Health & Wellness: Nordic walking

NORDIC WALKING FOR HEALTH

BY RACHEL GARROD

Being an advocate of all things walking I have recently begun exploring the rather strange looking phenomena of Nordic walking. This form of walking has been around since the early 20th century when skiers explored different methods to maintain fitness during the summer. However, the Nordic walking we see now arose in 1997, when a Finnish sports institute and ski pole company came together to engineer high-performance poles and develop a walking technique that would deliver maximum health and fitness benefits. Nordic walking is a great all-round body workout. Walking with poles combines cardiovascular exercise with a vigorous muscle workout for your shoulders, arms, core, chest and legs. Unlike walking without poles, you activate all the muscles above the waist (utilising about 90 per cent of your musculature as opposed to 50 per cent without poles.) Because of this Nordic walking burns 20 per cent more calories when compared with normal walking. You might also experience elevated heart rates during Nordic walking compared with normal walking but without noticeable additional effort. The lightweight, tall poles and upright posture encourage a rhythmical gait that tends to feel more comfortable than walking without poles, even at a fast pace. It is important to note here that the correct poles are essential to enabling the full health benefits of this sport. Hiking poles that take the support of the body do a different thing entirely. Nordic walking can be done by almost everyone. There is evidence that it is superior, with respect to improvements in functional health, than other exercise in people with heart disease. In a recent study from Ottawa, 130 patients were randomised to either high-intensity interval training, moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training or Nordic walking over a 12-week period. The researchers evaluated functional capacity, quality of life and depression symptoms following the exercise programs. Although all the exercise programs improved quality of life and depression symptoms, Nordic walking demonstrated the most significant improvement in functional capacity, an increase of 19 per cent, compared with 13 per cent for high-intensity interval training and 12 per cent for moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training. Many studies in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease have shown improvements in breathlessness, muscle strength and exercise tolerance after a period of Nordic walking, and studies of Parkinson’s disease have shown improvements in gait and balance after training. Here in Andalucía, we even have our own Nordic walking competitions and Danish-born Kike Villanueva Heimann, who has lived in Marbella since he was two months old, has twice been crowned “king of the walking poles”. In 2023 I will be looking to bring this fantastic health sport to our “paseo” with the loan of poles, instruction and heart rate monitoring. So, if you want to experience Nordic walking, why not get in touch.

Rachel Garrod Respiratory Physiotherapist Ph.D Tel. (34) 699 501 190 rachelgarrod1@gmail.com www.betterbreathingphysio.com