Nordic walking was launched in Finland in 1997 as a summer fitness work out for cross country skiers . It was later promoted by the Finnish government to encourage the people to exercise . About 760,000 Finns exercise with this walking frequently.
The Nordic walking extended fast in the Nordic countries like Norway Sweden Germany , where more people are familiar with Nordic style skiing .
In Finland ,at the summer, the average each day temperature is consistently higher than 10C . We also know that all the countries mentioned here are mostly cold countries. So what happens in the hot countries where the average summer temperatures
Are around 30 c ? Is this kind of activity suitable for those countries , where there is no snow at all ?
I am living in a hot country with summer temperatures about the 30 c.
From my own practice I can assure you It is suitable also to hot countries but I have to emphasis the following points :
Walking time: Early morning , is my favorite time . The air is most of the time not polluted .The car traffic is low . You have a chance to see the sunrise . Not Many walkers .
Clothes: Use light clothing as possible . Light shirt .Short trousers. A hat if you will meet up with the hot sun !
Footwear : There are especially designed shoes for Nordic Walking , but a good walking shoe or a running shoe can also do the job .
Water : Very important ! I usually carry on my backside a water bag , with a pipe so I don't have to leave the walking poles for drinking .
Walking poles : Using the walking poles with gloves is intolerable .The hands feel very hot and sticky inside the gloves. The solution is to use walking poles without gloves but they should not be the kind with smooth cork shaft . The cause of course is that the sweating hands are sliding on the shaft, so you can't give that thurst with the hands , which is a part of the
Nordic Walking .
This brings to the thought that the shaft has to be the kind with curves which fit the fingers. With this kind of shaft you can "play " with the way you are holding the walking poles : Before sweating in the hand palms , you can have a full hold on the shaft . later on you can hold the shaft with the thumb and index finger only.
Another way is to put the thumb on top of the shaft , and with the remaining fingers hold the shaft slightly . As we can see there are
Nordic Walking solutions also for the not so North countries .
