Why You Should Start Nordic Walking Right Now: The Benefits of Nordic Walking

Did you know Nordic walking was originally designed as an off-season training tool for cross country skiers? It may seem surprising that its growing demographic is with seniors then! This should tell you something about what you can get out of Nordic walking despite your age and fitness level. We bring this up because many of these benefits start as prevention (and also act as maintenance), so starting now, at whatever age you’re reading this, is a great idea. Many of these bodily systems begin their decline as early as your 30s as hormones shift and Earth’s forces (like gravity) take their toll!

When we say Nordic walking is a full-body exercise we mean it! Below is a look at how Nordic walking affects your brain & motivation, bones, joints, heart & lungs, muscles & posture, and weight & body composition.

We’re not going to say that Nordic walking is the only fitness activity that has these benefits, but what we are willing to say is that Nordic walking is the best well-rounded fitness activity combining the effects of standard walking and resistance training into one. This in and of itself is a huge benefit because you can gain a wider range of benefits from a single activity that has minimal cost and set up! A single activity is an easier routine to maintain than cardio and weight training separately and is a great first step in building a full fitness routine or simply adding a little movement to your life.

Brain & Motivation

Nordic walking has been shown to improve both cognitive and psychological health including mood boosting, stress busting, and brain growing.

Mood Boosting and Life Satisfaction

In a systematic review of walking with poles every study reported a higher benefit to Nordic walking versus their control group in both physical and psychosocial elements. One of the most commonly noted was improved quality of life. After even a single session of self-paced, supervised Nordic walking, benefits to psychological well-being can be seen. Consider what making it a regular habit could do!

Endorphins aren’t just for runners. With a little push, Nordic walking can reveal that same runner's high feeling, improving your mood during exercise and causing a lingering improvement to mood.

Nordic walking has the added benefit of (usually) being a green exercise or outdoors exercise, which increases the effect of physical movement on energy, stress, anxiety, and depression compared to indoor exercise. Nature has a general calming effect on the mind and enjoying the extra sun (with protection of course) really helps keep vitamin D levels up. (Did you know vitamin D deficiency nearly doubles during the winter in Canada?)

Stress Busting

Speaking of things to add to your Nordic walking routine that improves the already amazing benefits, adding talking, and even specifically complaining, to your routine can build social bonds and release the stress from holding things in. Dr. Sanjay Gupta refers to this as the brain trifecta: moving, socializing, and releasing stress, and he encourages this “walk, talk, and gripe” as part of your routine.

The rhythmic motion of Nordic walking is a stress buster all its own. This repetitive motion, following the Nordic walking technique, offers opportunity for mindfulness in a similar way to lower intensity practices like tai chi and yoga. Taking the time to really sink into the technique is a great way to calm the mind from the day’s troubles.

Cognitive Improvement

As we age, cerebral perfusion (the flow of blood to the brain), neurogenesis (growth of new brain cells), and synaptic plasticity (the brain's ability to change and grow) declines and with it what you notice is a decline in memory, executive function, and processing speed. Movement that gets your heart pumping increases blood flow to your brain which in turn reduces inflammation and promotes the growth of new brain cells. Increasing blood flow to the brain with moderate cardio helps to combat aging.

Many say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but we highly disagree! The act of Nordic walking improves cognition, but learning the new skill is also beneficial. New experiences improve cognitive function so being new to this activity gives you a double dose of brain boosting!

Bones

Bones are a part of our body we don’t always think about having to take care of beyond drinking our milk as a child. But as we age, bone health finds its way onto our radar. One in three women and one in five men will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue which can lead to increased risk of fracture. 

While there is no single cause for osteoporosis, the good news is that we can work against it! Prevention and maintenance of bone health is easier than you think. A diet meeting your daily needs for calcium, vitamin D, protein, vitamin K, and magnesium with load bearing exercises is a fierce combination. And what is Nordic walking but a version of cardio that leads to a full body load bearing exercise. 

With regular walking, load bearing only falls on our lower body which means other resistance training is needed to truly work on bone health and density. Nordic walking on the other hand, creates an opportunity for load bearing on your upper body through the plant, push, propel technique. Nordic walking, yet again, fulfills more needs than the average recommended exercise.

Similarly to our bones, the intervertebral discs which act as cushions between the vertebra, or individual bones of the spine, also require movement as maintenance. Any movement will encourage health of these discs as physical inactivity increases the risk of degenerative disc disease (the slow breakdown of these cushions) and herniation (which you may know colloquially as a slipped disc). But a Nordic walking practice amplifies this by focusing on posture, and here at Nordic WalkFit we always encourage more movement with a warmup and cooldown.

