Nordic Walking – Benefits, Pleasures and Advantages


Nordic Walking U.S.
on Google+

Marek Zalewski (l) and Gottfried Kürmer Quite simply, Nordic Walking could be described as WALKING PLUS, or even EXTREME WALKING.

Unlike walking, or even running, Nordic Walking, which is walking with specially designed poles provides you with a whole-body exercise – lower body, upper body, plus a great aerobic workout – comparable to Nordic, or cross-country skiing.

Nordic Walking, or pole walking is really taking off in Europe. Millions are participating in this great, whole-body exercise. More and more people in the U.S. are also discovering it and wondering why they haven’t started Nordic Walking before.

In most countries the English name – Nordic Walking – has been adopted and kept, but the Swedes have dubbed it stavgång, in Norway and Denmark it is stavgang, and to the Estonians it is kepikönd.

If you already walk, power walk, hike, run, or cycle, Nordic Walking will enhance your fitness level. In addition, walking with poles is a lot more interesting and engrossing than plain walking.

If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email
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What is this all About?

http://www.nordicwalkingus.com/what-is-this-all_about/Nordic Walking is the best and most enjoyable whole-body exercise, short of cross country skiing, and it isn’t just seasonal, like the latter, but a year-round activity.  Suitable for all ages and fitness levels – much better and more fun than spinning an elliptical trainer. It simply consists of walking with a pair of specially designed poles.
Here you will find training and equipment information, the best Nordic Walking poles available, plus description of great Nordic Walking destinations not only in the Mid-Atlantic region, but in many other places as well.
Cross country skiing is prominently featured as well.
By all means do follow my own adventures in ‘My Nordic Walking Diary’.

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My Nordic Walking Diary, Part II

DiaryGreat Falls, VirginiaThe date above reflects the last update of the diary:

Results, so far – with no dieting, after 6,251.5 miles – lost some weight and body fat and in general am staying in great shape due to regular Nordic Walking.

This diary was started on May 16, 2005, as a way to keep track of my walks both publicly and for my own, private reference. Just think what kind of results YOU could achieve with Nordic Walking and a rational diet!I have also gotten faster, as proven by steadily tumbling personal records.

My Nordic Walking Diary, Part I

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Walking for Cancer Patients

By Liz Davies

In the past, oncologists instructed their patients to take it easy following a diagnosis of cancer as well as during cancer treatment. Over the past few years, cancer researchers and physicians have both concluded that physical activity is actually beneficial and important to cancer patients before, during and after treatment. Many type of aerobic and non-aerobic exercise can be incorporated to provide physical and mental benefits. Walking is a popular form of exercise because it’s gentle and is a form of aerobic exercise most people can participate in. Those who walk for a total of 30 minutes per day, five days per week can expect to reap some of these benefits. Continue reading

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Grip Holding Conundrum

Over the years I have had numerous inquiries regarding the proper holding of Nordic Walking pole grips. Some people have complained that NOT holding the grips at all makes them lose control of the poles, especially in windy conditions. I couldn’t agree more.

Others don’t seem to be able to ween themselves from constantly holding the grips, just as it is usually done with trekking/hiking poles.

Here is a simple explanation of what is generally considered to be an optimal technique for using poles equipped with straps: Continue reading

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Nordic Walking in the Most Walked City – Venice

Our friend Alberto, from nordicwalkinvenice.com has sent us a very tempting invitation. I for one, will try my darnedest to attend this event. I love Venice, having been there a couple of times in the past and would absolutely love to take part in this. Hopefully, some of you will find a way to get there as well.

Here’s Alberto Gorini’s invitation:

Dear all,
on September 18 2011 the nordicwalkinvenice event will take place: non-competitive Nordic Walking in the town of Venice, organized by the sports club SPES Mestre -Canoe Section.
On Saturday Sept 17 a “Nordic Walking Open Day” will take place at Parco San Giuliano in Mestre, where instructors of three national nordic walking federations (ANI – ANWI – Italian School) will show their techniques and will accompany the most experts along the park paths. Continue reading

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Water Bottles and Health

SIGG water bottleRe-posting closer to the top, as this is an important issue for everybody.

There has been a lot of discussion about the safety of different kinds of plastic water bottles and other containers.

Even though the plastics industry has published a great many disclaimers, and even if I believed all of them, there is still the indisputable fact that water from refillable (even super-clean) plastic water bottles does have a “funny” taste. As a matter of fact all kinds of harmful chemical are used in the production of plastic bottles. Many of them leach out and poison our bodies and billions of bottles get thrown out every day.

Considering that, I few years ago I decided to get a water filter and a few 3/4-liter SIGG aluminium water bottles. They are almost indestructible and coated inside with an impervious – to almost anything coating, which does not leach chemicals. Yes, they are more expensive than plastic, but will also last for decades. Having a dented, but perfectly functional water bottle is a badge of honor of sorts, I guess…

Non-toxic, baked-on inner lining is certified by an independent institute (Nehring, Germany) and exceeds FDA requirements. Water-based, not petroleum (plastic).

Although SIGG is not a sponsor of this website, I am a firm believer in their products.

In addition to the health reasons against using plastic containers, every year about 1.5 million tons of plastic go into manufacturing water bottles for the global market, using processes that release toxics such as nickel, ethyl benzene, ethylene oxide and benzene.

In the U.S. alone 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed in making the bottles. Add to this the transportation, distribution and…price and you have a perfect reason to stop buying water in those stupid, little, plastic bottles. Continue reading

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A Good, Straightforward Nordic Walking Instructional Video

It isn’t rocket science, but doing it properly provides the greatest benefits.This story was created and posted through Storify, mainly as an experiment. It appears to work. I cannot of course take credit for the video, but would like to commend the creators. It has been on YouTube for a while now and it does provide a very good overview of basic instruction.

powered by Storify

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