Warming up

A series of warmup movements before starting your walk.

A Nordic walking enthusiast

Notice mention of health. Using poles facilitates balance during exercise.

Let’s meet on July 30  to Nordic walk!

We can’t walk on water (unless you’re not telling me something), but we can walk by the water! 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, July 30, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.

Location: Let's meet at The Park at Manderson Landing. Look for me by the picnic shelter. Map:

How are corporate wellness programs evolving?

What's the point of future corporate wellness? To manage an organization's healthcare costs. Is that all? It's called "a collaborative responsibility partnership between employer and employee in implementing a wellness approach and the reduction of medical costs" and is supposed to have a quantifiable impact on costs as well as a qualitative impact on organizational culture.

Points:

• Evolving from "traditional health benefit offering to a health exchange model or to the advances and learnings in personalized therapeutic medicine."
• Tailoring decisions and treatment to individuals. 
• Setting up health exchanges where employees are more involved in their health care choices.

This makes me think of a portfolio approach where individual programs are managed to make sure they support business objectives. The portfolio approach is supposed to help managers see the forest AND the trees. I used it in supply chain management, and it yields useful information. 

The portfolio approach provided insights into how money was being spent. For example, by assessing individual programs or solutions in terms of risk, quality, spending and other factors considered important, you can not only see where each one stands but also the overall status of groups and subgroups of programs. It's worth trying.

Planning to buy a pair of Nordic walking poles? 

Here's what worked for me. I bought a pair of adjustable poles as my first set and was happy with that decision. I found that, although there are methods for selecting poles based on one's height, there is another consideration: We're all unique, so adjustable poles let me tweak the length as I walked to get that "just right" feel.

There's a school of thought that says buy fixed length poles because they're safer and won't collapse. After all, the locking mechanism in adjustable poles may fail on you. So far, that hasn't happened to me. The rationale for choosing fixed length poles makes sense, but I'm pretty picky about getting that "just right" feel. I'm starting to settle in on a specific length, so there may be a set of fixed length poles in my future.

What is that "just right" feel? It will depend on one's level of effort and other factors. I've experimented with running as well as walking and also with walking in different kinds of terrain and at different speeds. I may have used a formula to determine the starting length, but then I've adjusted up and down to get that "just right" feeling according to walking conditions and workout goals.

I hope my experience helps you select your first pair of poles. 

Happy walking!

Sunday sounds that are all about Sunday to help you focus on higher purposes when you walk.

Sunday sounds flash mob for your contemplative walks.