Joints

One of the biggest factors keeping people from running, beyond motivation, is the impact on their joints. Knees groan, ankles creak, hips moan. By using Nordic walking poles, this impact is lessened by spreading it across more of your body. Proper technique offloads this weight and impact from your lower body into your upper body which allows all of your joints and muscles to help with the load. An interesting, one participant study, was able to measure changes in the internal force on knees while using different gait modifications, or different ways to walk and support your walking with mobility aids. The one that proved most effective was one using two poles with a wide stance; sounds like the rehab-focused Urban Poling technique to me!

And it doesn't stop there! The joints of your upper body may see improvements too. In one study looking at female office workers, twelve weeks of Nordic walking training showed improvements in shoulder mobility and a reduction of tenderness in both their traps and lats (those are the muscles that cover from the space between your shoulder and neck toward your shoulder blade and down your back toward the outside of your ribcage. This means discomfort in the shoulders, neck, and upper to mid back were reduced.) Another study in participants aged 65+ showed improvement in shoulder range of motion after only 6 weeks when compared to those in the same age range who were walking without poles. 

Heart & Lungs

Up to 80% of cardiovascular disease may be preventable through healthy lifestyle changes and therefore education on what those changes should be! Knowing that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and comes in second in Canada, we think it’s important to talk about. One of those lifestyle changes, of course, is to be more active! 

Though we may be biased in suggesting Nordic walking for your exercise choice, in a systematic review of the health benefits of Nordic walking beneficial effects on heart rate, blood pressure, and exercise capacity (among others) were seen both in healthy individuals and those with various diseases including those of the cardiovascular system. This review suggests that recommending Nordic walking to a wide range of people as primary and secondary prevention (this is prevention of illness and reduction of an ongoing illness) is good practice.

When comparing cardio exercise options for your heart health, keep in mind the rest of this list and you tell us how Nordic walking compares!

Muscles & Posture

A key component of proper Nordic walking technique is posture. As we age, gravity naturally pulls down causing rounded shoulders and spine or what many refer to as bad posture. Not only can this lead to pain and a lack of mobility but once you straighten up, suddenly your lungs fill easier and with greater capacity. The more we allow this rounding to happen without stepping in, the harder good posture is to maintain because muscles and tissue in our chest tightens and everything in our back lengthens to accommodate our new shape. With Nordic walking, not only is there a focus on keeping that good posture, but the poles actually help you maintain it as you rebuild strength and stretch out the tight spots.

Nordic walking promotes the use of up to 90% of your muscles; that’s significantly more than regular walking where just your lower body is used. That means, with one exercise, you can start building strength throughout your body. It may not seem like it on the surface, but Nordic walking can help you carry your groceries, lift your grandchildren, and get back to hobbies you’ve put to the side. Walking with poles allows you to build up your balance and agility while feeling confident in each step as the poles support you. 

From the tips of your toes, up your legs, core and back, and all the way through your arms even down to your hands and grip strength, Nordic walking can help you build strength and stability.

Weight and Body Composition

While your main goal might be more movement and a healthier body, that doesn’t mean you won’t see changes in your physique! (Or maybe your goal is to shed a few pounds and cinch in that waist!) Nordic walking uses more muscles and allows a higher level of work with a lower perception of effort; you can do more without noticing it. Because this is an exercise that hits so many muscle groups, it’s a great first addition to your routine because there’s less to keep up with. There’s no need to head to a gym or pull out all your bands, dumbbells, balls, and blocks; just grab your poles and walk.

For some quick numbers to help you understand, Nordic walking burns up to 46% more calories than regular walking and, because pushing on the pole engages your core, every kilometer is like doing 1000 abdominal crunches. You’re whittling your waist, toning your arms, and working your quads, hamstrings, and glutes all in one activity!

So, Was That Enough to Make You Want to Give it a Try?

With one single activity you really can improve your whole body, mind, and spirit. These are the benefits of just the Nordic walking technique (with a few bread crumbs thrown in to signal what we’re about to suggest). There are even more benefits when you add friends to your fun, fitness, and fresh air. So if somehow, you’re still not convinced, maybe the benefits of joining a Nordic walking group like Nordic WalkFit will! And if you're curious about what you need to get started, we'd love to help.