What is the best way to safely enhance your cardio-vascular fitness and build muscle strength while walking? For health and fitness purposes, many people seek to increase the physical challenge of their walking exercise. They ask their upper body to work harder by carrying hand weights. Or they wear a […]
Lighten your load; don’t weigh yourself down! – A physiotherapist compares walking with a weighted vest or carrying hand weights, vs using Nordic walking poles
11 posts
Fall risk increases with speed of movement and a narrow base of support. Consider the thrill of a gymnast gracefully balancing on a narrow beam, or a downhill skier racing down a mountain, full speed on narrow skis! Risk reduction involves widening the base and slowing the pace! Add poles […]
The key to managing Osteoarthritis (OA) and to maintaining high quality of life is to keep moving. But how to do that when your joints are painful? It is well known that exercise is essential for health and physical fitness including strength building. However, many people don’t know that exercise […]
“Inactivity can drag you down; and physical activity can pull you up!” (Chalder et al, 2012) There is strong international evidence on the power of physical activity (PA) to prevent and treat depression. Physical activity is so important that in Canada, exercise is part of front-line treatment for depression. It […]
Extensive research shows that regular exercise improves quality of life for people living with cancer, at every stage of the cancer journey from prevention, early detection, active treatment, and post treatment phases, and that exercise reduces the risk of recurrence for some cancers. In the past, health professionals were concerned […]
Bone is living tissue, which means it is constantly changing and remodeling. In order to stay healthy, your bones need regular mechanical stimulation through exercise and physical activity. With normal aging there is a gradual loss of bone density and quality. For some, bone health decreases to such a degree […]
Regular Nordic walking is one of the best activities you can do for your health! Giving it a try is a great first step, however, be honest with yourself. Are you doing it correctly? You deserve to know how to avoid injury and to achieve the most benefit from this […]
The number of steps you take per day, and the exercise intensity of those steps, is directly related to your health. For most people, the more steps the better, especially if some higher level intensity steps are included. Unfortunately, research shows only 15% of adults get the daily amount of exercise they […]
Covid-19 has required everyone to make adjustments and sacrifices for the health of our communities. While progress has been made, significant challenges remain which means we all need to pay close attention to our self-care and that of our loved ones. Physical distancing is key. So too is mental health self-care […]
Giving your body the rest it needs to recover from an injury is often more painful than the pain of the injured tissue itself. For injured athletes, staying still can feel impossible. Discuss with your physiotherapist or other health professional how Nordic walking can help you stay active and maintain […]