Is Nordic walking hard work?
A study
of Nordic walkers walking uphill using their poles shed some light on the level
of effort in Nordic walking. The study looked at:
- Rate of perceived exertion (how hard you think you're working)
- Physiological variables
- Oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) (rate of oxygen consumption during exertion)
- Heart rate (HR) (heartbeats per minute)
- Non-protein respiratory exchange ratio (RER) (a muscle's ability to get energy)
- Total energy expenditure (TEE) (energy used in all life processes)
The test subjects
were in their early 20s.
Using poles
increased oxygen consumption and total energy expenditure more than not using
poles. Respiratory exchange rate and heart rate were slightly but not
significantly higher in those who used poles.
Most importantly,
rate of perceived exertion, how hard people thought they were working, was not
significantly different between those using poles and those not using poles.
This suggested those who used poles burned more energy but didn't think they
were working harder.
