Just recently had an opportunity to read an article and to view a video by a U.S. reporter, who was trying to give Nordic walking a go.

I will not give the name of the journalist, nor of the media outlet, but to paraphrase the reporter's experience: "Nordic walking was not what I was told to expect".

After having watched the unfortunate journalist's video and seeing her struggling with the obviously unfamiliar poles, while gripping the handles with all of her might, I came to the unavoidable conclusion that she has never been taught to Nordic walk properly.

This is not meant as criticism, but simply as a statement of fact. Just take a look at the photo, where the journalist's features have been covered up.

First of all: she seems to be placing the tips of her too-long poles unnecessarily forward, instead of letting them naturally fall well behind her heels, second: her arms are hopelessly bent, instead of being fairly straight (but not rigid) and third: she is gripping the handles hard, instead of just caressing them with her fingers and letting the straps do the work.

There is a simple solution to all of the above problems. Just read on!

It would have been a much more pleasant experience for all concerned and I am quite confident that after grasping the basic technique our intrepid journalist would not sound as disappointed as she did in her report.

That said: Don't forget the absolutely free introductory Nordic walking demos, which we hold several times per year in Northern Virginia.

Learning to Nordic walk is not really that hard. It is simply a matter of starting with the basics, learning to perform the relatively simple and natural movements properly and developing the right kind of muscle memory. Neither takes very much time and learning to Nordic walk properly is considerably more rewarding and beneficial than unnecessarily struggling, without the benefit of correct instruction.

Here's a good example of proper instruction

Hope to see you at the demos !