Reluctant Low Carb Life
Reluctant Low Carb Life
Pole Power: Exploring the Health Perks of Nordic Walking
Join Anita on Reluctant Low Carb Life as we delve into the surprising benefits of Nordic walking, a fitness trend gaining traction in the U.S. Recently, some USA-based Costco stores introduced Nordic walking sticks to their inventory, sparking curiosity among shoppers unfamiliar with this innovative exercise. Discover how Nordic Walking enhances traditional strolls, providing a full-body workout and a plethora of health advantages, making it a global fitness favorite. Tune in to learn why #NordicWalking rocks for holistic wellness!
You can read more about the Benefits Of Nordic Walking Compared To Traditional Walking by clicking here.
#FitnessGoals #HealthyLiving #ExerciseMotivation #Podcast #WellnessWednesday #FitFam #GetOutside #NordicFitness
hi, this is anita from the reluctant low-carb life. If you've been listening to me, you know that we're passionate about three basic things. One is about eating fresh foods, one is about eating foods that help you feel full longer, and another aspect of it is fitness. We call these three things the trifecta of health. We believe that if you do these three things, that you will certainly be healthier than you would if you did not do them. You know, we understand that it may not be, you know the it may not be for everybody, but we honestly believe that if we can eat more foods that are fresh. We talk about fresh I mean things like fresh meats, fresh vegetables, and it doesn't mean you have to eat a salad. Of course you can eat the vegetables cooked, but it's like eating cans out of a bean versus eating cans that you buy from a farmer Difference of eating cans out of a bean or eating beans that you buy from a farmer's market. In fact, a large part of the world, you know, does eat fresh foods and grows fresh foods. It's in a place like the United States where we have stopped and we've been eating more multi-processed foods than fresh foods now since probably about the 1970s and 80s.
Speaker 1:I remember when I was young, we used to always had a garden and, you know, always in our garden we would, you know, we would, basically we would grow our own fruits and vegetables, and especially the vegetables. And then, you know, we'd bring them in in the fall and we'd, you know, we'd can a lot of tomatoes. We'd bring them in in the fall and we'd can a lot of tomatoes. Sometimes we'd make our own jam, we'd freeze things and then we'd eat them all winter long and then in the spring we'd start over again. Most people, I know that's what they did. They had a garden. And today, most people that I know, we're buying things from the grocery store. We've become a, you know, walmart and Costco and obsessed type of world where we want to buy things that are pre-packaged and just go into the store and, yes, it is a lot more convenient. I will, I absolutely understand that it is far more convenient to eat it that way than it is to prepare it fresh, but it doesn't mean that it's healthier. So that's why we're kind of an advocate for these things.
Speaker 1:And today I want to talk a little bit about the third one, which I haven't talked about for a while is actually the fitness one. If you've been listening, you also know that I'm quite an advocate for certain types of fitness. Personally, I love to bike, I love to swim and I and I do Nordic walking. And I want to talk a little bit about Nordic walking because I feel like Nordic walking is something that, especially in the United States, we don't talk about so much. It's most people don't even know what it is, they don't even know what the benefits of it is, but yet at the same time, it's a very important type of walking. I understand that recently in some Costco stores in the United States they had some Nordic walking sticks and every once in a while Costco will sell Nordic walking sticks and this might surprise some of the shoppers, given that Nordic walking isn't as widely recognized in the United States as it is internationally. In fact, nordic walking originally came from Finland. So it came from Finland as a way for the Finnish cross-country skiers to be able to stay fit during the off-season months. So that's how Nordic walking actually originally started was they took some ski poles and the walker and the skiers would walk with the poles to be able to stay fit during the off-season months. There's some really great benefits to Nordic walking and one of the reasons why I like it so much more than just regular walking is because, just by adding the sticks to your walking and doing the proper technique, there are so many added benefits that you can get just by this simple thing.
Speaker 1:It's interesting that when I have my Nordic walking sticks, a lot of people think, well, you've got your sticks out there because of the fact that, oh, maybe there's something wrong with you or maybe you need the sticks. Or you know, no, that is not the reason why. Or you know, no, that is not the reason why the sticks are not, you know, to keep you from falling, even though they do help if you are, you know, in a place where you tend to be unsteady and you can fall, the sticks can help you if you have, if you need to not be, if you need to, you know, make sure that you are not, that you won't fall, so that you'll make sure that you are steady on your feet. But the sticks can actually they have a lot of you know a lot of added benefits to the sticks themselves. You know, just by adding the poles to the mix, that the whole movement of that has a lot of benefits Adding those poles to your walking routine through Nordic walking.
