Nordic Walking At The Haggerty Insurance Health Fair

Nordic Walking Clinics and Lessons were offered from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18th during Haggerty Insurance Company's "Employee Health Fair". Haggerty Insurance is the nation's leading insurer of antique cars and boats. Haggerty Insurance company also cares about the health and fitness of their employees.

The clinics and lessons were tons of FUN. Haggerty employees were introduced to Nordic Walking and were able to try all three basic levels of Nordic Walking from The American Nordic Walking System and http://www.skiwalking.com/

Level 1: burns up to 20% more calories than walking without poles

Level 2: burns up to 30% more calories than regular walking and includes a full arm extension

Level 3: burns up to 40% more calories and is REAL Nordic Walking (most Americans do not really enjoy Level 3). Level 3 includes the full arm extension, a hard pole plant and a tremendous amount of pressure into the cradle of the strap (do NOT squeeze or grip the poles!) from pole plant to the hand coming by the hip. Most Americans prefer Levels #1 and #2. Level #3 is kind of like trying to cross country ski on sandpaper.

Participants had the opportunity to demo quality one-piece poles selected for their height - including nine standard lengths + several additional lengths. The demo poles were equipped with Salomon patented straps - kind of like a fingerless glove. The poles were also equipped with boot-shaped rubber Nordic Walking Tips or Paws for use on carpet, indoor/outdoor tracks, in the mall and all types of pavement/concrete.

After hosting hundreds of Nordic Walking classes/clinics and selling thousands of pairs of Nordic Walking Poles during the past four years I have developed a pretty good feel for sizing everyone into the correct length poles. ALL my customers receive a perfect length guarantee. ALL sizes are in-stock and ready to ship. Once I know how tall someone is I personally select the perfect length poles for their height. Our customer satisfaction rating is 100%!

Perfect length poles help us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.

At least seven different individuals during the day came up to me and told me about the problems they had with their twist-locking poles. Several were the cheap adjustable poles included with snowshoe packages and the poles are pretty much garbage and disposable. Others had paid over $100 for their adjustables. After trying one-piece poles on Tuesday they were all believers in the simple fact that one-piece poles are safer, lighter and much more durable than cheap twist-locking adjustable length/telescoping/collapsible poles.

After a FUN day Nordic Walking at Haggerty Insurance, I was lucky enough to get in a good cross country ski with my son Keefer that evening.

Nordic Sports are the best!

Nordic Walking And Nordic Running Are Great Ways To Get Ready For Ski Season

Nordic Walking when deprived of snow is a great way to get ready for ski season. Walking with Poles not only helps to burn more calories than regular walking, the poles help to radically reduce the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back.

The 1st day of the 2008-2009 ski season in Leelanau County was this past Monday, November 17th. The classic skiing was fantastic! We skied in our own tracks on the local golf course.

Pictured above is 11 year old Keefer Edwards. Keefer often Nordic Walks with us during the spring, summer and fall up on Alligator Hill behind town. We typically Nordic Run up the hills and Nordic Walk the flats and downhills. The use of poles is a great way to get ready for ski season.

Nordic Walking is also great for non-skiers too. The poles help to improve balance and stability. Perfect length poles help us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.

Skiers use one-piece poles and do not use poles equipped with cheap twist-locking systems. One-piece poles are safer, lighter and much more durable than cheap twist-locking poles.

The straps on my Nordic Walking Poles are identical to the straps on my cross country poles - patented straps by the Salomon Ski Company. These quality straps are ideal for Nordic Walking, Nordic Walking and Nordic Skiing (cross country skiing).

For more info about Nordic Walking Poles check out http://www.skiwalking.com/ and for more info about cross country ski poles check out http://www.swixsport.com/eway/default.aspx?pid=278&trg=MainContent_6179&MainContent_6179=6117:0:24,3025

Nordic Walking, Nordic Running and Nordic Skiing (cross country skiing) are extremely effective, low impact and yet high calorie burn activities. Quality poles equipped with quality straps help to make these fantastic activities FUN and effective.

Nordic Walking During Deer Season

Deer season puts all of our favorite trails off-limits for Nordic Walking. My wife refuses to Nordic Walk on our favorite trails during deer season – even when wearing orange. If we get snow we will cross country ski on the local golf course, but if there’s no snow we find ourselves pounding the pavement in town or doing laps around the local track.

To get the most out of our laps on the track we’ll Nordic Walk the turns and Nordic Run the straight-aways after Nordic Walking a few laps as a warm-up. As long as your poles have rubber Nordic Walking tips there isn’t any risk of damage that can be done to the track.

If Nordic Running isn’t for you, you can try doing faster Nordic Walking on the straight-aways. By varying your speed you can help to turbo charge your walking campaign, burn more calories and improve your over-all fitness level.

Nordic Running with poles equipped with real Nordic Walking straps are most effective. These fingerless type straps help to eliminate the need to grip/squeeze the poles – allowing the fingers to remain relaxed. When teaching skiing, Nordic Walking and Nordic Running I always remind participants to NOT squeeze the poles.

One-piece poles that are sized correctly are ideal for cross country skiing, Nordic Walking and Nordic Running. One-piece poles are safer, lighter and much more durable than twist-locking adjustable length/telescoping/collapsible poles. Both downhill and cross country skiers use one-piece poles for added safety and durability – telescopic type adjustable length poles couldn’t cut it.

My Nordic Walking poles came in super handy on Saturday (opening day of deer season) during the AAU Michigan Cross Country Running Championships. During the five races that I had athletes competing in I was able to Nordic Walk and Nordic Run around the golf course cheering on my runners. The 4-wheel-drive action of Nordic Walking made getting around the course extremely effective despite the high winds, rain and snow.

Nordic Walking and Nordic Running with poles is the best!

* always consult your physician before launching any new fitness program and increasing intensity