Holistic Health
Scandinavian workout in the tropics
gains popularity
Walking with Nordic poles burns more calories and works more muscles than conventional walking
U
rban Kuala Lumpur may be a world away from
the snowy forests and mountains where Nordic
walking evolved in Scandinavia, but the activity
has been gaining popularity in this city of eight million
only 200 miles from the equator.
While carrying poles, Nordic walkers apply
force with each stride. The technique combines
cardiovascular exercise with a vigorous muscle workout
for the shoulders, arms, core, and legs.
The exercise engages 80-90 percent of the body’s
muscles, rather than just 50 percent from regular
walking, to provide a substantial calorie-burning
benefit. Indeed, studies suggest that Nordic walking
burns 18-67 percent more calories.
The pastime is also associated with reductions in
fat mass, “bad” LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. It
can also help with depression, anxiety, chronic pain,
and waist circumference and can spur an increase in
“good” HDL cholesterol, while building up endurance,
muscle strength, and flexibility.
Studies have also found that using Nordic walking
poles with the correct technique helps strengthen the
large back muscles that pull the shoulder blades down,
which can alleviate neck and shoulder tension.
Unlike trekking or hiking poles, which have loose
straps that go around the wrists, Nordic poles have a
glove-like system attached to each pole. Walkers slide
their hands into the glove and use their palms rather
than fingers to transmit power to the poles and move
forward.
22
MARCH 2020
Another technique, single poling, mimics what the
feet are doing by placing one pole in front for each
stride. This can be done either with the same-side
arm and leg together or with the opposite arm and
leg together. It’s recommended to start off with single
poling and gradually build up speed and vigorous arm
swinging.
In the Malaysian capital, certified instructor Tioh Ee
Siew has built up a community of close to 200 Nordic
walkers.
“Besides trying to have an impact on the community,
to make it more healthy, this group simultaneously
functions as a charitable body,” the founder of Nordic
Walking Malaysia UK, who is planning a mass charity
event on March 22, told Global Health Asia-Pacific.
Project Pyjamas, which expects to see some 2,000
Nordic walkers dressed in imaginative nightwear gather
in Kuala Lumpur over a four-hour fun festival, will
donate proceeds to various children’s causes.
Not just a fun pastime and a way to stay fit, Nordic
walking also offers specific benefits for cancer and joint
patients.
“Cancer patients come to me saying they just don’t
want to exercise anymore. After talking to me, they
become hardcore Nordic walkers,” said Tiow. “I have
breast cancer patients. They need to swing their arms
to get the lymph nodes moving. People with knee pain
think they can’t exercise anymore. I tell them to get their
knees treated as they still need to exercise. The poles
take a lot of the load off their knees.”
The exercise
engages 80-
90 percent
of the body’s
muscles,
rather than
just 50 percent
from regular
walking
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com