Discover the spectacular benefits of Nordic walking

Virtually unknown ten years ago, Nordic walking has recently become a real social phenomenon. Armed with their walking sticks, the followers of this discipline stride - alone, in pairs, or in groups - the hiking trails, the parks, and the seaside. It's a physical activity that is often praised for its merits and is recommended by doctors.

As its name suggests, Nordic walking comes from the Scandinavian countries, and more specifically from Finland. In the 1930s, cross-country skiers were looking for a way to train during the warmer seasons of the year, when snow was scarce. This is how they developed Nordic walking which, unlike classic walking, involves the movements of cross-country skiing.

In 1966, the Finnish athlete Leena Jääskeläinen was the first to teach this sporting activity at the Faculty of Physical Education of the University of Jyväskylä (Helsinki). The practice then spread throughout Finland and its Scandinavian neighbors.

In 1997, the Finnish Ski Federation organized the first Nordic walking competition, to compensate for the lack of snow. Today, there are many Nordic walking competitions all over the world.

Nordic walking isn't merely walking with sticks in your hands. There's more to it! You have to walk fast, with an average speed of 6 km/h or 3.7 miles per hour. In competitions, the French Nordic Walking Association claims, the speed can be up to 10 km/h or 6.2 miles per hour.

The poles are similar to those used in skiing and are specially designed for this discipline. Unlike the poles used for traditional hiking, those for Nordic walking must point backward. They allow you to project the body forward with speed and tone.

Unlike traditional running and walking, which only work the muscles of the lower part of the body, Nordic walking works the entire muscle chain. The use of sticks indeed promotes the development of the muscles of the upper part of our body.

One of the advantages of Nordic walking is that it is accessible to everyone. From 7 to 77 years old (and over), everyone can take up this sports activity. In addition, the discipline can be practiced in the city (in parks, for example), in the mountains, or in the countryside, with a small amount of equipment.

With the rise of the phenomenon in our societies, Nordic walking has become the subject of numerous scientific studies. These have highlighted its many virtues, both for our body, but also for our mental well-being.

To maintain their strength, our bones need to be stimulated by vibrations. Nordic walking is a good way to strengthen them because, with each pole plant, vibrations are created throughout our body. In addition, these vibrations are not aggressive for our joints, the weight of our body is distributed on four points (the two feet and the two sticks).

Since it uses a large part of the body's muscles, Nordic walking burns large amounts of fat, and can therefore help with weight loss. According to various scientific studies, one hour of Nordic walking would make our body lose between 350 and 400 calories.

Nordic walking helps us breathe better. Indeed, thanks to its position and its support, the walker improves his pulmonary amplitude when he practices this sport. Oxygenation of the body would be increased by 60% compared to the practice of traditional walking. And then, what better than to breathe the pure air of nature for our health?

This sporting activity is a great ally of our lungs, but also of our hearts! The oxygenation of our body stimulates our blood circulation and our entire vascular system is thus strengthened. Nordic walking improves our cardiac capacity and reduces the risk of stroke.

Practicing a sport in the great outdoors would also have psychic virtues. In addition, like any physical activity practiced for more than 30 minutes a day, Nordic walking helps us to secrete hormones of happiness, such as endorphin, dopamine, and serotonin. Thus, multiple studies on Nordic walking have concluded that its practice reduces stress, nervousness, and even depressive symptoms.

The hormones secreted in our body by the practice of Nordic walking also affect our sleep. Studies have observed a better quality of sleep among its followers and a significant decrease in daily fatigue.

An American study carried out by Erickson and Kramer in 2008 showed that brisk walking would also improve the cognitive functions of the brain, in particular memory and the ability to concentrate.

Other studies have also highlighted the positive effects of Nordic walking on people with Parkinson's disease. According to the results of several American researchers, Nordic walking improves the physical mobility of patients, and in particular their maximum walking speed and the length of their strides. It would also reduce certain symptoms specific to the disease.