Speaker 1:You know it can. Basically it helps your upper body, your core and your legs, so there. So in other words, you're getting a full body workout by adding the sticks to your walking than you would just by walking without the sticks alone. When you walk without the sticks alone, you're basically getting a, you know, a lower, but adding the sticks forces you to have a full or total body workout. So that's one of the reasons why I love Nordic walking so much is because of the fact that the benefits of Nordic walking is it can help you to be able to engage your upper body. You know where.
Speaker 1:Regular walking, as we mentioned before, you know just, is normally just for the lower body. Nordic walking, you know, for the lower body, which really before you know just, nor is normally just for the lower body. Nordic walking, you know the, you know for the lower body, which really includes, you know, includes. You know your, your quadrips, your hamstrings, your glutes and your calves. So that's, you know, the main thing. When you just walk by itself, that's, that's the main benefit that you get, which is beneficial by itself, but when you add the Nordic walking sticks to it. You know you will get an upper body workout which will include the arms, the shoulders, the chest and back muscles. You're pushing against the poles with each steps as resistance, so effectively toning the upper body muscles. So if you can imagine you've got these sticks, that you have. And, by the way, contrary to proper belief, the sticks don't go in the front, they go kind of behind a bit. You push off of them in the back that you're getting a total body workout through working out with the Nordic walking sticks by walking with them, just by simply adding them to your regular walking routine, them, just by simply adding them to your regular walking routine. That means you're getting a more comprehensive and balanced workout just by adding those sticks to your walking routine.
Speaker 1:For me. I'm a great person, I believe in efficiency and you know, if you can burn more calories and have an upper body workout just by adding the sticks, then of course that's far better than you know you walking and then coming home and doing some push-ups and things for your upper body part. If you can get them both together, it's more efficient and more effective and with that becomes, of course, you burn more calories because of the fact that you are using both your lower and your upper body. So, at the same time, you not only are, you know, getting your whole full body workout, you're also burning more calories at the same time.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I love about Nordic walking and this is again where you really need to make sure that you have Nordic walking sticks that fit you and your height and this is something that a lot of people don't understand, who are new to this sport is that Nordic walking sticks that fit you and your height and this is something that a lot of people don't understand, who are new to this sport is that Nordic walking sticks need to fit your height. I've, you know, told the story before that I have a sister had a pair of Nordic walking sticks and she was shorter than me and you know, when I walked with her sticks, I find myself leaning forward. So I eventually just said I can't walk with these sticks. I have to have sticks that that you know, sticks that fit for me and for my size, because it really does make a difference, because the next thing that Nordic walking will do when you have the properly fitted sticks. Now you need to have sticks that are properly fitted for your height, that it will improve your posture.
Speaker 1:And for many of us, we tend to slump over when we walk. We, you know, tend to slump forward, and Nordic walking will help you to get your posture and to get your your your, you know, get your posture and to get your back back in there. It will help you to, you know, open up your chest and your shoulders. You know, and it will improve that overall posture that we may get too much when we're leaning forward onto a desk or we're leaning forward all the time in our modern day world. And you know, the poles also too, can support and reduce impact on knees, hips and lower back, hips and lower back. So you know, if you have some problems with your lower back or your hips or your knees, nordic walking can help to support those areas too. So this makes an ideal exercise for if you have some joint issues or you're feeling some joint issues, nordic walking can be a great exercise for that. It also has a lot of cardiovascular and respiratory benefits that you know. It involves more muscle groups and Nordic walking elevates the heart rate more than just regular walking. So you get the superior cardiovascular workout. You know this. You know this increased. You know it's a demand on the heart and lungs, both cardiovascular and respiratory health, and it can enhance your stamina and endurance over time. So Nordic walking also can help you to get, you know, better stamina.
Speaker 1:What I do a lot is, you know, I go to a park because I tend to walk with my dog and at the park this particular park where we go to my dog can run free a little bit, otherwise he's very slow and stops me all the time. But you know I might go like one direction and go very fast and then another direction, go slower, coming back, and then go fast and slower to try to build up speed and build up stamina. So you can do things like that too with Nordic walking. You can go fast in one direction, go slower, come back in another direction and you will feel it. You'll find yourself sweating more, you'll find you're respiratory, you're breathing more, all of that.
