Sara Parker
Trekking poles (also known as hiking poles, hiking sticks or walking poles) are a common hiking accessory used to assist walkers with their rhythm and provide stability on rough terrain.
Carla Brinburg never liked walking for exercise — until she tried using walking poles. Read what she liked about them and how they can burn more calories, work your upper body and liven up your workout routine.
This study investigated the effect of the use of trekking poles on muscle and
cartilage damage and fatigue during downhill walking in obese women. [Subjects and
Methods] Subjects included eight obese women who had a body fat percentage greater than
30. Subjects performed downhill walking without a trekking pole (NP) and with a trekking
pole (TP) at 50% heart rate reserve for 30 minutes on a treadmill. The treadmill was set
at a 15% downhill declination. Blood samples were collected to examine muscle damage
(serum creatine kinase [CK] and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] levels), cartilage damage
(serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein [COMP] levels), and fatigue (plasma lactate
levels) at the pre-walking baseline (PWB), immediately after walking (IAW), and 2 hours
post-walking (2HPW). [Results] The CK, LDH, COMP, and lactate levels were significantly
increased IAW when compared with those at the PWB in both trials. In addition, in the NP
trial, the CK, LDH, and COMP levels were significantly increased at 2HPW when compared
with those at the PWB. [Conclusion] Downhill walking can cause muscle and cartilage
damage, and our results suggest that the use of a trekking pole can reduce temporary
muscle and cartilage damage after downhill walking.
Due to poling action and upper body engagement, Nordic walking (NW) has additional health benefits with respect to conventional walking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in muscle activation and metabolic responses between NW, performed with the technique suggested by NW instructors, and with some modifications in the way to move upper limb and poles. Ten NW instructors volunteered to walk on a treadmill at 5.5 km•h-1 in five conditions: walking (W), Nordic walking (NW), NW with a weak poling action (NWweak), with straight-upper limbs moving the shoulders (NWshoulder) and with elbow flexion-extension pattern and shoulder freezed (NWelbow). Poling forces, body segments and poles movement, upper and lower body muscle activation, as well as metabolic parameters were measured.All modified NW techniques elicited lower muscular activation and metabolic responses with respect to the suggested NW technique (P
A harness is one of the most basic pieces of climbing gear, but that also makes it one of the most important. Your harness is an attachment for your climbing rope and belay device. Before you can begin climbing, you have to fit the harness on your waist.
Walking poles can turn your daily walk into a full-body workout.
Trekking poles (also known as hiking poles, hiking sticks or walking poles) are a common hiking accessory used to assist walkers with their rhythm and provide stability on rough terrain.
Did you know that only one in two hikers in France has poles? Yet several studies have demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of hiking with poles. They're as important as a helmet for skiing or cycling. This article shows how important poles are for hiking. It's mostly a question of safety and protection for your joints.
Black Diamond Equipment Australia - Explore and shop our full line of poles for trekking, hiking, backpacking or alpine pursuits.
