Nordic Walking with Leki

What is Nordic Walking? This is a question that I get asked almost as soon as I mention that I am going or have been Nordic Walking. In simple terms; its an enhancement of ordinary walking that enables the whole body to share the workload so that it benefits from every step you take.

Nordic Walking was originally developed from the summer training of cross-country skiers, the action being similar to what you would experience when using a cross-training machine at the gym, but with the added benefit that this can be done at any time and pretty much anywhere you can take the poles.

Many people confuse Nordic Walking with 'Rambling' or 'Trekking', but both the poles and the techniques are very different. While both of these activities use the poles for stability and to take some of the weight off the feet, only Nordic Walkers use their poles for forward propulsion/exercise.

A rambler generally plants the poles into the ground almost vertically in front of them, while a Nordic Walker will plant the poles at an angle and use them to gain a push forward, replicating the pushing action that moves a cross-country skier along. This is impossible to achieve with normal trekking poles. By learning how to utilise not just the arms, but the power from the upper body, is an important part of the process.

 In order to gain the full benefits of Nordic Walking, you need to understand these differences and also appreciate how use the right muscles, plant the poles correctly and fully utilise the hand straps that are an integral part of the process.

For more information I recommend the Book The Complete Guide to Nordic Walking by Gill Stewart