Nordic Walking

onky · Jul 27, 2014

Hi,
Have just completed the Nordic Walking UK intro programme and am hooked!
As an obese type 2 on diet only (refused meds) - trying to loose the weight has been difficult as I love walking, but the knees dont! (Hate swimming).
N.walking can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be... Initial £40 for four sessions teaching you the technique... and buy some cheap poles and off you go!!! But the main thing I have enjoyed about it is the shared walks..locally £5 a time with your own poles or £7 borrowing from the instructor.
The point I most want to make here is that I am not a 'joiner' - but the way it has been organinsed locally is that there have been several introduction courses so the walks are made up of different people from across those intros... ie never all the same people at each walk... and those of us adapting our speed and or hill haters etc are all accommodated for.
Great cardio with so little perceived effort... and knees protected... WHY OH WHY havent I discovered it before!! Do give it a try...
Edit: On re-reading the post I realise it could be taken as an info type advert... that is so not what the above is about - I really am hooked...

ElyDave · Jul 27, 2014

Sounds great, the whole point is you've found something you like, so the exercise is now enjoyable and done becasue you want to, rather than as a chore. That'll make it much more likely to stick.

Get me started on cycling or running and I'll need more than just those few lines

onky · Jul 27, 2014

ElyDave said:
Sounds great, the whole point is you've found something you like, so the exercise is now enjoyable and done becasue you want to, rather than as a chore. That'll make it much more likely to stick.

Get me started on cycling or running and I'll need more than just those few lines

You should see the people running with the Nordic poles! AMAZING!!!

StormyDog · Jul 31, 2014

I fancied Nordic Walking but sustained a foot injury prior to taking lessons. My biggest concern was finding groups as I was concerned about the fitness levels of groups I found. Maybe diabetics should get together.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Yorksman · Jul 31, 2014

I couldn't walk far because of some osteoarthritis and used to use a rower to help me exercise. I bought a couple of cheap poles from Aldi though and took them with me to Austria. I also bought some decent walking shoes. I've just come back from my second summer in the Alps now. I've been walking in the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes too. The poles make a huge difference. In particular, I don't have any twisting type stresses as the poles improve my balance and help me walk more naturally. Using the poles to help you walk downhill is, as you indicate, a great help to your poor knees.

There are loads of these groups about. I go to a lot meetings for people who want to practice foreign languages and I notice that one of the members runs an anglo german nordic walking group. Mostly though, they walk locally:

http://www.anglo-german-walks.com/

A very good site for discovering walks is The Walking Englishman

However, since you have got a bit of the bug, why not have a go at roller skiing:

Giverny · Jul 31, 2014

Yorksman said:
I couldn't walk far because of some osteoarthritis and used to use a rower to help me exercise. I bought a couple of cheap poles from Aldi though and took them with me to Austria. I also bought some decent walking shoes. I've just come back from my second summer in the Alps now. I've been walking in the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes too. The poles make a huge difference. In particular, I don't have any twisting type stresses as the poles improve my balance and help me walk more naturally. Using the poles to help you walk downhill is, as you indicate, a great help to your poor knees.

There are loads of these groups about. I go to a lot meetings for people who want to practice foreign languages and I notice that one of the members runs an anglo german nordic walking group. Mostly though, they walk locally:

http://www.anglo-german-walks.com/

A very good site for discovering walks is The Walking Englishman

However, since you have got a bit of the bug, why not have a go at roller skiing:

I have no idea who invented skirollers, but that looks like so much fun!

noblehead · Jul 31, 2014

Had no idea what Nordic Walking was so just had a look on Wiki, it says:

"Compared to regular walking, Nordic walking (also called pole walking) involves applying force to the poles with each stride. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body (with greater intensity) and receive fitness building stimulation not present in normal walking for the chest, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles that may result in significant increases in heart rate at a given pace.[5] Nordic walking has been estimated as producing up to a 46% increase in energy consumption, compared to walking without poles."

I've seen people walking with poles and often wondered why they were walking with them so many miles from the hills and mountains, all looks good and do see how it would benefit the upper body.

Yorksman · Jul 31, 2014

Giverny said:
I have no idea who invented skirollers, but that looks like so much fun!

