Nordic walking question

I was curious about this nordic walking. I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

Where are you located? Is there a training group around during the off
season? Something like that would help point the way, including with
technique. What is your exercise or training goal? I've also had a bad
knee for many decades and have been ski walking for about 15 years.
Once warmed up, walk briskly - keeping that up for some time is the
hard part - find hills or lots of serious rolling terrain. For
increased intensity, I jog part or all of some hills, or just walk
faster, sometimes doing repeats (and often jog downhills to keep my
heart rate up). Think faster turnover, as opposed to taking longer
strides. Same poling motion as with x-c ski poles, including a bit of ab
compression, tho arm motion shortened in follow through. Poles should
be no longer than nipple height, relatively light is best, and having a
rollerski ferrule on the end is helpful.

Gene

john wrote:

I was curious about this nordic walking. I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

On Mar 24, 6:31*am, john wrote:
*My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? *


Try Nordic walking with a heart rate monitor and you can compare your
cardio workout vs. the same terrain and pace without the poles.

As a follow up, some helpful pieces at
http://www.ernordic.com/~ralph/08-09...nchor-skiwalk2

http://www.crosscountryskier.com/tra..._nov_2003.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=5wh...um=7&ct=result

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2...6-27320541_ITM (maybe
can get online access to Anikina's excellent Cross Country Skier article
(9/2001) or via your local library.

There's also ski walking video from xczone, which seems like it could
be helpful since it differentiates between "nordic walking" and "ski
walking," i.e., what's been long practiced by x-c skiers. Only caveat is
that one reviewer noted the lack of poling technique explanation
(pushing off, letting go with hands).
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDK74G/...linkCod e=asn

Gene



wrote:

Where are you located? Is there a training group around during the off
season? Something like that would help point the way, including with
technique. What is your exercise or training goal? I've also had a bad
knee for many decades and have been ski walking for about 15 years.
Once warmed up, walk briskly - keeping that up for some time is the
hard part - find hills or lots of serious rolling terrain. For
increased intensity, I jog part or all of some hills, or just walk
faster, sometimes doing repeats (and often jog downhills to keep my
heart rate up). Think faster turnover, as opposed to taking longer
strides. Same poling motion as with x-c ski poles, including a bit of ab
compression, tho arm motion shortened in follow through. Poles should
be no longer than nipple height, relatively light is best, and having a
rollerski ferrule on the end is helpful.

Gene

john wrote:

I was curious about this nordic walking. I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

On Mar 24, 11:16*am, wrote:
As a follow up, some helpful pieces athttp://www.ernordic.com/~ralph/08-09archive/ralph0810.htm#anchor-skiw...

http://www.crosscountryskier.com/tra..._nov_2003.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=5wh...lpg=PA194&dq=s...

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2...0541_ITM(maybe
can get online access to Anikina's excellent Cross Country Skier article
(9/2001) or via your local library.

There's also ski walking video from xczone, which seems like it could
be helpful since it differentiates between "nordic walking" and "ski
walking," i.e., what's been long practiced by x-c skiers. Only caveat is
that one reviewer noted the lack of poling technique explanation
(pushing off, letting go with hands).http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDK74G/...4G746741?tag=s...

Gene

wrote:
Where are you located? *Is there a training group around during the off
season? *Something like that would help point the way, including with
technique. What is your exercise or training goal? *I've also had a bad
knee for many decades and have been ski walking for about 15 years.
Once warmed up, walk briskly - keeping that up for some time is the
hard part - find hills or lots of serious rolling terrain. *For
increased intensity, I jog part or all of some hills, or just walk
faster, sometimes doing repeats (and often jog downhills to keep my
heart rate up). Think faster turnover, as opposed to taking longer
strides. Same poling motion as with x-c ski poles, including a bit of ab
compression, tho arm motion shortened in follow through. Poles should
be no longer than nipple height, relatively light is best, and having a
rollerski ferrule on the end is helpful. *

Gene

john wrote:

I was curious about this nordic walking. *I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. *My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? *When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. *I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

Thanks, I actually ordered that DVD yesterday. I don't have any
particular training goals, I just enjoy running and would like to have
a similar sort of activity I can do until my knee hopefully heals.
Thanks for all the tips and ideas.

