Let’s meet on June 11 to Nordic walk!

It’s June, so it’s time to swoon over Nordic walking! Come out for some Nordic walking, a fun and effective way to exercise. It’s also a great social activity because you can walk with other people and enjoy their company.

Dress for the weather and sun and bring some water. I'll bring the Nordic walking poles so you can burn calories, tone muscle, and improve overall health.

This will be a free session. For more information about Nordic walking, check out the Nordic Walking Guy blog and the Facebook page.

Are you a beginner and never Nordic walked? Don't worry. I'll take time to teach the technique so you can get started.

Instructor: Leroy Hurt, Associate Dean at The University of Alabama and a certified Nordic walking instructor

When: Saturday, June 11, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

Location: Let's meet at the trailhead of Sokol Park. Directions:

·         North on Watermelon Road.

o    Right on Old Colony Road.

o    Left at the entrance to Sokol Park.

o    Park at the trailhead, an open shelter.

·         South on Watermelon Road

o    Left on Old Colony Road.

o    Left at the entrance to Sokol Park.

o    Park at the trailhead, an open shelter.

Here's a map of where we'll meet.

Sunday sounds: Try this collection if you like to be plugged in during your Nordic walk.

Popularity of Nordic walking

These statistics about Nordic walking in Germany will give you an idea of what's possible here in the US. Check out this general statistic: "In 2013, around 1.34 million people in Germany aged 14 years or older went walking, or Nordic walking, in their spare time several times a week."

Let's do the math:

• Population of Germany in 2013: 80.62 million. That means there was 1 Nordic walker for every 60 people.

• Population of US in 2013: 316.5 million. At the same rates as Germany, there would have been over 5 million Nordic walkers in the US.

How many were really in the US? One estimate I found places 2 million Nordic walkers in the US. Let's assume that's a correct estimate based on rigorous surveys. That's not too much more than Germany, which has one-fourth the population of the US. In other words, there is much to be done in spreading the word.

Interesting facts about walking

I found some interesting comparisons about frequency and speed when people walk. The research took place on 2 footbridges and on 2 shopping floors, and the participants were walking naturally. The observations covered walking frequency, velocity, and stride length.

Observations:

• Average frequency of approximately 2 steps per second and a velocity between 4 and 5 feet per second on the shopping floors.
• On the footbridges, an average frequency of just under 2 steps per second and a velocity closer to 4 feet per second.
• The step-length on the shopping floors and the footbridges are almost the same with average values of 2 1/2 feet for men and just over 2 feet for women.

• Men walked with a higher velocity than the women.

• Women walked with higher frequency than men.

• There is a linear relationship between walking velocity and frequency which is different for men and women.

One way this helps us in Nordic walking is to make us aware that different people have different walking characteristics. That means when walking in a group, you want to take those characteristics into account so you don't leave people behind.

Think about it. What are some ways to do that with a group of people?

Comparing Nordic walking with conventional walking and band-based resistance exercises

An interesting research article on the effects of the different kinds of exercises. This one compared Nordic walking with regular walking and band-based exercises. There was a control group that didn't do anything so the researchers could see just how much difference exercising made.

Method:

• The Nordic walking and regular walking groups exercised 3 days per week.
• The resistance band group worked out 2 days per week.
• Each exercise period  was 30-40 minutes, not counting warm-up and cool down.
• Dimensions measured:
• Strength.
• Cardio-respiratory.
• Flexibility.
• Balance.

Results:

• Upper body strength improvement:
• Resistance band: 22.3%
• Nordic walking: 11.6%

• Cardio-respiratory fitness improvement:
• Nordic walking: 10.9%
• Walking: 10.6%

• Flexibility improved across the board.

• Balance didn't improve significantly.

Conclusion: Nordic walkers showed improvement in the most categories, leading the researchers to conclude Nordic walking was the best all around activity of the group.

Thoughts:

• Those with chronic balance and other issues will benefit from using poles.

• One way to use Nordic walking poles as part of balance improvement  is to use the poles for initial balance and then lift the poles for different lengths of time to help you practice your balance.

• If you're up to it, you can use variations to the Nordic walking workout to increase the intensity to work strength and cardio-respiratory systems.

Sunday sounds: A compilation of music for when you're Nordic walking.

A sense of urgency

I found an editorial that was a call to arms for improving health in the population. Apparently, exercise as a health intervention is generally for weight loss to combat obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. However, there are other reasons for exercising:

• Longer life.
• Improved thinking ability.
• Mood control.

There are even benefits from exercise in treating mental illness.

The challenge is getting people to exercise consistently. One recommendation is to promote the social part of exercise through group programs.

The wellness challenge, then, is "how to foster the engagement of consumers in exercise programs and provide supports for maintaining lifestyle changes that include exercise stands to improve the quality of their lives to the same or greater extent as traditional treatment and rehabilitation interventions."

