Nordic Walking in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Nordic Walking is increasing in popularity throughout the country having originated in Finland, where cross country skiers looked to develop a way of training during the summer season. Nordic Walking involves walking with the use of poles to combine both an upper and lower body cardiovascular workout. 

One of the key benefits of Nordic Walking is that the intensity of the exercise is determined by the amount of upper body effort each individual participant applies. Therefore, people of mixed abilities can continue to exercise together whilst still allowing each individual to have an effective workout. The result is a sociable, fun activity which coupled with the benefits of being outdoors and enjoying the natural environment can lead to a very positive activity experience for participants. 

The many benefits of Nordic Walking (in addition to the many physical and psychological benefits of living an active life) include:

• It is an enhancement of normal walking not a different movement.
• As the muscles of the upper body are also used, on average 20% more calories are used than in normal walking.
• Although more calories are used the work effort is spread over the whole body, meaning Nordic Walking can feel easier and less tiring than normal walking.
• The use of the upper body also reduces the load and stress on the knee joints.
• The use of poles helps strengthen the back muscles and can significantly reduce neck and shoulder tension.  
  

Taking into account these many benefits and the suitability of Nordic Walking for all ages (including the more mature) Fitter Futures supported Age Concern Suffolk’s Active Age Centre in Bury St Edmunds (Saxon House, www.saxonhouse.org) to put on a six week taster session of Nordic Walking aimed at people 40 and over from the town and surrounding areas.

The six week programme took place on Thursday evenings from the 17^th April 2008 with two one hour classes taking place, one at 5.15pm and one at 6.30pm. The timing of the classes were chosen to enable people working during the day to have the opportunity to access the sessions.  

The classes were lead by Lisa Weller, a locally based Fitness Professional, Personal Trainer and qualified Nordic Walking UK instructor, who also runs her own company, Yassas Personal Training. (www.yassas-pt.co.uk) Matt Archer (Manager of Saxon House) negotiated an hourly rate with Lisa which combined with the funding support from Fitter Futures enabled the initial six week pilot to be offered free of charge to participants. 

The classes were marketed through a combination of posters, flyers, press releases and mail shots to an existing contacts database held by Age Concern Suffolk’s Active Age Centre. Each session could take a maximum of 12 participants and in the first week the 5.15pm class reached its maximum limit with the 6.30pm class not far behind with 9 participants, showing the appeal of this activity.

The initial six week period has now been completed and an initial review of feedback from participants shows a very positive response to the taster sessions. The intention is now to continue the sessions on a paying basis, keeping costs to a minimum, to identify whether the activity can be run on a sustainable basis whilst still allowing a wide number of people to benefit.

For more information about Nordic Walking including finding instructors and classes in your area, as well as information about training opportunities to become a Nordic Walking Instructor, visit the Nordic Walking UK website at www.nordicwalking.co.uk