Nordic Walking After 50: Is It Worth Learning, and How Do You Start?

Nordic walking is ordinary walking with two poles, each pushed back behind you as you stride, so your arms do work too.

It is worth learning if you want more from the same walk. A review of studies in adults aged 60 to 92 found gains in fitness, strength and balance while moving.

What the research found for older adults

Bullo and colleagues pooled 15 studies of adults aged 60 to 92, in a 2018 review in Rejuvenation Research. Compared with groups that stayed sedentary, Nordic walking improved aerobic capacity, upper- and lower-limb strength, and functional and dynamic balance.

Against plain walking, poles also added gains in dynamic balance, lower-body flexibility and quality of life.

An earlier review by Tschentscher and colleagues, in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2013, covered 16 randomized trials and 11 observational studies. Nordic walking beat brisk walking without poles on heart rate, oxygen use and quality of life.

In some measures it also beat jogging.

The groups included people with various diseases.

The technique in five steps

The steps draw on Harvard Health, the pole maker Leki and the International Nordic Walking Federation.

1. Set the pole length. Hold your forearm out at a right angle to your body. Your palm should cover the top of the pole.
2. Plant the pole at an angle. The pole goes down angled toward the back, not vertical.
3. Push down and back. Pushing down and back through the poles pulls the body forwards and up. Grip firmly as the pole plants, then open your hand fully on the follow-through.
4. Swing the opposite arm. The right arm goes forward with the left leg, and the left arm with the right leg. Keep your normal stride, landing heel first and rolling through the foot.
5. Use rubber tips on sidewalks. Poles come with pointed tips for trails and rubber tips for sidewalks.

With the pole angled back, your arms help push you forward. That is what separates this from carrying poles along.

How it differs from trekking with poles

Trekking and hiking poles have loose wrist straps. Most Nordic poles carry a glove-like strap system instead, and you slide your hand into it.

If you mainly want poles for steep or loose ground, whether you need walking poles at all depends on your knees, your balance and where you walk.

Three beginner trekking poles differ in lock, grip, anti-shock and travel size.

Who gains most

Harvard Health describes Nordic walking as particularly helpful for older adults. It says it can help improve mobility and balance.

The force of each stride is spread through the poles, and so less of it goes through the legs.

The clearest fits are walkers who want more fitness and strength, and walkers who want steadier balance while moving.

If a joint hurts in a sharp or new way, stop and ask your doctor. For balance work away from the trail, a short home balance routine covers seven moves.

Your first four sessions

If you normally walk 20 to 30 minutes, Harvard Health suggests using the poles for about a quarter of the walk at first.

Finish the walk without them.

Harvard Health advises beginning with single poling, one pole planted for each stride, and building speed and arm swing gradually.

Before you leave, set each pole with the forearm test, and fit the rubber tips if you will walk on sidewalks. Walk at a pace where you could hold a conversation, and keep your usual steps.

1. Session one: single poling, natural steps, conversational pace.
2. Session two: the same pace, now swinging the opposite arm with each leg.
3. Session three: add the push, down and back, with the open hand on the follow-through.
4. Session four: let the arm swing grow a little and the pace rise slightly.

Leki puts the pace limit simply: if your breathing becomes irregular, you are probably moving too quickly.