Nordic Walking Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

There is accumulating evidence that walking has health benefits. While millions of people in the United Kingdom have long benefitted from rambling, Nordic walking is a relative newcomer to the shores of Britain. Which of these forms of walking is better for your mental wellbeing? This study set out to compare both forms of walking and measured their effects on mental wellbeing using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), through an on-line survey. In addition both groups of walkers were asked about socio-environmental influences on their walking. Some 508 participants completed the online survey, which assessed socio-environmental factors on participation in both walking activities and mental well-being. This study showed both walking groups had higher mental well-being scores than the “normal population” for the WEMWBS. However, there were no significant differences in contribution to mental well-being between the two walking groups. Socio-environmental analysis revealed that in Nordic walking the role of the instructor was critical, whereas in rambling friends’ support, weather conditions and the aesthetics of the environment were important factors for participation. This study diversified the concept of leisure walking by distinguishing between rambling and Nordic walking in terms of their differing contributions towards mental well-being.

- by and +1
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- Mental Health, Subjective Well-Being, Well-Being, Socio-Natural Environments

Walking is a popular form of exercising, because it is inexpensive, safe, and accessible form
of physical activity that be performed in various environments. Nordic walking, also known as walking with poles or fitness walking is an activity that uses specially designed walking poles to engage a whole body
in a workout. The early developments of the activity are linked to Finnish governmental actions in 1960’s and then commercial endeavours in the USA and Finland in 1990’s in order to improve health of sedentary populations. Five decades later Nordic walking is a popular exercise and leisure activity promoted to general public in many countries around the world.

- by Marta Anna Zurawik
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- History, Physical Activity, Finland, Nordic Walking

This paper presents education systems of Nordic Walking instructors in Great Britain and Poland. These countries have different levels of socio-economic development however in both the percentage of Nordic walkers has significantly increased since the activity became a very popular form of maintaining physical condition, especially among the elderly.

- by Marta Anna Zurawik and +1
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- Physical Activity, Training, Walking, Nordic Walking

We compare the effects of Nordic walking training (NW) and Free walk (FW) on functional parameters (motor symptoms, balance) and functional mobility (Timed Up and Go at Self-selected Speed – TUGSS, and at forced speed, TUGFS; Self-selected Walking Speed, SSW; locomotor rehabilitation index, LRI) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The study included 33 patients with clinical diagnosis of idiopathic PD, and staging between 1 and 4 in the Hoehn and Yahr scale (H&Y) randomized into two groups: NW (N = 16) and FW (N = 17) for 6 weeks. Baseline characteristics were compared trough a one-way ANOVA. Outcomes were analyzed using the Generalized Estimation Equations (GEE) with a Bonferroni post-hoc. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.20.0. Improvements in UPDRS III (P < 0.001), balance scores (P < 0.035), TUGSS distance (P < 0.001), TUGFS distance (P < 0.001), SSW (P < 0.001), and LRI (P < 0.001) were found for both groups. However, the NW group showed significant differences (P < 0.001) when compared to the FW group for the functional mobility. We conclude the NW improves functional parameters and walking mobility demonstrating that NW is as effective as the FW, including benefits for FW on the functional mobility of people with PD.

- by E. Monteiro and +2
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- Parkinson's Disease, Locomotion, Exercise Science, Nordic Walking

It has been reported that the perceived exertion in level walking (LW) is the same with or lower than that of nordic walking (NW), although the exercise intensity of NW is higher than LW. Based on this fact, it could be expected that absolute intensity, the speed, should differ if the relative intensity, measured using VO 2 level, is the same in both types of walking. This study aimed to clarify the levels of perceived exertion between NW and LW when their VO 2 levels are equivalent. The subjects were eight healthy young males who exercise regularly. They performed three tests: an incremental test to obtain their regression formula between theVO 2max and the speed, the submaximal exercise test of NW (the NW condition) at 40% of each subject's VO 2max speed, and LW test (the LW condition) at the speed we substituted the value of VO 2 provided in the NW condition into the regression formula. They conducted a six-minute exercise in each condition. Measurements included percentage of VO 2 , heart rate reserve (%HRR), and perceived exertion (OMNI scale) of their upper limbs, lower limbs, and whole body. Although there was no significant difference in VO 2 and %HRR, there was in speed, with the subjects walking faster in the LW condition (p<0.01). No significant difference was found between the conditions on the OMNI scale of their whole body and lower limbs, but the NW condition produced significantly higher values than the LW condition for their upper limbs (p<0.01). The results suggested that the same exercise intensity can be obtained at a slower speed in NW, and higher exertion was perceived only in their arms in NW, with no difference in their lower limbs or whole body.

Practising physical activities in public spaces may evoke a variety of emotional expressions, particularly when an activity is considered novel and embarrassing. To date, there is limited knowledge on emotional sharing concerning novel recreational activities in online context via electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). We approach this knowledge gap by exploring online discussions on Nordic walking, the purpose being to investigate emotional sharing in online discussions concerning the activity. In our netnographic study, we analyse what kinds of discrete emotions related to Nordic walking are shared online in different countries, what the triggers of online emotional sharing are and what the outcomes expressed online by Nordic-walking practitioners are. We collected data from countries with various levels of Nordic-walking popularity and discovered four types of dynamics – negative spiral, positive spiral, positive change and negative change – that add to the research concerning emotional sharing.

