Nordic walking?

General Discussion
1

Whilst walking dogs recently I have started to see walkers with things like ski sticks. I know what they are doing is called Nordic walking but what's the point? If I can walk and have fit legs and a healthy posture I just walk, well OK the dogs drag me but I have no sticks.


I guess the idea is to do with balance, weight and maximising stride, hip swing and all that sort of thing. However, the couple I encountered at the weekend were huffing and puffing and using the sticks to make sure they didn't collapse from the looks of it. This morning's band of walkers had me laughing. They were from around somewhere in earlyish 50s to 70+ and about a dozen of them. I had to make suitable sounds and say all the excuse mes to get past, so Madame, Monsieur excusé moi, cough, cough then watch them step off the path in panic as my German Shepherd got within eyesight. The fact I had two made them take step extra out of the way.


I had naturally been behind them for long enough to see what they were doing. Firstly, I observed the sticks generally flailing about assisting nothing other than knocking fallen bits of tree and brambles out of the way. Then I noticed some people kind of putting them quite some way in front then sort of walking up to the one just swung then repeating the motion with the other. Thus, instead of walking they appeared to be wasting a dreadful amount of energy oscillating.


The majority of them possibly though it would help them loose weight. Perhaps, perhaps, maybe it would. However it looked like some of them should loose a lot of weight before even trying such a walk, especially with the daytime temperatures getting really good right now and the amount of clothes they had on. Some of them looked like amoebic motion would be more becoming than huffing and puffing through the forest with a couple of sticks flailing about uselessly. Then the juicy bit was that just as I caught up with them there is a slope, less than 100m but with I think about 6m rise. The wet season we have just had made that path into a stream bed which is now mostly dry. There are loose rocks and pebbles everywhere which I am used to so trudge through no probs. Those people slowed down, did all kind of oscillations to walk beside the stony path which meant getting caught in brambles, gorse, hawthorn and other prickly plant life which meant they spent much of their time beating the plants off with the sticks instead of using them for balance or whatsoever.


I am a little sceptical, if not entirely so, about the aims and objectives of what they were doing. No doubt some people with the knowledge and wisdom will explain how it works and the benefits. Until I am convinced, I reckon it is a case of somebody had a surplus of cross country ski sticks but no more skis, so he put them up for sale cheap for his on the spot invented new exercise Nordic walking. Good sales blurb and there we are.


With 60kg+ of hound I am not going to try it anyway. No matter how crocked parts of me may be I can walk without bits of metal to flail around or, as I suspect, buy them at the local sport store then try it out twice, not really like flailing things about, less so walking crumbly paths and put them in the cupboard until next turn out.


Now somebody, please explain.

2

Met some Nordic wobblers this evening. I was strolling with my two. They were on leads, the younger one has a habit of dashing off in pursuit of anything that flinches leaving me waiting for ages, so both leashed. I was just ambling along gently, usual sandals, shorts and so on. Suddenly the forest was full of noise. It sounded like an army.

Anyway, I had perhaps 800m to go to leave the path to head home. I have to use the way marked paths to get to the places where I can just drift about at my leisure. The stick people stay on paths of course. But we were at a point where we had to share. Fine. But! But they had a dog with them. A large GSD, short hair type unlike mine, but same size. No lead. So it got sight of us and off it went, headed for us barking.

They got miffed with me. One of the women in the group came rushing after the dog, made it go back to the group and then called up to me to let them through. "Non", said I and explained I had a couple of minutes walk until I left the path, so I was not stepping aside to have their badly behaved dog make mine bark and pull at it. Then she shouted to me that it is my dogs who are 'méchant'. I shouted back the question why. because I need to keep mine on leads was her response! Would you credit that? They walk with an uncontrolled dog and I am wrong?

I strolled on, leaving her standing there being angry or whatever. They spent a lot of time shouting at their dog. I reached my track and left the path to head home. Went down a wee way then stopped to watch them pass. I guess 10 of them. Chattering away and as I have said several times, the sticks flailing about pointlessly. They all had anorak type things on and silly padded walking trousers. In a t-shirt, shorts and sandals I was hot. They were all red faced, I was feeling fine and could look around, hear the birds and nowt else, watch a few and other wildlife, spot flowers I have not seen before this year or ones entirely new to me. They moved like a juggernaut determinedly to from point A to point B, presumably the 9.5km round route walk, making more noise than the Ryanair flight just going onto the landing path immediately above.

Not for me. I like the world too much. Walkers used to be very nice. Now they have become juggernauts they are not.

3

Those sticks would count as going equipped, if you ask me ;-). Mind you I was told by my delightful local policeman in Gloucestershire that I should always carry a golf club to whack possible assailants (because there are so many about in Cirencester & Stroud, obviously) and that a golf club NEVER counts as going equipped. So now you know....

4

That's the whole point - keeps your hands occupied. Helps you give up smoking and gives you a cast iron defense against charges of indecent assault!

5

LOTS of dithering. But so many of them appear to me to be so grossly overweight that they are more likely to give themselves cardiovascular problems. Indeed, as I said, by mass some of them appear to move almost like amoeba. They should have really radical diets before even trying. I am under cardiologist's orders to get more exercise and when I said dogs he said that is ideal, no mentioning special anything. I have a pair of Decathlon sandals, perfectly good for me, boots are for wet or really cold weather, so paying for special shoes (branded, hmm makes then cost an arm and a leg...). As for sticks in the way, with all that flailing they are until somebody passes them with large dogs but imagining them three abreast in towns or in already narrow country roads... Mind you the fact they are all chattering away means they are not breathing properly. Serious walkers appear very anti-social but justifiably because they breathe in a particular way for the intake of oxygen with regulated circulation that helps muscles neither to cramp nor ache. That has been known scientifically for at least 40 years, so if there are Nordic flailing trainers do that not know how to silence their amoeba?

6

It looks like a complete & utter faff to me - I have even seen people in special 'look at me I'm a Nordic Walker' kit (hideously unflattering & weather-inappropriate need I say) with those sticks hirpling around in Bergerac on the pavement getting in the way and they just look silly. They would be fine on a hill but no that isn't where I have seen them. (And they weren't walking to Compostella or anything they were just dithering).

7

Someone I used to know certified as a Nordic Walking trainer. It's meant to boost the cardiovascular system by burning more calories than normal walking or even running and so, yes, should help with weight loss. But the "proper equipment" (i.e. a couple of sticks and the branded shoes) are expensive for what they are unless you join a club so maybe could hire them to see if this flailing around is for you. Mind you, would be rather a safety hazard while marching with three dogs - I'd be bound to stab at least one of them and tread on another.

http://www.nordicwalkingonline.com/benefits.php

8

:-)

9

I went to a public toilet once, closest I ever go to public school by one word. Where I grew up they used to think a pound note was a cheque, generally having seen neither, let alone throw a packet of them at a private education.

Which does not answer the question, despite your sincere response!

10

I notice you carefully avoided my PS Brian.

What makes you think my reply was not serious? ;-)

11

Probably the best answer I'll get ;-) I am of the opinion that if some of them had touched a fag they'd have keeled over with a collapsed lung on the spot, the huffing and puffing noises would have had the sanglier hunters all over the place at that time of year. As for hands in pockets, would some enterprising inventor consider very long pockets they can get their sticks in? Resolved that one thanks to your inspiration.

Now would somebody seriously describe what it is all about and whether there is a point to it?

12

What I want to know is :- How does one smoke a fag when both hands are full of pole things? Hell,you can't even put your hands in your pockets! Stupid way to walk if you ask me:-)

PS For all you Public School chaps I'm talking about cigarettes not slaves;-)