Speaker 1:Nordic walking, basically, is known to have good mental health and social benefits that the rhythmic nature of the walking with the poles, combined with outdoor exposure, can significantly reduce stress, anxiety and depression. I'm a great believer in exercising outdoors whenever you can, because I feel like outdoors just really helps me, at least with my own stress. If I can be outdoors, and especially if you can be out on a lovely you know, sunny morning, it can really help with your overall stress and anxiety. So I'm a great believer in getting outdoors if you can to exercise, and Nordic walking is one of those exercises where you really can't do it in your house because you really need space to do it. So you should be outdoors to do Nordic walking, which is one of the. I guess the benefits of it is that it's an exercise that is done outdoors. Nordic walking a lot of times is done in groups too. So if you can, you'll find a group or people that can help you, or people you can walk together with. If you can find a Nordic walking group, then there can be a social component to it, with everybody walking together.
Speaker 1:You know that Nordic walking it's really a great way of walking. You know it really transcends the walking into a better exercise than just walking itself. Walking itself, of course, is a great exercise. By adding sticks to the Nordic walking you will get so many more additional benefits just by adding those sticks to it and by having that rhythm between the sticks and your feet, movements and the walking itself. It's a great low impact exercise and it will help you improve your overall health, just like before.
Speaker 1:So many years ago, those Finnish skiers you know started Nordic walking so they could stay fit during the off season of cross-country skiing. Nordic walking does essentially the same thing. That's why, you know, anyone that knows anything about skiing or cross-country skiing knows that cross-country skiing is one of the most beneficial exercises around. Again, it's like the same thing because it's an upper and a body workout when it comes to skiing with cross-country skis. So maybe now, through this, I've kind of convinced you and you said you know I want to try Nordic walking.
Speaker 1:What do I do? Well, first of all, check online or, if you happen to be around at Costco, see if they still have some of the walking sticks, or go find a store or specialist that has it. If not, there are websites you can go to. I've seen websites online where you can put your hide in and they will tell you which size stick you need to buy. Like anything, you're going to have to invest in some equipment, which Nordic Walking essentially has the equipment of the sticks that you will need to buy. I recommend buying some good quality sticks if you're going to use them, because it will make a difference. If you buy some of the cheaper sticks they may break easily, but if you buy the more expensive sticks they can last you for a long, long time.
Speaker 1:I've written up sort of a program for those of you that are interested for how to get started with Nordic walking, how to basically go from you know, maybe from couch to three miles in about a three-month period of time. We recommend that you, you know, do a warm-up, whether it's like slower walking somewhere. I tend to do my warm-up where I walk with my dog to the park and then we warm down by, I walk him home again. So we're sort of doing a warm-up and a warming down. You can also go on to YouTube and you can see that there's some groups there that might have some Nordic walking where they're using the sticks and they're doing some stretching and other type of exercises. So besides just walking, you can also use the sticks to do some actual stretching and other type of exercises. So besides just walking, you can also use the sticks to do some actual stretching and other things.
Speaker 1:But let's talk a little bit about what you can do or how you can get sort of started with Nordic walking itself. So you know, let's say on the week one you can even just go out and walk like half a mile with your Nordic walking sticks and you know, three days a week you can concentrate on having a proper technique, using your poles to make sure they propel you forward, that you are not leaning forward with them, that you're being propelled forward with them and that you have sort of a natural rhythm with between your legs and your arm. So you know it's essentially it's the opposite. You know, the opposite arm with the opposite leg, opposite arm with the opposite leg. You don't hold on to the poles too much. That's why Nordic walking has they'll have like straps, they'll have like a glove so that the poles can be very loose while you are walking.
Speaker 1:You know you could do that for weeks one and two. Just, you know, three days a week walk, you know half a mile Nordic walking and then you know, just get used to the technique, get used to the rhythm of it all. Week three you can increase it to like three-fourths of a mile. I'm talking here US miles here. So you know that would just be over a kilometer. For those of you that might be working with kilometers, and you can do that three days a week.
Speaker 1:You know, pay attention, you know, during this week, to your posture. Keep your back straight, your shoulders, you know, down, look ahead right. Keep your shoulders sort of back, look, look ahead. You know. So you want to make sure that you're doing all of those things. You know that you're, you know you're looking ahead, that you've got to feel for the poles you don't have to look at the poles and that you know you can. You know, feeling very natural for you.
