Nordic walking makes for healthy hearts

CNN Health described a study that reported very positive results of Nordic walking for heart health. Importantly, the study compared Nordic walking to other forms of exercise like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and steady state moderate training.

Main point: “Patients with coronary heart disease who participated in Nordic walking had a greater increase in their functional capacity, or the ability to carry out daily activities, compared with those who performed high-intensity interval training or continuous training at a moderate-to-vigorous level, according to a recent study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.”

More about it:

• “No other study has directly compared the above three exercise regimens.”
• “Our research showing the superior benefits of Nordic walking on functional capacity highlights an alternative exercise option that requires minimal cost and equipment to improve physical and mental health.”
• Nordic walking exercises 80% to 90% of your muscles when done properly, according to the American Nordic Walking Association, while walking and running only recruit 40%. The additional shoulder, chest and arm muscles used are the deltoids, pectorals, upper abdominals, forearm flexors, subscapularis, triceps and external obliques. Moreover, using these additional muscles leads to a 20% increase in calorie burn compared with regular walking, according to a study published in the journal Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.
• “All of the exercise regimens helped alleviate the patients’ depression and improved their quality of life, but functional capacity was greatest after Nordic walking.”
• “The use of poles while walking may have improved speed and postural control, and increased walking-stride length.”
• “…to achieve an increase in functional capacity, Nordic walking must be done vigorously.”

Think about it:

• “Few studies have examined the effects of Nordic walking on cardiac rehab patients, yet other forms of exercise, namely HIIT workouts, have been extensively studied.” This means Nordic walking is an open field of research for scholars and doctoral candidates.
• However, “it is important to recognize that training is task-specific, and so it is not such a surprise that the walking intervention, rather than the other two exercise interventions that did not focus only on walking, produced the greater increase.”
• The article mentions the American Nordic Walking Association, the organization through which I gained my Nordic walking instructor certification.

Social:

• @anwaUSA
• @AnwaUSA
• anwausa
• #NordicWalkingGuy

↓ See below for Nordic walking coaching, experiences, and shopping ↓

Personal care and wellness: Check these items out and browse more ideas for self-care (commission earned by Afoot Nordic Walking on purchases)

Explore Nordic walking experiences to to enjoy the world of Nordic walking.