February 2023
Welcome to February…the month of love! Self-love is a great place to start, why not grab some me-time and learn a new way to move your body.
Make 2023 the year you get hooked on something new – Why learn to Nordic Walk?
It’s not just the physical benefits of training and toning your physical body and burning calories. It’s also great for
· improved memory, mood and motivation.
· Increased adaptability and agility to acquire new skills.
· Overcoming fears and discovering new confidence
· Improving your mental well-being
· Humans are built for growth, both physically and mentally, and trying new things is the perfect way to challenge yourself, embrace new perspectives, and experience things differently.
In fact, trying out a new sport such as Nordic Walking is proven to be extremely beneficial for both your body and mind!
The brain is a complicated little thing, but if there’s one thing we know, it’s that it LOVES to learn. So much so that it quite literally grows to “make space” for the learning process.
Research has shown that when you’re learning or practicing a new skill, your brain expands in volume in the areas relevant to what you’re doing. This expansion leads to an increase in grey matter, which translates to growth for extra neural resources (like neurons and synapses)
Studies have shown that developing and executing new motor skills can be just as cognitively challenging as other intellect-based activities (think brain teasers or crossword puzzles). In other words, a new sport such as Nordic Walking can be just as effective at helping your brain grow as more “traditional” brain challenges. Basically, just through learning a new sport or movement patterns, you could promote positive brain growth that typically wouldn’t change otherwise during adulthood. And, in addition to helping your brain grow, acquiring new skills is linked with longevity and happiness.
Essentially, when you process a positive experience, it activates the part of the brain that helps accelerate its ability to learn, meaning happiness and learning often come hand-in-hand. In turn, this causes your brain to generate positive emotions or even euphoric feelings throughout the learning process. Combine that with the boost of endorphins from doing physical activity, and you’ve got yourself a wonderful chemical cocktail of happy hormones.
A new way to teach Nordic Walking
Recently INWA (International Nordic Walking Federation, whom British Nordic Walking comes under) launched an updated manual for all its instructors. As Nordic Walking grows and develops globally, more and more research into its health benefits is being undertaken and the technique is tweaked so our Nordic Walkers can get the most out of it. I now have the new manual and have taken part in a course to update my skills as an Instructor. The ten steps remain the same, but are now grouped together differently
Foundation
Posture, lean forward, walk & rotate
Fundamentals
Drag, place, push
Swing Technique
Extend fully, release fully, swing forwards
It was great to hear about some new innovations within Nordic Walking, learn some new stretches and other ways to improve my instructing!
Signs of Spring
Has anyone spotted any signs of spring yet? The recent milder spell and appearance of the sun has got me all excited about snowdrops and daffodils poking their heads up through the frosty earth and blossom on the trees! We’ll soon have plenty of Spring eye-candy to admire during our Nordic Walks in the local countryside
Who knows what February will bring, lets get out in our beautiful countryside together!
Our regular Nordic Walking (75 mins) sessions are
Monday Motivation 6.15pm Malmesbury
Tuesday Earlybirds 8.45am Great Somerford
Tuesday Tune-Up 6pm Great Somerford
Wednesday 10am Westonbirt Arboretum
Fabulous Friday 1.15pm Tetbury
Social Saturday 9am Location varies
We currently have several Beginners Courses about to start
Wednesday 10am, Westonbirt Arboretum, 15th Feb (7 weeks) FULL
Friday 11.30am, Tetbury Goods Shed, 10th Feb (3 weeks)
Saturday 11.30am, Westmead Open Space, Chippenham, 11th Jan
(3 weeks)
Please encourage your friends and family who would find Nordic Walking beneficial to give it a go!
Don’t forget we now have Gift Vouchers available to purchase - valid for all our Nordic Walks and Courses, give the gift of health in 2023!
January 2023
Nordic Walking can help you beat the Winter Blues.
January and February are dark, cold and often miserable months…just getting outside sometimes is half the battle! You don’t need to suffer from Seasonally Affected Disorder to appreciate how gloomy it can make you feel. Endless damp days leave you craving crisp blue-sky days and it’s really easy to want to stay inside warm and dry! Daylight hours and sunshine are reduced so make the most of them when you can, even a short Nordic Walk round the block can really improve your mood!
