How to warm up for Nordic Walking?
Warming up is essential for Nordic Walking. It helps to prepare the joints and to start increasing the heart rate.
To be effective, training must be chronological: start with the lower body and then the upper.
For the lower part of the body, the ankles, knees and hips are warmed up. Then for the upper part, we warm up the wrists and shoulders.
A tip: when warming up, contract your abs to work the deep muscles and get a good posture.
Poles are used as early as the warm-up: they allow you to balance and make movements through inertia. With the poles, you can warm up thoroughly and try out the warm-up exercises specific to Nordic Walking. Example: Grab your poles with both hands and put them above your head (as in the photo in this article), stretch on your right side and then on your left side. Do the same by putting the poles in front of you, rotate to the right side, then to the left.
Very often we favour Nordic Walking warm-ups with music to keep things moving and to make it fun.
The average speed of a Nordic walker is 6 to 7km/hr, hence the importance of warming up well before starting to avoid injury.
After 10 minutes of warm-up you will be ready to go!
Advice from Patrice Leveque: a qualified Nordic walking instructor in the Annecy basin
