| The physiological responses to walking with and without poles were studied by Hendrickson (1993) and by Porcari et al. (1997). Hendrickson’s study group consisted of 16 fit women (VO2Max 50 ml/kg/min) and men (59 ml/min/kg). They walked with and without poles on a treadmill at speeds of 6-7.5 km/hr. There were no differences in the responses between males and females. | A Finnish study (Anettila et al. 1999) compared pole walking with regular walking training for 12 weeks in 55 female office workers. The EMG measurement showed that electrical activities of the muscles of the upper body, neck, shoulder and upper back were significantly higher when walking with poles. Pole walking training diminished neck and shoulder symptoms and subjective feelings of pain. Mobility of the upper body increased as well. | The Cooper Institute in Texas compared physiological responses of Nordic Walking to regular walking. The caloric expenditure and the oxygen consumption increase on an average with 20% and the heart rate increase with about 10 beats per minute when using the Exel Nordic Walker poles. The interesting thing is that even through the body works harder using the poles, the RPE (rated perceived exertion) was the same walking with or without poles! |
