Neuro Café 3rd August 2022 by Linda S
We were joined by Martin Christie from Walx who gave us a thorough and interesting overview of Nordic Walking and its many benefits.
Walx is a walking club, with groups throughout the UK. The focus is on fitness, wellness and peer support.
WALX Hampstead is run by Martin Christie. Martin brought Nordic walking into the UK in 2003, founded Nordic Walking UK and has personally trained over 3000 instructors.
Nordic Walking and its Benefits
Engages all your muscles
Can improve walking speed
Improves cardiovascular fitness
Encourages beneficial walking patterns such as thoracic rotation
Can be particularly beneficial for those with Parkinson's
Footfall Patterns
Gait analysis has shown people do longer strides with poles
From a test group, 100% of nordic walkers were still doing it 6 months later
70% of the group had partners or friends doing it with them
Note that the best exercise is the one that you do!
Be mindful...
Work at your level. Do not walk more than a third of the distance you would normally walk in a first instance.
Nordic Walking can give you better walking patterns, but you need to build this up gradually.
Ensure you have the correct sized poles for you. Your wrist should be slightly lower than your elbow, so a bead of water would slowly roll off.
Ferrules for Different Surfaces
There are boot grips, and spiked tips for grass or mud
Different surfaces can be a challenge
You can change the ferrule to a bell-shaped one
How do I get involved?
Find a local Walx group and instructor via their website: https://walx.co.uk
The Parkinson's UK YouTube channel has some videos and advice about Nordic Walking
See the LEGS Members’ Area for the slides from this session and more details.