Idea from Finland – Nordic walking

Description

Nordic walking has developed from “skiing-walking” and has been practiced in Finland for decades. Big popularity began in the late 1990’s and increased rapidly to 760,000 enthusiasts, according to a 2004 survey. There are about twenty national organizations in the world focused on Nordic walking, and there are an estimated seven million Nordic walkers worldwide.

The poles used for Nordic walking differ from ski and hiking poles, e.g. for its length. There is a special technique for walking: a light grip on the poles, shoulders down, the poles are held backwards and close to the body. In pushing, the tip of the rod hits the ground at the heel of the opposite foot, and the pushing is done directly from front to back. The small frontal and rotational movements of the body affect the back and abdominal muscles and the mobility of the spine. When using the poles, the fitness also increases in the upper body area, which is not affected by normal walking and using poles has many other positive effects on health also. Nordic walking consumes significantly more energy than regular walking.

The photo on the card was taken from a Nordic walking event in Kalevankangas, Mikkeli on 5th of September 2017.