By now, you’ve probably seen groups of people walking around the city or country with a pair of poles. The practice goes by two names – urban poling or Nordic walking. The poles aren’t just there to provide support. They help to create a full-body exercise, one that burns a surprising number of calories. This makes urban poling for seniors an important topic.
Urban poling or Nordic walking, as the practice is known has become a hot topic as a way to exercise and improve health. But, don’t be fooled, urban poling for seniors isn’t simply a way to keep your balance.
Instead, the use of poles helps to turn walking into a full-body exercise, one that can help to engage muscles and keep people moving longer.
The Benefits Of Urban Poling For Seniors
Urban poling has been surprisingly well-researched. There have now been more than 100 studies on walking with poles, along with 18 that specifically focus on urban poling with ACTIVATOR poles.
When followed well, urban poling appears to increase walking distance, help people to walk more steps each day, while also promoting improved fitness.
It’s A Low Impact Exercise
Seniors need to exercise just as much as everyone else, but joint pain and chronic health conditions can make some types of exercise more difficult. Swimming is one of the easiest low impact options, but that requires access to a pool.
Urban poling, on the other hand, is much more flexible. Some space is needed to use the poles well, but that’s it. So, as long as the environment isn’t crowded, seniors can use the poles anywhere that they would walk normally.
You Don’t Need To Increase Speed
Moving faster is the most common way to increase the benefits of walking. While this works well for some people, sometimes you don’t want to move faster.
Plus, seniors with joint problems or other challenges may not be able to go faster.
Urban poling for seniors gives everyone the chance to keep exercising well, regardless of the speed they can go at. In fact, just using the poles increases the calories that are being burned, without changing the amount of effort.
This is also perfect for anyone with a partner who walks slowly. For example, caregivers could use urban poling to give them more benefits when walking with a senior.
Provides An Upper Body Workout
Walking doesn’t normally do much for your upper body. Some people use weights as a way around that issue, but those weights strain your body, especially when you’re walking for an hour or more.
Poles provide the same upper body workout, without added strain. Instead, the movement tends to be natural.
Stretches Muscles And Can Help With Posture
Spending a lot of time seated can make your muscles tight, giving you poor posture, stiff muscles, and other issues. Urban poling is an easy to stretch and relax these muscles, making you feel better.
Using the poles and arm movements also helps with your walking posture. You’re less likely to slouch, which increases the benefits that you get from your walking experience.
The Poles Are Multi Purpose
The ‘correct’ urban poling technique involves swinging the poles, so that the arm movement matches the steps you’re taking. Doing so improves posture and helps to work the upper body.
But, this isn’t the only way to use the poles.
They can also be used to take pressure off your joints when you’re walking downhill or to make an uphill climb a little easier.
Seniors can switch how they use the poles based on what they need at the time. So, for example, they might practice urban poling some of the time, but other times use the sticks to keep their balance instead.
Gets People Exercising
There are plenty of good ways to exercise. Urban poling for seniors is just one option.
Now, urban poling isn’t the most powerful way to exercise, not by a long shot. You’re not working up a sweat or burning an extremely large number of calories.
Instead, the big advantage is that urban poling simply gets people moving. It’s a simple form of exercise, one that doesn’t require much equipment. You don’t need to go to a class or join a gym.
Just grab the poles and head outside. What could be easier than that?
Plus, walking is one of the most social ways to exercise that there is. You’re not working up a sweat or running out of breath, so there’s plenty of chance to catch up and talk. This is a powerful feature for seniors who are reluctant to exercise.
Urban Poling 101 – What You Need to Know
There are two critical things to think about with urban poling for seniors – the sticks and the technique. Getting these things right will influence how much you get out of the experience.
Choosing The Right Poles
A Canadian company called Urban Poling leads the field when it comes to this exercise. They’re the ones that help to make it popular in Canada and the United States. They also have a specialized product called ACTIVATOR poles.
Unlike most other products, these poles were specifically designed for this type of exercise, so they’re a little different than regular walking sticks. Features include being collapsible, having an ergonomic handle, using a button locking system to help with weight bearing, having a strong base to reduce the risk of slips.
Unusually, these poles don’t have a strap. Instead, the handles we designed to be easy to use, even without a strap.
The company says that this is because straps can make accidents worse. In particular, if you fall with the strap wrapped around your wrist, you could easily get tangled up with the pole and hurt yourself.
The main catch is the price. A pair of ACTIVATOR poles generally costs more than $100, regardless of whether you buy them on Amazon or through the company’s site. The quality and usefulness of the poles may make them a good investment, but only if you can afford them.
If you don’t want to spend that much, you could shop around for other options.
Hiking poles (like these ones) may be a good choice, as these are often high-quality, adjustable, designed to be weight bearing, and can be inexpensive. Just make sure that they come with decent foot grips, ones that won’t slip when you’re walking.
Some brands create products that are designed for Nordic walking and hiking, like these Trekking Poles. These might not be as amazing as the ACTIVATOR poles, but they’re a more affordable place to begin.
Our Recommendation
Caregivers and mobile seniors should be able to use off-brand poles without a problem.
And, if nothing else, such poles could be a good starting point. You might even be able to borrow some and try the idea out for yourself before investing in a specialized product.
However, seniors with significant mobility problems, joint pain, or who struggle in other areas should stick to the ACTIVATOR poles. A lot of research and work has gone into these poles to make them safe, stable, and reliable.
There have even been research conducted on these poles specifically, which isn’t true for most other products.
Use The Right Technique
Technique matters too. To get the upper body benefits from urban poling, you need to be swinging your arms. The video below shows you how to do so.
You can also check out this video, which talks about some common mistakes to avoid, so that you get the most out of your experience.
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