May 28th is celebrated as World Nordic Walking Day.
Have you ever practiced this sport? To do it you just need some appropriate poles and, of course, a correct technique.
Nordic Walking consists of ‘walking with poles’ but not with just any poles, but with Nordic walking poles that are designed for the impulsion of the upper body. And it’s not only about walking but also about doing it with the proper technique to get the most out of this sport.
When Nordic walking’ we use arms, shoulders, back, legs and hips, and, regardless of our age, and we can improve our physical condition or tone our muscles, but it can also serve as anaerobic training or therapeutic walking.
The origins of Nordic walking date back to the decade of the 30s of the last century in the Nordic countries. Some place its beginning in Finland and attribute it to the Finnish national cross country skiing team, which began training in summer simulating as closely as possible, winter Nordic skiing activities, walking and running with ski poles so that adaptation to pole technique and general aerobic fitness would not be lost.
In 1996 the first documented classes of ‘pole walking’ were recorded and ten years later the first public presentation of cross-country ski pole walking took place in Tampere (Finland).
In 1988, Tom Rutlin, a ski coach, developed a technique using specific poles to activate the upper body musculature while walking. In 1996 the first research and tests on the health benefits of Nordic walking were carried out and, a year later, it was the Finnish manufacturer of walking poles Exel who proposed the name ‘Nordic Walking’, translated in Spain as ‘Marcha Nórdica’ (Nordic Walking). At the same time, the first carbon fiber pole for this practice was developed and the international development of this new sport began.
In Spain, Nordic walking began to be introduced in 2000 and in 2016 the Consejo Superior de Deportes recognized it as an official sport.
