Reading

In case you're interested: One of a number of books about Nordic walking sold on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. There is extra information about the health and rehabilitative benefits of Nordic walking.
Nordic Walking: A Systematic Review

A research article in the European Journal of Human Movement in 2014 summarized the research being done on Nordic walking.

Purpose: "…to find and analyze published studies on NW with the aim of presenting the state of the art on the subject and suggesting avenues for future research."

Method: The researchers reviewed online collections of research articles and grouped them into these categories: physiological, biomechanical, and fitness.

The researchers discovered these common conclusions:
  • Physiological.
    • "The vast majority of studies found statistically significant increases for oxygen consumption, heart rate and caloric expenditure during NW compared to normal walking and differences in lactic acid levels, especially in untrained participants."
    • "…intense arm movement with poles increases the main physiological parameters compared to walking…[other research pointed out] the increase in oxygen consumption ranged between 5% and 63% depending on the intensity of arm movement and the technical performance of participants."
    • "the effects on the body of intervention programs based on the regular practice of NW (between 3 and 4 times a week for several months) point to improvements in muscle strength of the upper limbs up to 40% and reductions in neck and shoulder pain."
    • "…despite the increase in calorie consumption during NW, effort perception does not significantly increase. Furthermore, given the greater stability provided by the poles, the authors believe that NW can be a perfect activity for elderly people and for subjects with balance and/or stability problems while walking."
  • Biomechanical.
    • "…differences between NW and normal human gait for a given walking speed: longer step, longer contact time, and faster execution speed as well as a reduction in step cadence." In other words, you walk faster.
    • "…lower loads on the knee joint during NW compared to walking. Furthermore, this reduction depended on the technical implementation: the higher the technical level, the lower the joint load." In other words, the better you get, less stress on your knees.
    • "…during NW plantar pressures in the central metatarsals are reduced by up to 40%. The authors also show that the regular practice of NW has a residual effect during walking, local pressures on the central metatarsals
    • being significantly reduced." In other words, the conditioning from Nordic walking makes regular walking easier on your feet.
  • Fitness.
    • "Programs targeted at the elderly have resulted in improvements in upper limb strength, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility compared to traditional fitness programs for the same population group."
    • "NW has also been found to be 106% more effective in improving the speed in comparison with a traditional walking program."
    • "In cardiac rehabilitation programs, NW is a better stimulus in terms of cardiac rehabilitation and in improving the patients’ functional ability."
    • "…positive results were found in training programs for an obese population), in patients with vestibular disorders, in patients with chronic lower back ache in subjects suffering from claudication as a consequence of peripheral arterial disease, patients with Sjögren's syndrome, associated with rheumatism, in individuals with
Parkinson's disease, in depressed patients, in breast cancer patients, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
  • Less than positive results:
    • "…patients who had suffered hemiparesis perceived NW to be less comfortable compared with a four-way support walking frame or a simple stick."
    • "…all groups improved in terms of weight loss but no significant improvement was found in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), evidences do not support the role of NW as beneficial stimulation from the physiological point of view in patients with type 2 diabetes, although no contraindications in this respect have been proved with such populations either."

Overall, they concluded:
  • "These features [described above] have contributed to its increasing popularity, being perceived as an activity with high potential to improve fitness and health, especially in populations with impaired mobility."
  • Nordic walking was especially effective for "special populations (elderly, obese, diabetic, etc.), as these groups often have difficulty in doing physical exercise on a regular basis. Their participation in an activity similar to walking but with greater benefits from the physiological viewpoint is very attractive."

The comprehensive review of research helps explain the Nordic Walking Guy's 3 rules of Nordic walking.
  • Walk with purpose. Notice how Nordic walking leads to a faster pace if you stay focused. It falls between walking and running, so to stay at that level, you have stay focused on keeping up the pace.
  • Be consistent. All the research showing positive results came from test participants exercising 3-4 days per week for a number of weeks. They weren't haphazard in their exercise.
  • Don't eat like a teenager. It's no surprise the A1c levels in Type 2 diabetics weren't as affected. Since A1c is more of an average of glucose levels, It takes a commitment to managing your diet over a longer period of time to get your A1c levels. I guarantee a Nordic walking session will bring your glucose level down after that session. However, keeping it down enough to lower your A1c takes more than just a session. You have to stay at Nordic walking and away from that bowl of Cookies 'N Cream ice cream.
Another Nordic walking session in Tuscaloosa!

Hi there! It’s already February and time for another Nordic walking session. Come to the gym of First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa and learn about 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.

We’ll be indoors, so dress comfortably. We’ll practice with Nordic walking poles to 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.

If the weather permits, we’ll go outside to Government Plaza and walk there. As the weather gets better, we’ll go to other venues to practice and enjoy each other’s company. 

Instructor: Leroy Hurt, Associate Dean at The University of Alabama and a certified Nordic walking instructor
When: Saturday, February 27, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM.

Location: 721 Greensboro Avenue  |  Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401. The gym (Family Life Center) is on 23rd Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets.
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