Dozens of Vineyarders gathered recently at Polly Hill Arboretum to learn about Nordic walking, a low-impact, full-body exercise that comes highly commended by doctors, physical therapists, and fitness professionals. Using specially designed poles, it is often described as cross-country skiing without the snow.
Nordic walking combines cardiovascular exercise with a vigorous muscle workout for your shoulders, arms, core, and legs, according to Harvard researcher Dr. Aaron Baggish, a cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center: “When you walk without poles, you activate muscles below the waist. When you add Nordic poles, you activate all of the muscles of the upper body as well,” Dr. Baggish explains. “You’re engaging 80 percent to 90 percent of your muscles, as opposed to 50 percent, providing a substantial calorie-burning benefit.”
Invented as a fitness activity in Finland in the 1980s as an off-season training method for cross-country skiers, Nordic walking made its way across the Atlantic, and Nordic walking clubs were formed to promote exercise and sociability. It made its way to the Vineyard thanks to hiking enthusiast Nancy Tutko of TrailsMV and the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. They rounded up financial support from the Edey Foundation, the Martha’s Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation, and the Cape Cod Five Foundation to import two certified Nordic walking pole instructors: Lauren DeLong and Carla Fogaren, from the Cape.
Lauren DeLong, the founder and owner of York Nordic, is certified as an instructor by the American Nordic Walking Association. Lauren’s passion for Nordic walking began when her mother had hip replacement surgery, and the surgeon recommended Nordic walking as a way for her mother to maintain balance while strengthening her hip during recovery.
Carla Fogaren is the founder of Cape Cod Nordic Walking Club, a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization with nearly 2,800 members. A former nurse and certified Nordic walking instructor,
Carla founded the club in 2022. The group works with Cape Cod’s senior centers and Councils on Aging, among others, and has 10 certified instructors and 28 trained walk leaders.
“Nordic walking can get your heart rate up significantly more than regular walking, helping to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes,” said Fogaren. The health benefits of Nordic walking are many, according to the event’s experts. Nordic walking is a disease buster because the technique encourages active feet, a full arm swing, and squeezing and opening the hands around the poles. All of this improves circulation, particularly the efficient return of blood back to the heart, points out former nurse Fogaren.
Enthusiasm for Nordic walking is “catching on,” according to attendee Meris Keating of the Edgartown Council on Aging. Keating plans to start a Nordic walking group on the Island: “I really don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that a walking group here on MV (similar to the Cape Cod Walking Club) could change a lot of lives for the better.”
Keating went on: “What struck me the most was the fact that so many different age groups can benefit from the fitness benefits of walking with Nordic poles. We learned that using poles when walking engages and strengthens your arms and core, as well as your pectoral muscles.” The trainers noted that those recovering from breast cancer can reap benefits from pectoral strengthening and increased lymphatic drainage.
“The workshop provided a chance to network and have fun with other aging-service professionals,” continued Keating, the director of senior services at the Edgartown Senior Center. “For older adults concerned about balance, the poles provide the stability and confidence people want in order to get out there and exercise. Aside from the multitude of benefits for the aging population whom we serve, it just felt good to walk with the poles, and we would happily use them for walks.
Before you rush out to buy poles, it is possible — and probably best — to do a tryout. Borrowing a pair of poles is possible because the grant that underwrote the Polly Hill event also funded the purchase of enough poles to supply each of the Island’s Council on Aging with two pairs of poles that can be checked out like library books. Poles can also be checked out of the West Tisbury public library, where reference librarian Rachel Rooney and her daughter have been using the poles for years to “work out our arms and back, and [they] have saved us many times from falling in the woods. The Edgartown COA is looking forward to hosting an instructional workshop with Carla from the Cape Cod Nordic Walking Club sometime this fall, and is hopeful we will start a walking group with some of the other Councils on Aging in the near future.”
