Urban Poling & Nordic Walking

Mandy Shintani and Barb Gormley don't look or sound much like the stereotypical rough-hewn pioneer of Canadian lore.

But, someday, they could well be right up there alongside the Jacques Cartiers of the fitness world with Richard Simmons and Suzanne Sommers.

Move over Pilates. Here come Shintani, Gormley and Nordic walking.

Never heard of it? Don't worry. Just give it a few weeks, maybe months, but someday soon Shintani and Gormley will not just be a couple of women walking around with big sticks getting weird looks. They'll be at the vanguard of the newest fitness craze, one that has already touched on Canada's west coast.

"We see it as being the next yoga," Shintani said. "If you look at how yoga started out, it seemed like a very foreign concept, too."

The sport -- there are competitions in Europe -- consists basically of walking with two poles; think cross-country skiing in cross-training shoes. It turns walking from a lower-body workout into a full-body exercise.

'Sense of humour'

It just looks a bit curious to the uninitiated.

"You have to bring your sense of humour," said Shintani, a 42-year-old mother of two from Vancouver, whose company Urban Poling, started promoting Nordic walking two years ago.

People used to ask her where the snow was ... in July. And, no, Nordic walking doesn't involve climbing some Norwegian peak or traversing a fiord.

Today there are 33 fitness and community centres in the Vancouver area that have clubs. Gormley has started the first club in Toronto's Rosedale area.

"Nordic walking came from Sweden and Finland where it is huge. In Finland almost 28% of older adults participate once a week and it's close to that percentage for baby boomers," Gormley said. "They're doing it for weight loss. It's a convenient low-impact sport."

In Germany, Nordic walking is now practiced by 4.4 million people compared to just 10,000 four years ago.

"We're just a small Canadian company but a lot of the bigger European companies are planning to move into Canada this year and believe it will get as big here as it is there," Shintani said.

Disciples such as Shintani and Gormley are effusive over its benefits.

"Research shows the two poles reduce the stress by 20% on your knees and ankles," Shintani said, so it's appealing to joggers.

"For weight loss, you burn between 20 to 46% more calories than normal walking (according to research done at the Cooper Clinic in Texas). You get about a 25% more cardio vascular workout."

Not to mention, carrying those sticks through Toronto parks could come in darn handy warding off the muggers. But, that's a whole other story.

Gormley says many of her initial 36 class members are middle-aged women and moms in a hurry. Nordic walking addresses the barriers associated with a lot of other fitness activities: It's not an extreme sport, it's not complicated, or expensive. You don't need a lot of equipment or need to drive anywhere to participate.

"The problem with just walking, even the athletic type of walking that I teach, is that even though you're going extremely fast your upper body doesn't get a workout," Gormley says. "Your arms do virtually nothing. When you add the poles and use them properly they give you this amazing upper body and core workout.

"What it means is when you finish your walk you don't have to hit the weight room. You don't have to get down and do ab crunches. You've got it all done in one nice package. With everyone so time crunched these days that's really appealing."

Shintani admits they have a vested interest in seeing the exercise technique get mass appeal.

She and Gormley, as well as teaching the technique, also sell the poles ($99 to $139 a pair). Actually, becoming an equipment distributor was all Shintani figured on doing, initially, after a Scandinavian neighbour in Vancouver introduced her to Nordic walking.

"The poles are sold in the U.S. with an instructional DVD and we thought that's how we'd do it in Canada," Shintani said. "But we found Canadians wanted demonstrations. So we did that. Then people asked us for courses. Next thing I knew people were saying, well: 'Are you going to start a club, now?' It's the Canadian mentality towards exercise. We want to know that we're doing it right."

Gormley, Urban Poling's only master trainer in Ontario, has scheduled a free demonstration Saturday at Earl Bales Park from 10:30 to noon. People can try poles and there'll be information on classes. She also has a website: barbgormley.com.

Of course, you could just grab a couple of your kid's old toothpick hockey sticks and wing it.

Shintani giggles.

"Yeah, it's the same principle," she said, "when we originally brought it out people would ask: 'Why do I need specialized equipment?' But the poles provide stability, minimize vibration and noise. If you're an avid Nordic walker you get it why these things are important. It's the same concept than when you're jogging -- you wouldn't do it in your dress shoes."

Hi

I live in an area that is largely unpaved, so I am forced to walk on a gravel surface most of the time. I had found that it is very difficult for the poles to get a proper grip on this type of surface so I experimented. What I have found is that when I reverse the rubber tip so that the back end hits the surface first, I get a decent grip and also the benefit of the springy nature of the rubber. And I can walk without the loud rattle and rasp of the carbide tips making contact with the loose gravel. The only downside is that the tips are extra springy and tend to flex more than normal and this might mean that I will have to get another set of rubber tips fairly soon.

Type II Diabetes.  You've been diagnosed with it, and now you face the daunting task of trying to be as healthy as you can.  You know that you have increased your long term risk for diabetic neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease, and atherosclerosis.

Sometimes dealing with Type II Diabetes can be overwhelming.

Our doctors prescribe medications to stabilize our symptoms, and suggest things we can do to be as healthy as possible.  Soon, you notice a theme.  The dreaded phrase "Diet and Exercise” occurs over and over.  Chances are you've tried diet and exercise before, with varying degrees of success.  So you look at your options, and none of them thrill you. 

Usually, when someone decides to start moving more, they go to the gym or they walk.  Urban Poling Inc. would like to help you get moving with a safe, easy exercise that uses ninety percent (90%) of the muscles in your body, and is as easy as walking.  In fact, it is walking, only smarter -- it's Urban Poling also known as Nordic Walking.

Urban Poling is walking with specially designed poles that allow you to involve 90% of all the muscles of your body in one, simple-to-learn fitness activity. Urban Poling develops greater overall strength, improves cardio vascular function, increases caloric use by up to 40% over regular walking, and it is fun to do!

“An hour of vigorous pole walking keeps my blood glucose down for a whole day and as well or better than an hour-long workout at my fitness centre,” says Dan Overmyer a retired University of British Columbia professor

The Canadian Diabetes Association’s 2003 Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend that individuals with Type II Diabetes aim for 50 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (like walking, swimming or cycling) three days week. They also recommend resistance exercise (like wall push ups, lifting soup cans or propelling yourself with Nordic walking poles) be done three times per week.

The founder of Urban Poling Inc., Mandy Shintani an Occupational Therapist in British Columbia says “Because Urban Poling involves more muscles than regular walking, it burns substantially more calories.” And that’s good news for people who are interested in weight loss, adds Shintani

For more research information on the health benefits of Urban Poling check out: www.urbanpoling.com

Our Team has developed this section because we would like to hear from you.

Tell us your stories share with us your pictures Urban Poling in your neighborhood or on your holidays.  Tell us how this great new fitness trend has affect your life.

Lets have some fun and create a community for people to share and talk with other people.

Email your photos to photos@urbanpoling.com and we will be sure to post them. 

Happy Poling,

Graham