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.