- by Marta Anna Zurawik and +1
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- Physical Activity, Emotions (Social Psychology), Online social networks, Social emotions

The increasing academic interest in walking for heath has paid limited attention to Nordic walking. This paper investigates the similarities and differences in leisure experiences between Nordic walking and rambling and their contributions to well-being. Twelve Nordic walking practitioners and thirteen ramblers partook in semi-structured interviews at various locations in the United Kingdom. By employing the Seligman’s PERMA model and Stebbins’ concept of serious leisure, we found that leisure experiences in rambling related to well-being by creating a strong emotional bond between the members and the natural environments, developing and maintaining friendships, and facilitating mobility and vitality. In contrast the leisure experience of Nordic walking involved developing physical activity skills and fitness, encouraging leadership, and promoting positive emotions through the participation in the activity. The contribution of this research lies in addressing this significant gap in...

- by Robert Snape
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- Physical Activity, Leisure, Walking, Well Being

Cultural Express, n°5, 2021, Résurrections en séries Pour citer cet article : Benjamin Demassieux « La résurrection dans les séries. Mémoire et altérité, un parcours de la violence dans les séries Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead et Gotham », Cultural Express [en ligne], n°5, 2021, « Résurrections en séries », Isabelle Casta (dir.), URL : Article disponible en ligne à l'adresse :

- by Benjamin Demassieux
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- Timothy Morton, The Walking Dead, TV Series, Mort

Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the efficacy of active recovery (AR) after supramaximal exercise in six-healthy adult male university students who habitually exercised.
Methods: Prior to this test, the participants underwent the normal walking (W) and Nordic walking (NW) tests to determine their physical strength and intensity levels that will be utilized during their supramaximal exercise test and AR sessions. After 3 min of warm-up exercise, the participants started the main exercise at an intensity of 120 %VO 2max. After completing the main exercise, the participants immediately moved to a treadmill and performed 20 min of AR at a speed equivalent to 4 METs, calculated based on the walking tests. To eliminate the order effect of W and NW, the participants were randomly assigned one of the tests. The main exercise I (Ex I) consisted of the same VO 2 , heart rate (HR), and total work load. After completing the Ex I, the participants immediately performed AR.
Results: No differences were observed between the two groups in terms of VO 2max , HR or rate of perceived exertion (RPE) ratings during AR because all the values gradually declined immediately after the exercise. Compared with the W group, the lactic acid (La) level of the NW group during AR was lower than that immediately after the exercise (p< 0.05). Because the participants who performed the main exercise II (Ex II) had the same exercise performance as those who performed the Ex I, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the exercise parameters.
Conclusions: This was likely explained by the fact that La produced by the fast fibers of the agonist muscles circulates within the tissues or throughout the entire body and is used by the lactobacillus shuttle in the fibers of the myocardium and slow muscles as an energy substrate during oxidation.

- by Sports and Exercise Medicine – Open Journal and +1
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- Nordic Walking, Active Recovery, Repeated supramaximal exercise, 8-OHdG

This article presents a mixed method approach to merge the results from quantitative and qualitative studies into Nordic walking. By doing so, this study provides the multiple perspectives of the social and environmental influences on participation in Nordic walking together with exploration of the relationships between Nordic walking and well-being. Two hundred twenty British Nordic walking practitioners completed the online questionnaire about socio-environmental influences on their walking and measured their mental wellbeing using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). Ten women and two men with various levels of Nordic walking experience were interviewed during walking events in the United Kingdom. By employing a thematic analysis, socio-environmental influences and their implications for well-being were explored.
This study adds a further dimension to the theoretical knowledge of the role of the social and environmental factors that influence the engagement in Nordic walking and contribute to well–being.
The findings suggest that Nordic walking can benefit well-being through promoting positive feelings related to the companionship in a group, offering social support of instructors in reaching individual health and fitness goals, providing the options for exploring personal capacities and developing skills, which contribute to a sense of achievement and self-worth, and leading to feelings of satisfaction with the activity.
Management implications:
The management implication of this study is in acknowledging that the growing popularity of Nordic walking as a leisure activity provides the opportunity for reinventing leisure walking as an innovative means to maintain and improve physical health of the sedentary and older populations.
Public health strategies for adopting Nordic walking as a health intervention should also acknowledge its wellbeing benefits, positive social interactions and skills development that rise from the participation.
Urban planning policies should focus on developing aesthetic walkable neighbourhoods characterised by well maintained paths and lighting that promote physical activity.
The successful implementation of strategies to promote Nordic walking clearly has the potential to make a substantial contribution towards increasing the activity levels of the sedentary and older populations.

- by Marta Anna Zurawik
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- Social Sciences, Outdoor Recreation, Well-Being, Leisure (Social Sciences)
- by Jerome Carson
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- Physical Activity, Leisure, Walking, Well Being
- by Piotr Kocur
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- Postural Control, Gait and Balance, Clinical Gait Analysis, Gait and Posture

Walking is the most popular form of physical activity in the United Kingdom that prolongs life expectancy, and increases the physical health and mental well-being. The accumulating evidence stresses the importance of the social and environmental influences on individual decision to walk. However, there is a limited empirical knowledge regarding participation in Nordic walking and its implications for well-being.
The socio-ecological approach chosen as the theoretical framework for this study provides a comprehensive understanding of how psychological, social and environmental factors influence participation in leisure walking.
The purpose of this mixed-method, cross-sectional study was to compare Nordic walking and rambling, as examples of leisure activities, in terms of socio-environmental influences, in order to determine how these activities benefit mental well-being.
Walking groups were approached between April 2013 and August 2014. Quantitative data were gathered from a total of 220 British Nordic walking practitioners and 282 ramblers who completed online questionnaire. WEMWBS was used to assess mental well-being. Qualitative data were obtained from the interviews with 13 ramblers and 12 Nordic walkers, who answered questions about the importance of social and physical environment in their walking practices.
This study is the first step to bridge the gap in knowledge by offering a broad understanding of benefits of Nordic walking, in comparison to rambling, towards mental well-being.

- by Marta Anna Zurawik
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- Well-Being, Leisure, Walking, Nordic Walking