The Nordic Walking Guy says it's hard to find more efficient forms of exercise than Nordic walking. It involves the whole body in low impact activity where you can customize the intensity level. It's also efficient in that it can be your only activity or part of a varied exercise program. Give it a try.

Nordic walking and regular walking

A comparison of Nordic walking and fast walking yielded some insights about the difference between the two activities. Nordic walking involves the upper body through use of specially designed walking poles to push off. Fast walking doesn't involve the upper body except for stability and arm swing.

Nordic walking improved heart and respiratory rates (heart beats per minute and breaths per minute), leading the researchers to conclude "Nordic Walking might be the preferred form of aerobic exercise over regular fast walking."

This came from the increased intensity generated by involving the upper body in the effort.

(In "Physiological effects of Nordic walking versus regular fast walking on healthy adults: A pilot study" by Henderson RJ; Abendroth N; Gronner K; Laughlin M; Paquette K; York J in Physiotherapy Canada, June 2009)

Nordic walking in relation to MS

I came across an article that suggested benefits of Nordic walking for MS patients. The article listed these benefits:

• Improved stability and balance.
• Enhanced flexibility and strength.
• Elevated mood and well-being.
• New pathways in the brain.
• Reduced spasticity in the foot.

Because Nordic walking engages the whole body in a low impact, customizable intensity exercise, it makes for efficient use of time. That makes Nordic walking "a great way for them to engage most of the muscles of the body in one enjoyable activity" for MS patients.

Research is underway to determine how Nordic walking can increase exercise capacity in MS patients as well. MS patients only have a certain amount of energy, according to the article, so the efficiency of the exercise may be valuable in managing that time budget.

Sunday Songs, Serenades, and Symphonies for Your Walking Pleasure

A charmer from back in the day by Electric Light Orchestra.

Keeping it off

Mother Jones had an interesting article on weight loss that included vignettes of what happened to contestants on The Biggest Loser reality show. One contestant exercised 7 hours each day and ultimately dropped from 430 pounds to 191 pounds. Even those his post-show exercise routine took 2-3 hours every day, he still gained 100 pounds back. Overall, contestants dropped an average of 128 pounds during the show but gained an average of 90 points back.

Sustaining weight loss, according to that article, is a tall order and complicated by something called persistent metabolic adaptation. That means your body adapts to its weight by slowing down calorie burning and storing excess calories in fat. So if your body is used to being 200 pounds and had been requiring 2,500 calories each day, it will slow down that rate, and store the extra calories as fat unless you burn them off with activity and exercise.

A quick Internet search will result in articles and blog pieces about the positive relationship between Nordic walking and weight loss. That's because using poles involves your upper body, adding to the calorie burn. Here are some other thoughts:

• Since it's a full-body activity, it's a very efficient use of your time.
• Since it's a low impact exercise, you can quickly get up to a full exercise load without joint pain or injury.
• Since you can vary the intensity, you can walk with others. The social dimension of exercise can be a motivating factor in sustaining an exercise regimen and also in encouraging each other in healthy habits.

A blast from the past. Wayne Newton has always been a big supporter of US military people, having been USO Celebrity Circle chair.

He also raised money for diabetes research. Diabetes is a chronic illness Nordic walking helps control.

And, yes, it has "walk" in the title. Enjoy.

Wellness Wednesday: Wellness at Faith Technologies

Via Corporate Wellness Magazine, a profile of one company's wellness program designed to improve employees' health. Faith Technologies, an electrical contractor, designated some employees as "wellness chargers" to promote wellness programs in the different locations where the company has a presence.

Main points:

• Part of the wellness charger’s role "is to design a month-long program tailored to that location’s risks discovered by the health risk assessment (HRA)."

•  "Most employees at Faith Technologies first engage with the wellness program by taking an annual HRA...to see where each employee is terms of their health."
• "Completing the HRA is the first step to receiving a premium discount."

In addition to other points in the article, the wellness team wants to add programs for the employees. Dare to dream that Nordic walking could become another way employees improve their health because Nordic walking is an efficient way to achieve the goals of a wellness program. Take a look below:

Wellness goals/actions listed in the article	Nordic walking benefits from research
Move and be active	Motivated to regular activity and improved mood levels
Increase energy levels	Improved posture can increase feeling of energy levels
Eat healthy	Healthy diet plus exercise leads to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels
Reduce stress	Contributes to reducing workplace stress
Treat backaches	Some improvement for chronic back pain
Manage blood sugar levels	Used to treat metabolic conditions like Type 2 diabetes
Manage cholesterol and triglycerides	Lowered levels of cholesterol and triglycerides
Recovery and rehabilitation (examples of surgery for heart condition and hyperparathyroidism)	Used extensively for rehabilitation

Sunday Songs, Serenades, and Symphonies for Your Walking Pleasure
Some R&B for help you keep pace.