The late Dr Michael Mosley championed Nordic walking as a 90s-style workout that can burn fat and help with back pain, without needing a gym membership – just a pair of poles and the open air.
As highlighted on the BBC's Just One Thing series, Nordic walking uses poles to drive you along as you walk. It looks a bit like skiing but requires no snow. The technique first gained popularity in the 90s when skiers used it for summer training and has since exploded worldwide.
The BBC explained: "The long poles keep the muscles in your body engaged, transforming a regular walk into a more intensive, full-body workout. Research shows Nordic walking gives you a bigger fat burn and unique health benefits – like improved back posture – compared to regular walking."
Italian Study Results
Nordic walking is more demanding than ordinary walking because it works your upper body as well as your legs. An Italian study split participants into two groups: one did Nordic walking, the other brisk walking. Mosley said this was done three times a week for six months.
He said: "Although both groups got fitter, it was only the group swinging the poles who saw significant deductions in body fat." Explaining why, Mosley said: "It's probably because when you are striding out with poles flying, you are engaging almost twice as many muscles."
Is Nordic Walking Good for Back Pain?
It seems it can be. In a study, 80 volunteers with chronic lower back pain were split into two groups: one took up Nordic walking, while the other continued their usual routine. The Nordic walking group completed ten one-hour training sessions over four weeks.
By the end, they reported a significant drop in pain, alongside gains in fitness, strength and flexibility. They also saw a mental boost, with participants noting improvements in their overall mental health after Nordic walking.
Nordic Walking Wins Again
Dr Jennifer Reed from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute said the University carried out a study where rehabilitation patients with heart disease were randomly divided into three groups: Nordic walking, moderate training (equivalent to 30-45 minutes of elliptical training) and high intensity interval training (HIIT).
After 12 weeks of performing these exercises twice weekly, the results showed that Nordic walking led to the greatest improvements. She said: "Surprisingly, we found Nordic walking leads to greater improvements in functional capacity over the course of the 12-week programme."
Doctor Reed, who carried out the study, explains functional capacity as "activities that you would do during your normal day-to-day routine that require physical effort. How we measured functional capacity in this trial was by using a six-minute walk test – we asked our participants to walk around an indoor track as quickly as they could for six minutes. And that distance measured at the end of the six minutes represents our measure of functional capacity."
Can Nordic Walking Help Your Posture?
Yes. Dr Reed says regular Nordic walking improves upper and lower-body strength, core strength, posture and more. She explains: "Nordic walking does lead to an improvement in upper and lower body strength, core strength [and] posture that comes with regular use of the Nordic walking poles, as well as gait, or speed of walking. All of those elements likely contributed as we observed an improvement in functional capacity following the Nordic walking group."
How to Do Nordic Walking
Doctor Reed says this can be done by anyone, explaining: "With Nordic walking, you grip the pole and you press down on the ground as you walk. When you finish your stride, you release your hand from the pole and use the straps to pull the pole back up to the starting position."
One of the biggest advantages of Nordic walking is its accessibility. If you can walk, you can do it, the BBC series notes. The technique is straightforward – and there are plenty of excellent online videos that clearly show you how to get it right.
Doctor Reed suggests: "Start with a few minutes. Establish the technique. But once you're comfortable, you could begin with 10 minutes, building to 150 minutes over the course of the week." Urging people to try it, she said: "You have the ability to modify 80% of your risk for cardiovascular disease. Any physical activity is beneficial for your overall cardiovascular health."
Mosley concluded the series saying, "I am convinced", admitting: "I have been adding poles to my morning walk as well. I found it really encouraging that I am getting more of a workout in the same time frame. Once I got the hang of using the poles, I found I could really get my heart rate up."
So why not give Nordic walking a go. You could improve your heart health, benefit your back and lift your mood.
