Nordic is not a brand. It's a style of pole. And, our brand that we like happens to be the Nordics brand, but, Nordic walking poles, our style, they have a special hand strap on them that allows you or cradle strap, thumb hole strap that allows you to use the poles and let go of them at the end of your swing, which means you're using the whole upper body. They also have larger feet than the typical, hiking or trekking poles that just have a little round kind of nickel size, rubber tip at the bottom. And of course, if you're pushing yourself along with those, you are just hitting the ground with the very smallest edge of that tip.
Whereas Nordic, feet are made like a little rubber foot itself as, only with the, with the toes facing backwards and they re gain contact ,with the ground, about one inch by two inches the entire time you're walking and. You know, everybody knows walking is good for you. In north America surveys show that over 70% of people say walking is their favorite activity.
And Nordic walking is just a better way to walk, because not only are you using those muscles from the waist down, like you do generally when you walk, but because you're pushing the poles with every step, you're also using the 45% of muscles that are above your waist. So full body workout, low impact, you get your strength training and your aerobic training at the same time.
OKay. Now, can you describe the Nordic walking itself for our listeners?
Well, Nordic walking was originally invented in Finland by the, national cross country ski team as summer training for their elite athletes. They discovered that it was such, such a good workout that they should share it with, with the rest of the population. So it's really to simplify it.
It's cross country skiing without skis and without snow. It's, just like regular walking, swinging your arms, the poles, your arm is opposite to your foot. So it's that cross gait. And when your arm comes up with the pole, it plants right beside you on the ground and you push yourself forward with each step.
And that engages all of your, your upper body muscles right down to the core. So if you think about, what a cross country skier looks like or a snowshoer but instead it's somebody walking down the street or down a trail. Of course the beauty of it is, is walking up Hills for instance, is much easier.
One of the interesting things about Nordic walking is what the researchers called the perception of exertion. The how hard do you think you're working? Because you're spreading the work out over so many muscles. It doesn't feel like you're working is as hard. So people find it easier to walk and especially easier to get up Hills . When we go downtown, for instance of the theater or park at the parking garage, which is a few blocks below the theater, we always say in our way up that steep hill, oh gee, I wish we had our poles with us today. And I think if they let us take them into the theater, when we went, we'd probably take.
