The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic demands of Nordic walking (NW) versus natural walking (WK) using a highly reproducible protocol in a natural environment. A total of 14 physically active subjects (3 males and 11 females, 36.6 ± 8.3 years, 63.1 ± 11.4 kg, 1.67 ± 0.06 m) walked at a freely chosen speed along a 2.5-km course in a game reserve, using NW and WK in a random order. They were monitored for speed with a mobile phone global positioning system (GPS) receiver, and for lap average and maximum heart rate (HR) with a belt HR monitor. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significantly higher lap average HR (p = 0.004) and maximum HR (p = 0.004) in NW compared with WK. Due to its increased metabolic load, NW revealed to be an effective means for improving cardiovascular fitness in populations with a low tolerance for exertion. Using this simple and ecological approach promises to be effective for further evaluation of other variables and/or use in other contexts (e.g. high altitude and climbing).

Nordic walking versus natural walking: an easy approach to comparing metabolic demands

Padulo, Johnny;Iuliano, Enzo;Ardigò, Luca Paolo
2018-01-01

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic demands of Nordic walking (NW) versus natural walking (WK) using a highly reproducible protocol in a natural environment. A total of 14 physically active subjects (3 males and 11 females, 36.6 ± 8.3 years, 63.1 ± 11.4 kg, 1.67 ± 0.06 m) walked at a freely chosen speed along a 2.5-km course in a game reserve, using NW and WK in a random order. They were monitored for speed with a mobile phone global positioning system (GPS) receiver, and for lap average and maximum heart rate (HR) with a belt HR monitor. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significantly higher lap average HR (p = 0.004) and maximum HR (p = 0.004) in NW compared with WK. Due to its increased metabolic load, NW revealed to be an effective means for improving cardiovascular fitness in populations with a low tolerance for exertion. Using this simple and ecological approach promises to be effective for further evaluation of other variables and/or use in other contexts (e.g. high altitude and climbing).
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11389/26525
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 3
social impact