Picture a brilliant blue sky over a vast field of fresh, fluffy snow. The air is crisp and cold, and you’re suited up on skis, ready to propel yourself across the expanse of white for a day of cross-country skiing.
Now imagine that you’re in your own neighborhood, mimicking the motion of cross-country skiing by using poles to push yourself as you walk along a trail or sidewalk. That’s called Nordic walking. It was originally designed as a summer training routine for cross-country skiers. Now Nordic walking is catching on in the United States as an exercise regimen, especially among older adults.
Cardiologist Aaron Baggish is all for it. He spent a year of work and study in Switzerland, where he says Nordic walking is a common pastime among older adults. “You go to the train station on Saturdays and there are droves of people over 70 waiting to go up to the mountains to walk with Nordic poles,” says Dr. Baggish, director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.