The dork factor

If you're the only one in your neighborhood out Nordic walking, you might feel self-conscious about what you look like. To the initiated, it does look a bit strange, and some men might not be interested in doing something that looks more suited for old ladies.

I'm a West Point graduate and a 20-year Army veteran, so I'm one of the last people who wants to look like a dork doing this sort of thing. However, I've tracked my health numbers long enough to know that Nordic walking has had a healthy impact.

When you start to experience the benefits over time, you'll start to realize results are more important than appearance. At a certain point, you'll start to lose that self-consciousness, and you just won't care what other people think. In fact, you'll have an experience like mine: I was out walking one morning, and I saw another fellow out with 2 poles. I greeted him and asked how he got started, and he said he saw me out walking and decided he wanted to do that as well.