Nordic Walking Better Than HIIT Workouts For Your Heart Health

Nordic walking exercises 80 per cent of your muscles when done properly. It helps burn more calories than regular walking.

Are you looking for best cardiovascular exercises to boost your heart health? You should give Nordic pole walking a try.

Originated in Finland, Nordic walking is a low-impact, whole-body workout performed using two specially designed poles that you work in opposition to your legs. Earlier used for cross-country ski training in the off-season, this simple-yet-effective form of exercise has become popular worldwide.

In a study, Nordic walking was found to be better than high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training (cycling or rowing) in improving the functional capacity of patients with coronary artery disease. All three exercise regimens also helped alleviate the patients' depression and improved their quality of life. The findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Senior author Dr. Jennifer Reed from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Canada suggested that Nordic walking could be a good exercise option for cardiac rehab patients to improve their physical and mental health as it requires minimal cost and equipment.

Benefits of Nordic walking

According to the American Nordic Walking Association, Nordic walking exercises 80 per cent of your muscles when done properly. It targets chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders, and abdominals along with the leg muscles. Additionally, Nordic walking engages the core as the walker thrusts forward with the poles.

• It is a great workout to improve cardio-respiratory fitness, especially for older adults who cannot do resistance training or high-impact sports.
• It also helps improve balance and reduce neck pain.
• Nordic Walking can be performed at different intensity levels.
• It's a fun workout that can be done everywhere from parks and roads to hiking trails.

One study published in the journal Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport found that Nordic Walking resulted in a greater increase in oxygen consumption, caloric expenditure and heart rate compared with regular walking.

Nordic Walking Vs Conventional Walking

Walking with Nordic poles helps lose more calories and works more than muscles as compared to conventional walking, according to Dr Ankur Phatarpekar, Director CATH Lab and Interventional Cardiologist, Symbiosis Hospital, Dadar.

He added, "Nordic walking is combined with cardiovascular exercise by strengthening the muscles of the shoulder, arms, core and legs. It almost exercises 80 per cent of muscles if done in the right way. Nordic walking is also associated with reductions in fat mass, "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and waist circumference, and increases in "good" HDL cholesterol, endurance, muscle strength and flexibility, walking distance, cardiovascular fitness, and quality of life."

Tips To Take Care Of Your Heart Health

The heart is an organ essential to life as it pumps blood, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the body. The heart can experience many problems which impact or restrict its ability to function. One such problem is coronary artery disease. Dr Phatarpekar suggested the following tips to take care of your heart health:

• Exercise regularly
• Quit alcohol and smoking
• Eat green and clean
• Get adequate sleep
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Maintain good oral hygiene
• Drink more water
• Manage stress
• Go for regular health screenings
• Keep blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc, under control