NORDIC WALKING FOR HIKERS/BACKPACKERS

From city streets to mountain peaks!
Hike faster, farther and more efficiently with Nordic walking.

Hikers and backpackers have been aware of the most touted benefits of hiking with the aid of poles for years- lessening the stress on knees. The biggest benefit however, is often overlooked.  Poles can increase the distance/ rate of travel by sharing the workload with more muscles. While many embrace these benefits, others are confused by the apparent paradox- how can poles make hikers more efficient if they recruit more muscles and increase heart rates? To further confuse the issue in recent years more and more people are using poles to increase the intensity of their fitness walking. The answer deals with two primary areas, human bio-mechanics and energy systems.

Hikers moving without poles relay primarily on the legs and hips to perform the majority of the work, resulting in those primary movers being the limiting factor once fatigue sets in from depleted stored fuel reserves and/or a build up of lactic acid.  Add a moderate to heavy backpack to the equation and the rate of fatigue increases, especially in the stabilizations muscles of the hip. Hiking poles or Nordic walking poles recruit the major muscle groups of the body and utilizes them has primary movers during a normal walking stride.  This shared work load prolongs the time of any specific muscle group reaching fatigue.

The recruitment of those additional upper body muscles does increase the heart rate on average from 5-10 beats per minute.  Nordic walkers use poles and FITTREK’S LPI SYSTEM to reach even greater increases in heart rates to increase fitness levels. They accomplish this by using a more aggressive recruitment of the upper body muscles and adding resistance to the poles. Hikers utilize similar pole techniques, but in a gentler, balanced manner.  Still the fact remains that poles increase the heart rate. This has often been misinterpreted to support the claims that poles increase fatigue or work load. It is an overly simplistic interpretation of how the body works.  While the heart rate is increased more muscles are utilized at a lower work load resulting in a more efficient energy system being utilized as the primary fuel source.  For endurance endeavors the preferred fuel source is fat oxidation. It is the fuel source that contains the most abundant energy.  The shared work load offered by using poles increases the utilization of fat as the primary fuel source.

FITTREK’S NORDIC WALKING SYSTEM is the ultimate training tool for hikers and backpackers preparing for an ambitious trek.  The system allows them to train for shorter durations at higher intensity- a great concept in the real world where most of us have to allow time for work.   Once on the trail they use their poles to go faster, further and more comfortable than ever before. 

FITTREK’S instructional booklet, (included with every pair of poles) explains everything in an easy to learn fashion.  Diagrams clearly illustrate all seven of FITTREK’S Nordic walking techniques, so learning the technique best suited for your needs is a snap.  Just look at the drawings and repeat the motions.  A suggested exercise plan spells everything out step by step, in a simple easy to follow routine.