How Nordic walking can help you get back to activity after the holidays

The holidays are over, it’s time to get back into the routine. But how to smoothly readjust your body after a long vacation? It’s no problem! Grab your Nordic walking poles and go to the nearest park to enjoy the views. “Championship” talked to Ekaterina Kaldina, three times certified Nordic walking instructor, about why this type of physical activity will be your ideal assistant in the return to sport.

A few words about Nordic walking

This is a special form of walking that has been practiced by skiers in the Nordic countries since the 1930s. It is a very simple activity, accessible to everyone, but with very precise rules. Each step must be accompanied by certain movements: you must keep pushing the poles and alternate opposite hands and feet (the foot that stands on the ground is opposite to the hand that pushes the pole).

The foot should also make a rolling motion when it comes in contact with the ground, starting with the heel, continuing with the arch of the foot, which absorbs the load, and ending with the toes. The poles are not just accessories, but key components of the sport.

What are the benefits?

Nordic walking combines exercise with an intense workout of the muscles of the shoulders, arms, body and legs. After all, when you walk without sticks, you activate the muscles below the waist. But when you add them, all the muscles of the upper body are activated. With poles, you’ll use 80% to 90% of your muscles.

Nordic walking is also associated with a decrease in fat mass, “bad” cholesterol, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and an increase in “good” HDL cholesterol, endurance, muscle strength, flexibility.

The benefits of such exercise for the heart and lungs are well known. Among other things, it helps lower blood pressure, reduces the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and keeps your arteries clear.

Nordic walking is such a positive sport for the body that it can even replace gym classes. Unless, of course, you’re more interested in having a healthy body than a sculpted one. Plus, exercise is just plain fun. If you join one of the Nordic walking clubs, of which there are more and more every year, it can be a great hobby and a way to make new friends.

Ekaterina: Nordic walking is one of the safest and most effective types of outdoor fitness. With its help you can not only tighten your body and get in shape, but also strengthen the cardiovascular system, restore lung health, improve the quality of sleep, work on your posture and calm the nervous system. Walking with poles in the winter forest or park replaces hours of work with a psychologist, helps to take care of mental health and reduce stress levels.

How to get back in shape with Nordic walking?

Ekaterina: I recommend you to start walking according to the following scheme: warm-up for all major muscle groups and joints, then walking with poles at a speed of 3-4 km/hour for 15-20 minutes, and stretching after training also for all muscle groups. In winter time you can and should move stretching to a warm room, that is, do it immediately after coming home after training.

Gradually you can increase the time and intensity of training, monitoring your condition after it. If the next day you get up easily, feel good and you want to go out on the trail again, then you are correctly dosing the load.

If you have never practiced Nordic walking before, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the technique and do some training with an instructor.