Nordic walking and regular walking

A comparison of Nordic walkers and regular walkers (without poles) yielded some encouraging results about Nordic walking. Here's some information:

• Participants: 11 women, 11 men. Late 20s to early 30s.
• Distance: 1,600 meters on 200-meter track.

Results:

Dimension	Women	Men
Oxygen consumption	Greater than regular walking	Greater than regular walking
Caloric expenditure	Greater than regular walking	Greater than regular walking
Heart rate	Greater than regular walking	Greater than regular walking

There's why the results are interesting:

• The age of the participants indicates Nordic walking is worthwhile for younger people. The stereotype is that Nordic walking is only for senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses.
• The greater oxygen consumption and caloric expenditure comes from involving muscles in the upper body.
• The greater  heart rate means a stronger heart and the ability to get to a fat burning zone.

Most interesting is another observation in the study that the improvements came "without significantly increasing perceived exertion."

Give Nordic walking a try.

#NordicWalkingGuy

Models of corporate workplace wellness programs

Found through a LinkedIn group, this article suggests ways to focus programs. A wellness program needs a focus so the organization can estimate the resources needed.

Types of program focus:

• Awareness. Promote wellness resources.
• Activity. Involve employees in doing some kind of general activity.
• Action. Connect employees to resources tailored to their health needs.
• Accountability. Connect wellness outcomes to things like insurance premiums.

Notice how the types of focus are levels of organizational involvement from somewhat passive to very paternalistic.

How to know which level to adopt? Think about your objectives and resources and which level best supports those objectives.

Happy planning from #NordicWalkingGuy!

Your best omelet now

I got the omelet maker listed below and tried it out. The omelet turned out very well and showed this to be a great way to make omelets.

Here's what I did:

1. Following the directions, I put the vegetables and meats in the container and microwaved them.
2. With the ingredients freshly steamed, I beat 2 eggs, poured them into the container, and microwaved the mixture. With this version, you don't have flip the egg over the ingredients as you see done in traditional omelet preparation.
3. At this point, you can enjoy your omelet. The container is flexible, so it's easy to take it out. You can either drop it into your plate or scoop it out with a spatula. Either way, it's easy.

I did deviate from the instructions because I like to prepare my omelets in a certain way.

1. After completing #3 above, I put the completed omelet into a frying pan that had a light layer of oil to brown it on both sides. The omelet was easy to flip with a spatula.
2. That's not all. I put the omelet back in the omelet maker, laid some cheese on top, and then spooned some canned zucchini on top (in the can, the zucchini is in a ragu). 
3. I closed the container and heated it in the microwave again. That melted the cheese, and the ragu with the canned zucchini gave it something of a Spanish omelet flavor.

Bon apetit from #NordicWalkingGuy!

Old Nordic walking infomercial starring Lindsey Vonn

Check out this infomercial:

I leave it to you to decide if it got you excited about Nordic walking.

How do you like the Nordic walking infomercial with Lindsey Vonn?

	Love it! How do I get started?
	Interesting. Let me check out this Nordic walking.
	Nah. Didn't get me interested in Nordic walking.

  Show results

Votes so far: 0
Days left to vote: 6

An earlier post from Nordic Walking UK Northwest on Facebook, some resolution areas as you start thinking about the new year.

From Facebook, a pretty scene Nordic walkers encounter.
 

From previous years at Nordic Walking UK Malaysia on Facebook, just in time for the big feasts.

It's possible to speed op your pace. A link from Eva Stenbro on Google +.

Some encouragement as you contemplate the benefits of Nordic walking: A report of one person's weight loss achievement.

Walking reduces HbA1c in Type II diabetic patients

An interesting review of different research studies found these results:

• Decreased HbA1c.
• Reduced body mass index.
• Lower diastolic blood pressure.

Interestingly, the review noted no significant improvements in systolic blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Other studies noted throughout this blog, on the other hand, noted significant improvements in those categories.

The interesting quotation was this: "Supervised walking was associated with a pronounced decrease in HbA1c (WMD −0.58%, 95% CI: −0.93% to −0.23%), whereas non-supervised walking was not." That means seek out a coach to keep you consistent and focused.

Nordic walking and Type II diabetes: Ongoing research

Some results of research about Nordic walking and Type II diabetes:

• Greater improvements in weight, body mass index, waist size, overall power, and oxygen uptake (VO2) the more participants stuck with the exercise plan.
• Improved sleep quality and body mass index led to the conclusion that Nordic walking is an effective low-cost exercise activity.
• Measurable fat reduction but no measurable reduction in HbA1c, the standard metric for patients.
• However, another study noted reductions in HbA1c, body weight, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate.
• A study of women also showed reductions in HbA1c, body mass index, and weight as well as an increase in HDL (good) cholesterol and grip strength.

Overall conclusions:

• Get coaching. The commitment to meeting with your coach and the training your coach provides will help you get the most out of Nordic walking.
• Good news for PhD candidates. Because different studies showed no effect on HbA1c and also positive effect on HbA1c, research must continue.