They were developed as for summer training from cross country skiers. It has now developed into both competitive and recreational sports. There are even off road ski rollers, beefed up with bigger wheels and calf brakes:

Since I fell off my mountain bike and realised that I was still able to get up again, I might chance these things. It's not as far to fall.

hawkeyeuk · Aug 1, 2014

ski rollers have been around for many years. They are used in the Nordic countries to enable their cross country skiers the opportunity to train during the summer months.

Bebo321 · Aug 2, 2014

onky said:
Hi,
Have just completed the Nordic Walking UK intro programme and am hooked!
As an obese type 2 on diet only (refused meds) - trying to loose the weight has been difficult as I love walking, but the knees dont! (Hate swimming).
N.walking can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be... Initial £40 for four sessions teaching you the technique... and buy some cheap poles and off you go!!! But the main thing I have enjoyed about it is the shared walks..locally £5 a time with your own poles or £7 borrowing from the instructor.
The point I most want to make here is that I am not a 'joiner' - but the way it has been organinsed locally is that there have been several introduction courses so the walks are made up of different people from across those intros... ie never all the same people at each walk... and those of us adapting our speed and or hill haters etc are all accommodated for.
Great cardio with so little perceived effort... and knees protected... WHY OH WHY havent I discovered it before!! Do give it a try...
Edit: On re-reading the post I realise it could be taken as an info type advert... that is so not what the above is about - I really am hooked...

That's brilliant onky,
Great that you have found a form of exercise you really enjoy. I shall have to look that up myself now - it sounds very interesting.

onky · Aug 2, 2014

StormyDog said:
I fancied Nordic Walking but sustained a foot injury prior to taking lessons. My biggest concern was finding groups as I was concerned about the fitness levels of groups I found. Maybe diabetics should get together.I

Yorksman said:

I couldn't walk far because of some osteoarthritis and used to use a rower to help me exercise. I bought a couple of cheap poles from Aldi though and took them with me to Austria. I also bought some decent walking shoes. I've just come back from my second summer in the Alps now. I've been walking in the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes too. The poles make a huge difference. In particular, I don't have any twisting type stresses as the poles improve my balance and help me walk more naturally. Using the poles to help you walk downhill is, as you indicate, a great help to your poor knees.

There are loads of these groups about. I go to a lot meetings for people who want to practice foreign languages and I notice that one of the members runs an anglo german nordic walking group. Mostly though, they walk locally:

http://www.anglo-german-walks.com/

A very good site for discovering walks is The Walking Englishman

However, since you have got a bit of the bug, why not have a go at roller skiing:

Click to expand...

I started Nordic Walking to SAVE my knees... look closely at the picture... not sure that would be the case with the rollers

onky · Aug 8, 2014

StormyDog said:
I fancied Nordic Walking but sustained a foot injury prior to taking lessons. My biggest concern was finding groups as I was concerned about the fitness levels of groups I found. Maybe diabetics should get together.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Hi - just to say I shared your concern re groups and different levels of fitness etc... and I am not a 'joiner'. However, our instructor has run several intro groups and that now means that on each walk there is always a mix of people you know might have walked with before and those you haven't - which is really great. Also, the philosophy seems to be if they want to go fast let them... they can always double back and join up with us slower walkers... who nearly always have a much better technique... and who consequently use more muscles and therefore increase metabolism in a more efficient way!!! Our instructor encourages people to pair/trio up with same fitness levels and we all adjust accordingly. Hope that reassures! Sorry to be such an enthusiast - just canat quite believe I have actually found a form of exercise which ticks so many of my boxes. Take care and hope you take the plunge. Cheers Onky

StormyDog · Aug 8, 2014

@onky
Thanks for the info.
Like I said I almost started NW 2 years ago (when I needed to loose weight to get my driving licence).
I think I'll look into finding a local group.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

onky · Aug 12, 2014

HI, please find below the best Nordic Walking utube to watch IMHO... I HASTEN to say that I am - and always will be - at the first two levels (single and double pole WALKING) and I have always hated running... even when thin and fit!!! But as I know there are runners out there amongst you... I thought you might like to see the possiblilites... its the stride length and therefore the speed which is so impressive... and your upper body gets a workout too!!! Enjoy...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nnvg2nIumA

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