What is Nordic Walking?
Nordic walking was originally designed as a summer training routine for cross-country skiers. It’s based on using specially designed walking poles in a way that harnesses the power of the upper body to propel you forward as you walk. It is now a recognised way to turn a walk into whole-body exercise. It can be enjoyed at many levels, from walking for health to athletic Nordic running. More than 10 million people globally enjoy this outdoor activity all year round with an overall goal of achieving general physical and mental well being
Learn to Nordic Walk
Nordic Walking is suitable for all levels of fitness. Everyone starts with the basics with Nordic Poles 1. Your qualified instructors will work with you to help you understand your current levels of fitness and empower you to work at a level suitable to reach your fitness goals. For some this will mean moving onto Nordic Poles 2 for others it will mean joining some of the walks on our Walk for Wellbeing programme using Nordic Poles.
Nordic Poles 1
Duration: 3 hours over 2 sessions
Description:
Our Introduction to Nordic Walking course forms part of our Walk for Fitness programme. It is suitable for anyone who can comfortably walk 3K unaided. If you are unable to do this then please call us as we have another more suitable programme for you.
Using 90% of your muscles you will improve you cardio vascular fitness, burn more calories, improve your posture and help your mental wellbeing all while walking.
Session 1 (2hours) Learning the Technique. There is a maximum of 10 people in the technique class, with 2 qualified fitness walking instructors, to ensure you get personalised attention whilst you learn.
Session 2 (1 hour) Technique Improvement/Refresher Walk. You will be joined on this walk by other Nordic Walkers who have previously completed one of our courses. (Max 12 people) – Must be booked within 1 month of day 1.
You will be introduced to the benefits of Nordic walking and look at the difference between hiking, trekking, Exerstrider, stability and Nordic poles and the benefits each offer.
We will demonstrate the increased benefits of Nordic poles.
You will start to learn the technique of using Nordic poles to propel you forward as you walk while taking load of your legs. Gaining forward propulsion from the poles by engaging the correct upper body muscles, understanding correct posture gait and co-ordination.
The technique / refresher walks are designed for working on Nordic Walking technique as we walk. You will receive expert coaching from our instructors during these walks. By continuously improving technique you gain more of the benefits Nordic Walking has to offer.
All welcome on these walks although they are particularly suited to people who are new to Nordic Walking or learned to Nordic Walk some time ago but have not regularly walked with us.
Following the lesson, we will spend time to answer questions and discuss how you can continue your walking fitness journey, whether you want to join our social or fitness walks, improve your fitness through our Nordic Fit & Nordic Circuits classes or prepare for an extreme event we have a pathway to suit you. Which ever you choose we will continually help you to improve your technique and to achieve your goals.
Poles provided
Group Lesson €50 pp for both sessions.
Technique /Refresher Walk Only €10.
Private Lesson €50 per hour
2 people €90 per hour
Nordic Poles 2
Duration: 2 hours
Description:
You must have attended Nordic Poles 1 or a similar level Nordic Walking course to attend this course. It is suitable for people who can comfortably walk 5K
Building on from Nordic Poles 1, Nordic Poles 2 will introduce you to hills as well as well as continuing to work on technique and adding more speed through improved technique, understanding how your body reacts to exercise and learning how to stay within your comfort zone.
Following completion of this course our instructors will advise you of the best pathway to continue your Nordic Fitness journey.
Whether you want to join our social or fitness walks, improve your fitness through our Nordic Fit Classes or prepare for an extreme event we have a pathway to suit you.
Poles provided
Group Lesson €40 pp – min 3 people. Max 10 people
Private Lesson €50 per hour. 2 people €90 per hour (Call to book)
See calendar for dates
Pop Up Nordic Walking
Duration: 2 hours
Description:
Our Pop Up learn to Nordic Walk class is provided for people living outside of Clare who are unable to make it to our Nordic poles 1 class .
You will cover all of the technique that is covered in Nordic poles 1 which will give you enough knowledge and practise for you to be able to then keep Nordic Walking on your own.
There is no follow up walk immediately after the course.
We aim to run classes in areas where there is a parkrun so you will always have a community walk to attend on a weekly basis using your poles. You are also welcome to join any of our walks that are scheduled on our calendar.
We choose venues where we have had a number of enquiries from. If you have a group of friends who would like to learn please call and we can arrange to set up a course near you.
Poles provided
Group Lesson Early Bird €40pp – min 6 people. Max 10 people
Next course:
March 25th Mungret Park Limerick
Frequently Asked Questions
Like other forms of moderate activity, regular Nordic walking can lower your risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers. As well has improving anxiety and depression. Additionally, it can also be used as part of an exercise programme to assist with weight loss.
Nordic Walking combines the simplicity and accessibility of walking with simultaneous core and upper body conditioning similar to cross country skiing. The result is a full body workout, which means that, you:
- release tension in the neck and shoulders
- improve your posture and gait
- strengthen your back and abdominal muscles
- reduce the impact on the joints
- burns more calories compared to walking without poles
- And because Nordic Walking doesn’t feel like hard work you’ll be happy to walk further and for longer. Read more....
Nordic Walking involves approximately 90% of your muscles and especially engages your upper body and arm muscles as well as increasing the lateral mobility of your neck and spine It improves your posture by engaging the muscles in your back and core. The technique encourages a more upright posture.
Nordic Walking reduces the impact on hip and knee joints by up to 30%. It is a great sport in its own right but also excellent for runners who are returning from injury.
Nordic Walking can increase your heart rate by approximately 15 beats per minute due to the activation of 80-90% of your muscles, this provides a substantial calorie burning benefit, with research estimating between 18-67% increase in calories used compared to regular walking.
The hand loops on nordic Poles are desogned to perform the correct technique and to achieve the most benefits for the upper body muscles. you cannot use hiking or ski poles for Nordic Walking. We will tell you more about this during your lesson.