Speaker 1:On week four you can start doing, you know, do it three days a week again and start walking a mile. You know, work on your stride, try to lengthen your stride, make your stride a bit longer, you know, in a comfortable manner, without overstretching. So see what you can do about your stride, see how you can work on getting a bit of a longer stride. You know, in month two now, so you could start and you could do one mile four days a week, increasing your days per week. And you know, maybe try to see if you can get some gentle little inclines into your route and you know this will help to build up your leg strength. In the week six you can go a longer distance 1.5 miles, four days a week. And you know, including interval walking. You can walk fast for two minutes, then slow down for one minute, walk fast for two minutes, slow down for one minute. I love like interval walking and that it just makes for me like the walking time goes so much faster than if you're just sort of walking along. I find that if I'm doing interval training it really becomes much, much faster.
Speaker 1:Next one is you know you're going to. You know, try to have some back-to-back walking days. You know, like maybe try to do 1.75 miles, almost two miles, and you know, four days a week. You know, ensure that. You know you're using your arms effectively pushing down on the poles to engage your upper body. So really you know you're using your arms effectively pushing down on the poles to engage your upper body. So really you know, pay attention to that You're using your upper body when you are using the poles. And then you know, by week eight you should be doing two miles four times a week. And you know, make sure you focus on your breathing. You know, inhale deeply through the nose and exhale through the mouth. So learn to sort of you know through the nose and exhale through the mouth and think about your breathing as you are doing your Nordic walking. And now you're, you know, ready to start increasing the distance and start increasing the pace. You can start doing 2.25 miles four days a week and try to have a consistent pace throughout that time. For your walk, you can use a, you can use some type of fitness app or look onto your Apple Watch or something to monitor your speed and see how fast you're going and how fast you can keep moving on this. And then week 11, keep going, practice walking without stopping. If you need to rest, slow down, but don't stop. By week 11, try not to stop but just to keep moving and keep moving with your walking. And by week 12, at the end of this, you should be able to do the three miles on it.
Speaker 1:I have a blog post on this. We'll put below in the description, but some additional tips on it is make sure you're comfortable pair of walking shoes that this can make a difference and you have the correct size of nordic walking poles. We've already talked about drink water before, after and during your walks. Make sure you have water. You will sweat more with nordic walking, especially if you're in a hot and humid climate, like I can be here, you're going to need your water, and water will be very, very important for you. So make sure that you have enough water and that you're drinking enough water and make sure that you are looking to find ways to be able to be more flexible.
Speaker 1:Think of doing things as yoga or swimming on the rest days, or find ways to incorporate so you can become more flexible, because you will find that when you add the poles to your walking, it is going to be more strenuous than just regular everyday walking. That upper body part of the workout will feel a little bit different and you may not think that it will, but it will be a bit more challenging than just by regular walking. You know, this is really a great way for you to be able to go beyond just regular walking. That's why we're such a great believer in Nordic walking as part of our fitness, for our trifecta of health is we believe that you know, as you, you know, just by simply adding the poles to your workout, that you will be able to gain so much more with your workout just by adding that one simple piece of equipment, and I think that's one of the great beauties of Nordic walking itself and one reason why I don't understand why it is not a more popular sport, especially in a place like the United States. Of course in Europe it can be quite popular, japan, of course, in Scandinavia, even in the UK it can be quite a popular sport, but in the United States, even though it is popular, you don't see it so much. You don't see that many people out there with their Nordic walking poles, out walking, and why? I don't understand it. I really don't understand it because for me it just seems like just by adding the poles and by getting you get a more balanced workout, you get a better workout and you get a full body workout, which is one of the keys with this. You get a full body workout through the Nordic walking.
Speaker 1:We have our blog post, which is Benefits of Nordic Walking Compared to Traditional Walking. We'll put a link in the description below. We hope that if you've enjoyed this, that you will give us a thumbs up. If you have any comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you, we'd love to hear any thoughts that you might have and, if so, go get yourself a pair of Nordic Walking poles and try it. Go, get yourself a pair of Nordic walking poles and try it and get out there and do some happy walking and see you, you know, see how far you can go to be able to get yourself an upper and body workout through Nordic walking. This is Anita from Reluctant Low Carb Life. Thank you so much for listening. We want you to know we do appreciate you, our listeners. We know without you this would not be possible. Thank you so much.
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