What is Nordic Walking and its benefits for fitness

Now don’t let the name deceive you. Nordic walking is physical activity and actually a sport. It started back in the late 1970’’s when skiers needed an off-season activity to keep in shape.

Nordic walking is just vigorous walking but with specialize poles. Nordic walking uses these specifically designed poles to engage about 90% of the muscles in your body. This is because Nordic walking causes you to apply a force with each stride. Since Nordic walkers are using their entire body, they receive fitness building stimulation not present in normal walking for the chest, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles that may result in significant increases in heart rate at a given pace. Nordic walking is a fun outdoor activity that anyone can do.

Group walks are very common and are a great way to get active with your friends. In some studies it is shown that Nordic walking is as effective as jogging and burns up to 40% more calories then normal walking. Nordic walking is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK and all of Europe. Nordic walking can be as casual as going in the morning to start your day, or entering competitions to see how you stack up against other walkers. Regardless, you will receive the many health benefits of Nordic walking.