"john" wrote in message
...
On Mar 24, 11:16 am, wrote:
As a follow up, some helpful pieces
athttp://www.ernordic.com/~ralph/08-09archive/ralph0810.htm#anchor-skiw...

http://www.crosscountryskier.com/tra..._nov_2003.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=5wh...lpg=PA194&dq=s...

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2...0541_ITM(maybe
can get online access to Anikina's excellent Cross Country Skier article
(9/2001) or via your local library.

There's also ski walking video from xczone, which seems like it could
be helpful since it differentiates between "nordic walking" and "ski
walking," i.e., what's been long practiced by x-c skiers. Only caveat is
that one reviewer noted the lack of poling technique explanation
(pushing off, letting go with
hands).http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDK74G/...4G746741?tag=s
....

Gene

wrote:
Where are you located? Is there a training group around during the off
season? Something like that would help point the way, including with
technique. What is your exercise or training goal? I've also had a bad
knee for many decades and have been ski walking for about 15 years.
Once warmed up, walk briskly - keeping that up for some time is the
hard part - find hills or lots of serious rolling terrain. For
increased intensity, I jog part or all of some hills, or just walk
faster, sometimes doing repeats (and often jog downhills to keep my
heart rate up). Think faster turnover, as opposed to taking longer
strides. Same poling motion as with x-c ski poles, including a bit of ab
compression, tho arm motion shortened in follow through. Poles should
be no longer than nipple height, relatively light is best, and having a
rollerski ferrule on the end is helpful.

Gene

john wrote:

I was curious about this nordic walking. I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

Thanks, I actually ordered that DVD yesterday. I don't have any
particular training goals, I just enjoy running and would like to have
a similar sort of activity I can do until my knee hopefully heals.
Thanks for all the tips and ideas.

If it interests you, and you doc thinks it's OK, you might consider inline
skating; it's load bearing, non-impact. More equipment intensive(expensive)
than nordic walking, but infinitely more entertaining.

As a 50+ yr old inline speedskater, I can tell you the sport has many former
runners.

ED3

On Mar 24, 5:31*am, john wrote:
I was curious about this nordic walking. *I have a knee problem that
doesn't allow me to run much and I wanted to do a weight bearing
activity a couple days a week in addition to cycling. *My question is,
can you get a decent workout by doing nordic striding or walking or
whatever on rolling terrain without having to resort to some sort of
bounding movement? *When I look at websites it's all a bunch of senior
citizens walking around with sticks in their hands, it doesn't look so
rigorous, but then I read about elite skiers using it a lot in the
summer. *I suspect I'm also doing it wrong.

Maybe I'm mixing up two things, but something we do which we call "ski
walking" - walking involving trying to mimic the leg action of classic/
striding skiing - is only effective at a steady uphil. Rolling hills
or flats result in speed walking, walking or jogging, none of which
are what we call ski-walking. You need to find a steady uphill that
will give you the length of workout you're looking for.

Maybe nordic walking is something different.

I think what you're referring to is called moosehoofing. The terms have
become a bit mixed. When Antonia Annikina wrote an article with
extensive photos in Cross Country Skier in 2001, she called aggressive
walking with ski poles ski walking. But last season CXC's director,
Yuriy Gusev, wrote an article that referred to that as nordic walking,
ski walking being something that requires some level of feet off the
ground action (jog, running with poles). I think it was the Swedish
(?) coach Steinar Mundal who wrote several years ago in The Master
Skier that the practice of walking with ski poles for ski training
is American. Since I can't run for three hours, pole or no poles, I
don't worry about it, but mix it up.

Gene

wrote:

Maybe I'm mixing up two things, but something we do which we call "ski
walking" - walking involving trying to mimic the leg action of classic/
striding skiing - is only effective at a steady uphil. Rolling hills
or flats result in speed walking, walking or jogging, none of which
are what we call ski-walking. You need to find a steady uphill that
will give you the length of workout you're looking for.

Maybe nordic walking is something different.