“Squeeze your lemons!” I’m instructed as I bounce through Ladywell’s Hilly Fields park on the balls of my feet, sticks strapped to each hand propelling me forward. What on earth am I up to? I’m Nordic walking of course. One of the perks of my job as a health writer is the opportunity to try the latest fitness trends, whether that’s tower Pilates or EMS (that’s electrical muscle stimulation training ), Hyrox or Crossfit. But today I’m trying something a little more retro.
Nordic walking originated in Finland in the 90s as an off-season workout for cross-country skiers, but it is steadily gaining popularity among regular people who want to supercharge their walks and reap the mental-health benefits of exercising outside. While it has largely been popular among mid-lifers until now – thanks in part to its low-impact and social nature – it is now gaining younger hiking fans, and has even become a thing on FitTok.
Though I love walking, I usually favour bang-for-buck workouts: boxing, HIIT, heavy lifting, etc. It was my mum who persuaded me to try Nordic walking. Having initially written it off as “just a bit too chill for me” – how wrong I was – I was finally brought round to the idea by how evangelical she had become about how it lifts her mood.
That’s not all. Studies suggest Nordic walking promotes more pronounced health benefits over conventional walking. The Nordic variety, performed with specialist walking poles, constitutes a full-body workout, engaging 90 per cent of the major muscles, compared to your average wander, which typically works your legs only. With each step, it works your core, arms, shoulders, chest and abs. Working more muscles naturally means you burn more energy.
Rosie’s mum persuaded her to try Nordic walking (Photo: Supplied)Nordic Walking UK estimates you can burn between 20 and 40 per cent more calories than you would walking without poles. One study compared six months of Nordic walking with regular walking among overweight middle-aged adults and found those who partook in the former experienced notable decreases in body fat and waist circumference compared to the latter.
Another study found it may support heart function – participants with coronary heart disease experienced improved health outcomes after completing three months of Nordic walking. There’s also evidence to support the mental-health benefits of Nordic walking, with one paper finding it has a positive impact on symptoms of depression and sleeping disorders.
Interest piqued, in the depths of a chilly February, I decided to check it out with Finnish-born Laura Kinnunen, who runs Brockley Nordic Walking and has been teaching for over 13 years.
Laura explains her walking classes initially became popular among people recovering from injuries or getting into exercise after a long break. The poles can help take the pressure off sore knees, for example. She even received NHS funding to help rehabilitate over 40s back into exercise (which is how my mum got involved).
“But there are runners with injuries who say Nordic walking, and the increased effort that the poles bring, gives them something similar to that post-run buzz or endorphin rush,” she says. “Everyone can walk at their own pace, you can walk fast, but you don’t have to. As long as you’re using your poles correctly, you’re still working your whole body. It adds extra purpose to your walk, which can help take your mind off things and make you feel like you’re really working your body.”
Technique is important when it comes to Nordic walking, and it’s not as effortless as it looks. Laura explains I need to keep my pole handles, which are strapped to each hand, glued to me with my three non-dominant fingers – the little finger, ring and middle. It’s a relaxed rather than tight grip. This helps discourage you from clenching the poles too tight which can lead to strain on the forearms – I realise I’ve been doing this for the first five minutes and it hurts.
“Now swing your arms from the shoulder like a pendulum straight forwards and back, guiding the pole with your three fingers. Lift and plant the poles with your hand reaching roughly to belly button height, or handshake position, and the pole striking the ground at an angle behind your feet,” Laura instructs. “We want to get a push forwards through the pole, pointing it behind our feet helps propel us forward.”
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Nordic walking poles are quite different to hiking poles in that they have harness straps, whereas hiking poles might have a single loop, she explains. Hiking poles also have flat-bottomed rubber tips (rather than angular) and are supposed to land vertically to the ground, rather than being a tool you use to push you forward.
Back to lemon squeezing. “In Nordic walking, we’re consciously moving our feet. Imagine you’ve got half a lemon under the ball of your foot and you’re squeezing the juice out. As you press down when walking forward it gives you a propulsion forward through the feet to add to your stride length and speed.” This forward motion is what switches on the core muscles and makes Nordic walking a full-body workout.
“When we swing the arms and poles forward in this handshake position, when the poles land on the ground we apply decisive pressure into the strap, a bit like Jackie Chan chopping blocks with the side of his hand. This gets us moving more efficiently and faster and engages your triceps, shoulder muscles, chest, upper back, side waist and tummy muscles – it’s great for toning! The stronger you strike, the more you get the upper body and core involved.”
All of this makes you walk in a very particular Nordic walking rhythm. I found it both relaxing and a bit hypnotic. Laura points out that the lemon squeezing analogy adds bounce and energy to your step and immediately fixes your posture – “Your whole demeanor is different, it’s impossible to slouch!” I find it gives me a confident power stance which makes me feel well, yes, more positive (dare I say, it happier?). “It’s good for your soul, not just your body,” Mum says, and she’s right!
After 45 minutes of hills, I can feel my cardiovascular system has been put through its paces and I’m a bit out of breath. I’m ready for a coffee and Laura adds that this is a sacred part of her Sunday morning classes, illustrating how social Nordic walking can be.
I imagine Nordic walking is truly transformational in a forest or secluded countryside setting where there’s no one watching and you can get your bounce on to your heart’s content, which, (once you’ve made the initial investment into sticks) is completely free. So I’ve taken the plunge and bought some poles.
Laura stresses the importance of starting with a trained professional. “Don’t just watch a YouTube (or TikTok) tutorial and think you’ll be fine. Even just one session in a group will help you get the hang of the technique, but it can be quite unsafe if you’re not doing it correctly. There are so many things that can go wrong from tripping yourself up to developing a repetitive strain injury from holding the poles in the wrong way. Then if you enjoy your own company you can go off and do it on your own as much as you want.”
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