Is nordic walking just a walk?

The man looked at me reproachfully and said - you women all walk with these sticks, I walk along the promenade every day without them, the result is the same. I hear such comments periodically, more often from older men, and young people sometimes joke. I understand the latter, they are active, it’s funny for them to see how they are walking with sticks.

It's not me. I can’t shoot myself on camera while walking.

More often you can meet women with sticks. On weekends and in summer during the holidays you can see people of different ages with sticks. In the cold season, Nordic walking enthusiasts become much less.

Men rarely come across with sticks, and even then they are mostly quite elderly. Although middle-aged come across, usually these are men in good physical shape. Apparently walking with sticks in addition to the main load. Some people go skiing, rarely, but there are some. Apparently, they think that it’s all the same what to rely on when walking. In fact, they are wrong. It is not for nothing that certain sizes for walking have been developed. The sticks must be adjusted in height depending on the height. This is necessary to evenly distribute the load on all the muscles of the body when walking. Growth must be multiplied by 0.66-0.68 - this should be the correct length of the sticks. Another check, visual - when walking, the angle between the shoulder and forearm should be approximately 90 degrees. If you are in good physical shape, you can set the height with K 0.7-0.72.

With sticks, I started walking regularly 2.5 years ago. First in the evenings. Then she somehow walked in the morning and realized that after an evening walk the impressions were completely different. Since then I go mainly in the morning. Very rarely in the evening when it doesn’t work. Nordic walking energizes, cheers up. You’ll come back after it and you want to "roll mountains". Surprisingly, I do not get tired at all, no matter how long, quickly I did not go. While walking with sticks, the load on the entire muscle frame is redistributed, apparently, therefore, there is no fatigue.

Many positive qualities are attributed to such walking - weight loss, improved heart function, pressure stabilization, etc. I can say that weight does not exactly decrease, it generally depends on physical activity by only 10-20 %%, as doctors say. Of course, if you walk with sticks for more than half a day, for example, I know a woman who walks for 5 hours daily. Returning, eat "a few crumbs." In this case, weight may decrease if you previously ate differently. As for the pressure, the work of the heart, I can’t say anything, since there are no problems.

I see this woman every day year-round, always with sticks only. If I don’t meet, I see through the window. The impression is that she comes out with sticks several times a day - I see in the morning, afternoon, and even in the evening, when it is light. I can’t say that it’s wonderful. Although her movements are correct while walking, her speed is low. I think that it’s better to "run" an hour and a half, but intensively, it will be more useful. Although everyone has their own preferences and opinions.

It turns out that people who believe that Nordic walking is not beneficial compared to normal are right? In the affirmative I can say no! Nordic walking creates a more active movement than regular walking. Involved not only legs, but also arms, back muscles - almost all parts of the body are in motion, and intense. The main thing to learn how to walk correctly is to lean on sticks, push off. The movement of the arms / legs is correct - walking is synchronous, but at the same time free. Try to take the correct position of the body while walking - to tighten the stomach, straighten the back, shoulders slightly back. To develop this as a habit.

This year from April to September I joined the group with a trainer from the fitness center. They study only twice a week, but it was still interesting to learn from. It turns out that before I went not quite right. Rather, I did not warm up before walking and hitch after it. I didn’t specially choose climbing stairs and descending along it or other obstacles while walking. The only thing I didn’t break was walking for at least 50 minutes, preferably an hour.

With a group from the fitness center, classes lasted 1 hour.10min. - 5 minutes. warm-up, an hour of intense walking, 5 min. hitch. Only positive impressions, emotions over the edge!

Different exercises can enter the warm-up / hitch, you can find it on the Internet. We did the same thing every time. The warm-up was more for hands, the hitch already connected other parts of the body. I especially remember the climb up a very steep staircase (not short!), That is, overcoming obstacles while walking. Since then I have been walking alone this way. A completely different effect. After lifting, it is at first difficult, the pulse quickens. Important!!! You can not stop to catch your breath. The trainer warned that heart would work idle. Continue walking after lifting. Surprisingly, a few minutes pass and it seems that a large flow of energy flows into you, strength is added. Further intensive walking, as if there was just a steep long climb - such are my feelings.

It’s not necessary to join a special group with a coach; you can carefully study the various subtleties and nuances of this lesson on the Internet, and not just walk, even quickly, as I did before.

The benefits of Nordic walking are certainly there. Time passes and you feel that you are in a completely different physical form than before, when you didn’t do such walking. Years go by, and strength is increasing.

Health to all.