Getting a Nordic Walk in natural light and the fresh air does wonders for helping boost your mood, and studies have shown that walking through trees and fields decreases stress and being in a beautiful natural setting can actually turn your negative thoughts into positive ones! A walk in winter sunshine fires up your happiness hormones - endorphins, dopamine and serotonin leaving you feeling much better!
Feeling fatigued? Go for a Nordic Walk! By engaging in regular, low intensity exercise you can increase your energy levels by 20%, those first steps will be hard, but you’ll often find you have more energy at the end of a walk than when you started and this can give you the momentum needed to get through your day in much better shape!
When the doldrums of winter leave you feeling unmotivated and lack lustre and you manage to get out and complete a Nordic Walk , give yourself a pat on the back! If you like track your walks and feel a real sense of achievement seeing those miles clock up. There are many ‘challenges’ out there to help keep you motivated - why not sign up for RED January, a free growing campaign to get people moving (run, swim, bike, walk or your favourite activity) every day in January.
https://redtogether.co.uk/
Or how about a challenge for the whole year… Country Walking Magazine’s 1000 mile Challenge - walk 1000 miles between now and December 31st
https://www.walk1000miles.co.uk/1000plus-signup
Do you have trouble sleeping in the winter months? Getting out for a Nordic Walk every day can actually help you sleep better, Nordic Walking releases endorphins that promote relaxation and it also helps your body produce melatonin - a hormone that regulates your sleep and wake cycles!
Feel the cold? Nordic Walking warms you up! Because Nordic Walking is a whole body exercise that engages 90% of your skeletal muscles it doesn’t take long to get warm even on a freezing cold day It also boosts your circulation, encourages active feet (good for Raynauds sufferers), with a full arm-swing and squeezing and releasing the hands around the poles. Not only that it strengthens your heart and lungs, lowers your blood pressure, reduces your risk of heart-disease and Type 2 Diabetes.
Nordic Walking with a group has mental, physical and emotional benefits that include the reduction of overall stress- reducing your cortisol (stress hormone) levels helps manage your metabolism and immune response- key during the winter months.
It’s a great way to meet new people and make new friends and joining a group walk means you’re more likely to commit to going regularly!
Nordic Walking improves your self-esteem and confidence, it gives you a real sense of accomplishment as you progress and get stronger and fitter - especially when other people in the group recognise your progress.
Nordic Walking as a group can also encourage you to push yourself further or harder than walking by yourself and in addition you have the motivation and encouragement from your instructor!
Finally, Nordic Walking with a group combats feelings of loneliness or isolation. Keeping in regular contact with your group through a weekly (or more often) Nordic Walk provides an opportunity to interact with others and it’s why Nordic Nomads encourages stopping for a coffee afterwards wherever possible!
Nordic Nomads will continue Nordic Walking throughout the winter wherever possible, however we may well encounter mud and water!
Make sure your waterproofing is up-to-date!
Our regular Nordic Walking (75 mins) sessions are
Monday Motivation 6.15pm Malmesbury
Tuesday Earlybirds 8.45am Great Somerford
Tuesday Tune-Up 6pm Great Somerford
Wednesday 10am Westonbirt Arboretum
Fabulous Friday 1.15pm Tetbury
Social Saturday 9am Location varies
We currently have several Beginners Courses about to start
Wednesday 10am, Westonbirt Arboretum, 4th Jan (6 weeks)
Wednesday 10am, Westonbirt Arboretum, 15th Feb (7 weeks)
Wednesday 1pm, Lake 32, Cotswold Water Park, 11th Jan (3 weeks)
Saturday 2pm, Westmead Open Space, Chippenham, 7th Jan (3 weeks)
Please encourage your friends and family who would find Nordic Walking beneficial to give it a go!
Don’t forget we now have Gift Vouchers available to purchase - valid for all our Nordic Walks and Courses, give the gift of health in 2023!
Finally a big thanks for all who Nordic Walked with us in 2022, we are really excited about what 2023 may have in store for us!
Including our 1st Birthday celebrations on 5th April!
Looking forward to pushing the poles with you in 2023!
Tash x
Nordic Poles with melting snow