Proficiency in pole handling during Nordic walking influences exercise effectiveness in middle-aged and older adults

Nordic walking (NW) is a total body version of walking increasingly used as a health-promoting activity by middle-aged and older adults. The present study examined the relationship between force exerted through the pole and physiological response during NW. In this non-randomized exercise trial, 17 participants comprising 8 middle-aged and older recreationally trained Nordic walkers (NWrec: 63.7 ± 8.1 years) and 9 experienced NW instructors (NWinstr: 57.5 ± 7.8 years) underwent outdoor ordinary walking (OW) and NW bouts as fast as possible for 12 minutes. Walking distance, speed, heart rate (HR), energy expenditure (METs and J/kg/m) and upper and lower limb muscle activities using surface electromyogram (EMG) were assessed. A pole with a built-in load cell measured force applied to the pole with peak pole force, pole contact time, % of pole contact time with respect to the gait cycle, and pole impulse derived. We conducted two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for age and BMI. There was a significant group and walking type interaction for walking distance and speed (P = 0.04), METs (P \u3c 0.01), and HR (P = 0.04) with higher values in the NWinstr group during NW than OW. As expected, upper limb EMG activities increased (P \u3c 0.01) with NW in both groups. All pole force measures were significantly higher in NWinstr than NWrec (P ≤ 0.01). Change in walking distance and speed were correlated with pole peak force (r = 0.67, P \u3c 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.63, P = 0.01). Similarly, change in METs was associated with peak pole force (r = 0.66, P \u3c 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.56, P = 0.02). These results indicate that planting the pole on the ground more forcefully and for longer periods to derive a driving force in NW enhances the effectiveness of the exercise and potentially the health-derived benefits

Proficiency in pole handling during Nordic walking influences exercise effectiveness in middle-aged and older adults.

Nordic walking (NW) is a total body version of walking increasingly used as a health-promoting activity by middle-aged and older adults. The present study examined the relationship between force exerted through the pole and physiological response during NW. In this non-randomized exercise trial, 17 participants comprising 8 middle-aged and older recreationally trained Nordic walkers (NWrec: 63.7 ± 8.1 years) and 9 experienced NW instructors (NWinstr: 57.5 ± 7.8 years) underwent outdoor ordinary walking (OW) and NW bouts as fast as possible for 12 minutes. Walking distance, speed, heart rate (HR), energy expenditure (METs and J/kg/m) and upper and lower limb muscle activities using surface electromyogram (EMG) were assessed. A pole with a built-in load cell measured force applied to the pole with peak pole force, pole contact time, % of pole contact time with respect to the gait cycle, and pole impulse derived. We conducted two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for age and BMI. There was a significant group and walking type interaction for walking distance and speed (P = 0.04), METs (P < 0.01), and HR (P = 0.04) with higher values in the NWinstr group during NW than OW. As expected, upper limb EMG activities increased (P < 0.01) with NW in both groups. All pole force measures were significantly higher in NWinstr than NWrec (P ≤ 0.01). Change in walking distance and speed were correlated with pole peak force (r = 0.67, P < 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.63, P = 0.01). Similarly, change in METs was associated with peak pole force (r = 0.66, P < 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.56, P = 0.02). These results indicate that planting the pole on the ground more forcefully and for longer periods to derive a driving force in NW enhances the effectiveness of the exercise and potentially the health-derived benefits