All means are good for walking: objectives for walks, outdoors, or on treadmills in the gym… The ideal: Nordic walking, with poles. It is ideal for exercising the arms while walking, one of the main objectives after the fifties.
Walking is a very gentle activity for the joints, unlike running. When running, depending on the intensity of this race, the lower limbs support stress and shocks representing 2 to 4 times the weight of the body. By way of comparison, walking only opposes a constraint of 1.5 times the weight of the body.
stockholm express
It was some time ago. I came across it during one of my usual attempts to resume acceptable physical activity. He had a perfect eco-smoking look (it’s not incompatible). Pure product pili-pili, arugula, clear water and Gitanes without filter. Obviously not bothered by my sardonic look. I was struggling at a little ten minutes fifteen seconds per kilometer, as the suave voice of my application had just told me, not yet 6 kilometers per hour, my goal for the week. The vision of this flayed man, lost on the banks of the Seine while he was equipped like a cross-country skier, had given me a smile. Straight as an I, throwing two large ski poles in fast spinning reels, the sight had been rather stealthy, but still heartening. Enough for me to come up with some slapstick scenarios. Then I forgot about it, focused on my suffering.
It started with a noise resembling that of a misadjusted bicycle, then a raspy hiss and – I swear to you it’s true – a kind of tailwind, when he overtook me a few tens of minutes later. . Just enough time to recognize him and he had quickly taken fifty meters. I promised myself not to run. Too traumatic for my joints, still too sensitive to my overweight. But I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Very quickly my speedometer exceeded 10 kilometers per hour. Without me regaining the slightest meter. My lungs screamed for mercy before my body. I quickly headed home and my computer to verify that Nordic walking was not a depressed Swede’s hobby, but a real way to intelligently optimize the effort of walking, thanks to two poles which have only a vague resemblance to those of cross-country skiing. They allow, in addition to real stability in the mountains, to gain in power and efficiency. Since that day, I no longer make fun of these strange walkers who have not been emulated that much. It’s a pity, but in our country, the fear of ridicule often prevails over pragmatism.
Long live Nordic walking!
It is necessary to walk as quickly as possible, without causing pain or shortness of breath and to increase each day, if possible, the duration and especially, the distance. During walking, even fast, conversation should always remain possible, which is the best method to control shortness of breath.
All means are good for walking: goals for walks, outdoors, or on a treadmill in the gym…
The ideal: Nordic walking, with sticks. We must go beyond the notion of ridiculousness which prevents some from depriving themselves of the pleasure of walking quickly, much faster than usual, while working the arms, which makes the main criticism of the practice of walking lapsed. Making the arms work should also be one of the main objectives after the age of fifty, especially for women. So long live Nordic walking!
Doctor Jean-Francois Lemoine
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