Can you lose weight with Nordic Walking?
Absolutely! In general any exercise helps losing weight but why Nordic Walking is so special?
Nordic walking can be done by anybody, anywhere and anytime.
If you are senior it will help you to regain balance, fix your posture and prevent falling adding security to your walking. If you feel heavily it will add support to your knees, hips and joins.
It is truly universal exercise, walking is the most natural form of activity but when using Nordic Walking poles you are involving 90% of the muscles and burn up to 40% of calories more than just walking. If Nordic Waling is done properly it can be more effective than running because it is a total body workout. Keep in mind that Nordic Walking was first invented for cross country skiers, for athletes to maintain the movement and fitness level, therefore it must be good for the rest of us!
Another good aspect of Nordic Walking is the ability to control the intensity of the exercise by escalating the speed, extending your arms and by increasing the length of the poles. The recommendation is to begin with the proper length i.e. your elbow must form 90° angle when placing your poles in front of you, perpendicular to the ground.
After several days of exercising, when Nordic Walking becomes easy and natural, increase the length of the poles by few (1-2) inches.
There are other added benefits including the following:
· Improved respiratory system
· Increased calorie intake
· Muscle buildup to support bones
· Regular Nordic Walking can prevent Type Two Diabetes and heart problems
Other benefits include:
· Simplicity of learning
· Portability, you can travel with the poles and exercise practically anywhere including mountains, beaches, parks, trails and cities.
· Affordability, you can begin without spending fortune, good Nordic Walking poles can be purchased under 50.00$
· Year round activity, including winter when the poles are actually adding security when walking
· Social aspect, perhaps one of the most important aspects of our overall wellbeing. You can do Nordic Walking with friends and family; it’s more fun and helps to stay motivated.
One thing to remember; in order to see the results you have to integrate Nordic Walking into your life style and do it regularly. See if you can make it into your daily routine. Try going small shopping on foot, when commuting try to get out of the bus/metro earlier and walk the remaining distance. Meet your friends for a walk in the park, it will benefit both of you, you can do all the talking, have fun and excursive at the same time. Take the poles on your vacation, walks on the beach or camping are perfect opportunities. Most important: HAVE FUN! It’s a life lasting and enjoyable activity!
Basic Technique and Instructions for Nordic Walking
Try the Nordic walking poles if you want to take your fitness to another level no matter how old or young you are!. In Europe people are crazy about it. All you need to do get your walking shoes and grab a couple of Nordic Walking Poles and take to the trails, you ready to go, hmm maybe you should see the short movie below first …
Nordic Walking in Switzerland!
Now that spring is upon us, time to shake off the winter blues and join in with a relatively new craze for all ages that has been sweeping the country -- Nordic walking. (swissinfo, Michele Andina)
The Nordic Walking
Nordic walking combines simplicity and accessibility of walking with simultaneous core and upper body conditioning similar to Nordic skiing. The result is a full-body walking workout that can burn significantly more calories without a change in perceived exertion or having to walk faster, due to the incorporation of many large core and other upper-body muscles which comprise more than 90% of the body’s total muscle mass and do work against resistance with each stride. Normal walking” utilizes only 70% of muscle mass with full impact on the joints of the legs and feet.
Nordic walking produces up to a 46% increase in energy consumption compared to walking without poles. It can also increase upper body muscle endurance by 38% in just twelve weeks.
