A new way to walk
Nordic poles provide a variety of benefits
By Sean Hart
Argus Observer
Friday, August 29, 2008 1:01 PM PDT
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| Lori Adams, a Nordic walking instructor and owner of Health Adventure Coach LLC, Fruitland, readies her poles for a Nordic walk around Lions Park in Ontario Wednesday morning. |
ONTARIO ” With the heat of summer slowly slipping into cooler autumn weather, many who have retreated indoors to avoid the sweltering sun will be looking to get out of the house and into an exercise program.
And with aching joints or scarce amounts of time, many won’t make it to the end of the block, let alone the end of the year.
A new fitness program in the area, though, might induce people to get off the couch, onto the trail and back into those jeans that haven’t fit since last fall.
“For the time-pressured individual in regular life, you only have so much time,” Lori Adams, owner of Health Adventure Coach LLC, 1150 N.W. 22nd St., Fruitland, said. “That’s what I love about Nordic walking. A 20-minute Nordic pole walk is like a 35-minute walk without the poles. You can use 90 percent of your body’s muscles compared to the 50 percent you use in regular walking.”
Adams, a Fittrek Nordic walking master trainer, registered weight training instructor and certified older adult fitness instructor, created Health Adventure Coach in 2003 and performs a variety of fitness and nutrition-related tasks including Nordic walking.
“I just moved to the U.S. in January from British Columbia, Canada,” she said. “From my research, I saw that nobody was doing it (Nordic walking). There were no classes or instruction offered at all, and there still aren’t to my knowledge.”
The Nordic walking classes focus on safety and proper techniques for people with individualized goals and different fitness abilities and always include stretching, warming up and cooling down. She performs demonstrations to groups for free, has demo poles for people to try out and also sells Fittrek poles, which cost between $60 and $80.
The poles vary in length ” for different-sized people and different types of workout needs ” and have straps that go around the user’s wrist. The poles are usually adjusted to a smaller length ” from the ground to the elbow of a standing person ” than their snowbound Nordic skiing counterparts, which usually come up to the user’s armpit, Adams said.
With the wrist straps fastened and the other ends of the poles behind them on the ground, Nordic walkers-in-training begin by walking regularly, while keeping their elbows straightened. When trainees can walk with a comfortable stride, they focus on proper upper body form, moving their straightened arms from their hips out in front of them as though they are shaking someone’s hand, Adams said.
The trainees then focus on the poles. When their hands reach navel-level in stride, they plant the pole on the ground and lightly push off with each step ” in the natural left arm-right leg, right arm-left leg alternating rhythm ” while allowing the poles to drag behind them on the ground. When this basic rhythm is achieved, the trainees can start lifting the poles off the ground between strides, planting them back on the ground with each strike of the opposite heel.
After the trainee becomes comfortable with the poles, a more dynamic workout can be created than walking alone.
“There’s lots of variety ” walking lunges, squats, step-ups. It’s a combo of your cardio and weight training,” she said. “Whatever somebody’s interest and (fitness) level is, we can come up with something.”
In addition to providing a more thorough workout, the poles help alleviate impact on lower body joints.
“If you have a bad back or bad knees, you don’t want to put that extra stress on them,” Adams said. “This is a way to moderate someone’s workout with poles ... reducing stress on the joints.”
She said the poles are also a great fit for older people; those with neck and back pain or tension; pregnant women or women trying to lose weight post-pregnancy; and a variety of others looking to supplement their workout or begin a fitness program, regardless of their fitness level or age.
“The younger people think it’s just for the older people, and the older people think you have to be pretty fit,” Adams said of Nordic walking. “Both of those are myths. It’s so safe and fun.”
Adams teaches a Nordic walking clinic at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays at Shu’s Idaho Running Company in Boise and will have a booth at the Fruitland Family Fun Days event Saturday at Fruitland Community Park. She is also teaching a six-week Nordic walking class at Treasure Valley Community College this fall. The class is from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Wednesdays and Fridays from Oct. 1 to Nov. 7.
“I live here, and I see lots of walkers out,” she said. “I would love for people to have the opportunity (to try Nordic walking). Most people, they really like it.”
LIFESTYLE WELLNESS TIPS
Lori Adams, owner of Health Adventure Coach LLC, Fruitland, is a Nordic walking, weight training and older adult fitness instructor.
Her motto is: lifestyle wellness equals an adventure of health plus vitality.
‘To me, it’s having the ability to live out your lifestyle ” whatever that is ” in the degree of health and vitality to live out your passions, dreams and goals,’ she said and offered some tips on achieving lifestyle wellness:
No. 1: Never give up on your dreams ” your dreams and your visions energize you.
No. 2: Exercise daily ” move your body for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day, whether that’s three 10-minute sessions or two 15-minute sessions.
No. 3: Don’t forget to play ” buy a frisbee for a dollar, or do something else that you haven’t done for years.
No. 4: Make food choices as close to their natural state as possible ” when you go shopping, try to stay on the outside of the store. Do 80 percent of your shopping in the outside aisles (produce, yogurt, etc.).
No. 5: Be a good steward of everything God has given you ” that can include our bodies/health, time, finances and the people we put in our lives ... be a good steward of it all. I think that will bring out a good sense of balance and lifestyle wellness.
