SKI WALKING: NOT JUST FOR SNOW-DEPRIVED SKI RACERS ANYMORE

By Pete Edwards, owner/founder www.skiwalking.com

Ski Walking, also called Nordic Walking, is the fastest growing fitness activity in Europe. Over 760,000 Finns of all ages and all fitness levels are hiking with their poles—that’s 20 percent of Finland’s entire population. Millions are Ski Walking all across Europe, too. Ski Walking is basically walking with special fitness poles—no skis and no snow required.

The Finns saw the success of their world class cross country skiers utilizing ski poles in the summer for Ski Walking and Hill Bounding. They also saw how a hiker with knee pain could walk with a hiking stick and eliminate that knee pain. And how back packers complained that their backs hurt until they were given poles. So the Finns developed walking poles with removable rubber tips (for hard surfaces, such as pavement), added special carbide ferrules (for snow, ice, beach, trail, sand dune), and borrowed the most comfortable cross country ski straps they could find. They also discovered that the perfect length poles for recreational Ski Walking were poles that put the Ski Walker’s elbow at 90 degrees when strapped in and standing tall. And now Americans of all ages and athletic abilities have the opportunity to unlock the calorie burning and aerobic benefits of Ski Walking.

I’ve hosted hundreds of Ski Walking Clinics from Lake Tahoe, California to the Green Mountains of Vermont. And everywhere I go, folks of all ages and all fitness levels are pleasantly surprised by how good Ski Walking feels and how effective Ski Walking is—providing a better aerobic and cardio workout than regular walking and radically reducing the pounding and stress to the knees, hips, and back. And Ski Walking is appropriate for people with sore or new knees, sore or new hips, back problems, MS, Parkinson’s, shin splints, runner’s knee, and other issues.

How? By utilizing the correct length poles, we are automatically forced to walk taller, with hips forward and the back straighter. Better posture is biomechanically a good thing! Combine this improved posture with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive action of walking with fitness poles and there is a noticeable decrease in the stress put on the weight bearing joints. It is not magic. It is just physics.

Marketing hype? No, Ski Walking really does burn up to 40 percent more calories than regular walking. According to the Cooper Institute’s Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sports 2002 publication, Ski Walking produces up to a 46 percent increase in energy consumption compared to regular walking. Unlike regular walking, running, and biking, Ski Walking really works the arms, shoulders, and abs.

Perfect fitting poles are important. Make sure you are able to specify your height when you order Ski Walking poles—that way you’ll know they are perfect for you. Real Nordic Walking (Ski Walking) Poles are fixed length. Adjustable poles are not recommended by the Scandinavians. My fixed length poles are more durable, lighter, hassle free, and designed for every day use, unlike adjustable poles that are heavier, collapse at inconvenient times, and have twist lock systems that wear out. Adjustable/telescoping poles are only suitable for traveling, when the poles need to fit into a suitcase or backpack.

My “VIP’s” (Very Important Poles) are custom-made for me in Lillehammer, Norway and come with patented comfortable straps, removable rubber tips for the road/hard surfaces, and durable carbide tips for snow, ice, trail and beach. The “VIP’s” are the #1 selling Ski Walking Poles in the USA. I hope you’ll give them a try! More than 760,000 Finns can’t be wrong!

Pete Edwards is a former Ski School Director, Running Coach, Personal Trainer and the owner/founder of WWW.SKIWALKING.COM. For more information, call 877-SKIWALKING or 877-754-9255 or send an e-mail to GETFIT@SKIWALKING.COM .