Nordic Walking News

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With thanks to Heathley Clarke of www.nordic-fitness.co.uk for producing this article.

This article introduces Nordic Snowshoeing, as part of the Nordic Fitness family of exercises, and as a natural extension to Winter Nordic Walking.

Winter Nordic Walking

Nordic Walking is not simply a Summer or warm weather exercise; it’s a year-round way of maintaining a health and fitness lifestyle – and that includes making best use of the nice white stuff: Snow!

Your Nordic Walking technique works perfectly well in the Winter as well as at all other times of the year. In particular, when there is snow on the ground, effective use of the spike or tip on your Nordic Walking poles maintains good rhythm and cadence, and aids balance and posture, especially if the surface under foot is a little slippery.

I would recommend the use of some trainers or water-resistant running shoes that have good jagged teeth, or, preferably with tiny spikes that grip the snow/ice perfectly; ‘Icebugs’ are a popular choice of trainers for Winter Nordic Walking enthusiasts.

Nordic Snowshoeing

An extension to Nordic Winter Walking is Nordic Snowshoeing – an exciting and tremendously energetic way of experiencing crystal clean snowfields or your favourite tracks. Using your Nordic Walking poles – replacing the existing spike/tip with special Snowshoe Baskets – you can still exercise your walking technique whilst exaggerating lower-body workouts, as well as upper-body.

Nordic Snowshoeing is currently experiencing a boom in popularity, especially in Europe, and uses many different types of Snowshoes, depending on whether you are a beginner, or adventure athlete seeking demanding and challenging terrain!

Using water-resistant trainers or hiking boots (plus gaiters, if preferred), you strap yourself into the comfortable bindings, attached in the toe, mid-foot and heal areas, and off you go. The Snowshoes angle at the toe to allow natural foot rolling movements, with powerful and sharp metal claws underneath to grip ice and maintain a firm stance in the snow.

Choosing Snowshoes

There are various sizes and types of Snowshoe, depending on the type of terrain you wish to walk in; the type of snow – whether hard-packed crud, or fresh powder; and, most importantly, your weight.

The size of the Snowshoe is dependent upon your weight, and most manufacturers, or your local hire store, will advise on the most suitable size, but the general principles are:
The larger the surface area of the Snowshoe, the greater the flotation in the snow;
The smaller the surface area of the Snowshoe, the greater the manoeuvrability in the snow.
Your Workout – deep snow style!

The depth, texture and gradient of terrain will determine the challenges you will face in your Nordic Snowshoe workout, however, as with Nordic Walking, you determine the amount of effort you wish to put in. In deep snow the effort levels to maintain momentum become higher, hence the exaggerated lower-body workouts with Nordic Snowshoeing.

The technique for Nordic Snowshoeing is to maintain a slightly wider stance when walking, as the Snowshoes can be quite wide. Then, imagine walking up 2 or 3 steps on a staircase, instead of 1, each stride, for 1-2 hours. That’s the type of effort required, as the feet (and, therefore, the Snowshoes) need to clear the snow level for each stride.

This increases if you start to run, or the gradient steepens. Your arm movements still need to push into the Nordic Walking poles, and you’ll find that they significantly aid forward momentum, as it’s quite easy to become entrenched within deep snow if this is not maintained.

Heart rates for Nordic Snowshoeing can increase significantly over and above those for normal or Winter Nordic Walking: recent estimates based on personal workouts averaged upto 25% higher, simply due to the increased work required in clearing my feet from the deep snow. This increased when running on flat terrain, and down steep inclines.

Of course, if deep snow is not your style, or if your prefer a more relaxed Nordic Snowshoe workout, walking in prepared and cleared tracks is easily achieved.

Snowshoeing versus Nordic Walking?

They’re both equally attractive to the Nordic junkie! With Nordic Snowshoeing the major emphasis is on fun in deep snow, where the main characteristics of Nordic Walking may not seem as practical. However, you’re using the same Nordic Walking poles, even the same footwear, so why try it the next time you have snow in your back yard!

The next article of Nordic Snowshoeing will focus on advanced walking techniques and variations, more advice on choice of Snowshoes and fitting, and walking in different types of snow.

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Heathley Clarke specialises in Nordic Fitness sports instruction: Nordic Walking, Nordic Blading, Nordic Skiing. Contact him at http://www.nordic-fitness.co.uk/

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