the United States.
Svensson said wherever there is cross-country skiing in winter,
Nordic walking is easy to introduce.
“If you have no clue what cross country skiing is, you’ll have no
clue about Nordic walking,” she said. “In the United States there
are pockets of activity across the Northeast and Midwest, where
people get the concept.”
Svensson added that it’s a whole body workout that begins at the
doorstep and requires only two walking poles and an open mind.
“Ninety percent of the people who try it fall in love with it,”
Svensson said. “It looks nerdy. But once you try it you’ll never go
back. “
(Editing by Patricia Reaney, Bernard Orr)
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