I just want to give a shout out for Nordic Walking. I believe this is reasonably popular in the USA (there are plenty of Youtube videos from the USA about it), and somewhat popular here in the UK, but I think it’s a lot more popular in continental Europe, especially Germany.
There are various stories about its origin, but the usually accepted story is that it originated in Finland as a way of allowing cross-country skiers to maintain their fitness in the summer. The original skiers presumably used their normal ski poles, but modern Nordic Walkers use specially designed poles for the purpose.
The poles are secured to your hands by straps that you put your fingers through, and secure with velcro. There is a quick release mechanism that quickly disconnects the strap from the pole, leaving your hand attached to the strap, which is normally referred to as a “glove”.
The poles can be of fixed length or adjustable. I have an adjustable pair, as I wasn’t sure if I’d know what correct fixed length to buy. Fixed ones probably vibrate less. However, I quite like the flexibility of the adjustables, as sometimes I find it advantageous to make small adjustments.
At the bottom of each pole is a hardened metal spike, which can be used when walking on slippy muddy surfaces, or anywhere you need good grip. However, there will also be a rubber cover, known a a “paw” for use where grip is not so important. Designs of paws (and gloves) vary with the brand and model, but I use Lekis, which use simple pull off / push on paws, which are either plain rubber, or there is a version called “Silent Spikes” which is a sort of compromise, with tiny spikes built in to the rubber, which is supposed to be usable on all surfaces. (Works great in mud, grass, and usually on tarmac; not so good on hard paving stone).
Some people criticise NW saying “Oh you need all that special equipment…why not just go and cut yourself two sticks…”, and suchlike. Well, yes, you do need to buy the poles (mine cost just under £50 - obviously one can pay more, but these were Leki, a good make), and that’s all you really need. You can use just about any shoe you can walk or run in (they really need to be flexible). And you’ll probably want a water bottle, a sun or rain cap, and sometimes rainwear…i.e. just the sort of thing people who go outdoors probably have anyway. And that’s it.
There are some exaggerated claims for NW, which I will not make, such as it uses 80% of your muscles. Well, it does help you use your upper body (which walking alone tends not to do). When you use the correct technique, as each pole moves backward (relative to your body), you push it down hard at roughly 45 degrees, and follow through for as long as you can. And you feel a corresponding force propelling you forward, so much so that it automatically seems to speed up your walking. And when you push back hard, you can really feel it in your biceps & triceps.
And you can also feel it working your chest and core muscles. The first couple of times I went out NW, afterwards I could feel my chest muscles sort of “burning” (not in a bad way…but they were giving out heat…). I had probably never used them, or not for many years. That doesn’t seem to happen much now, even after I’ve been out Nordic Walking really hard.
So, 80% of your muscles? I truly have no idea, but it can certainly give you a better workout than just walking (even very brisk walking), and usually, I can NW much faster than I normally walk. Some people I know can NW at 5mph or more, but not me! (not yet, anyway).
I first took it up in the summer of last year (2016). At the time I was horribly overweight, but worse, feeling horribly unfit, and I knew I had to do something. I had a painful right knee, and I’d heard that NW could help with knee pain while walking. (In reality, it can to some extent, but it’s not a panacea). I had always liked walking, and I seemed to take to it like a duck to water. No, it didn’t help me lose weight (well, maybe it did a little, or at least firmed me up a little), but at the time, I wasn’t ready to go back to dieting (not even low-carb ) - that didn’t come until January this year, but I did get fitter. And now I’m on low-carb / keto, I’m getting the weight loss benefit of the keto, and the fitness benefit of the Nordic Walking, and the two seem synergistic.
I go along for group walks/ lessons with a great teacher and a friendly group of fellow walkers, and we have great fun. Our teacher also is a fitness teacher, and I’ll probably start going to her circuit training in order to make sure I’m maintaining / building muscle.