POLE POWER.

Byline: Mike Stahlberg The Register-Guard

NORDIC WALKING 

It probably wasn't long after man first stood erect that someone learned a long stick could be used for extra support and balance while walking over uneven terrain.

Over the past couple of generations, that simple hiking stick, free for the taking, has evolved into dual, spring-loaded, carbon-fiber, telescopic poles equipped with wrist straps and carbide tips and costing as much as $200 a pair.

Not only are poles becoming increasingly popular among hikers and trekkers (more than half the hikers in the Austrian and Italian Alps use trekking poles, according to one recent survey), they're now showing up in the hands of exercise walkers.

Nordic walking - or "pole walking" as its called in Finland, where the sport began with cross-country skiers looking for an off-season workout - is shaping up as the latest fitness craze.

The International Nordic Walking Association (INWA) estimates 6 million people are actively engaged in pole-walking. Five years ago, only Finland, Germany and Austria were members of the association; now there are 16 member countries, including the U.S. and Canada.

So there are now two kinds of "Pole People" on the outdoor scene - traditional hikers/trekkers/backpackers and pole-powered exercise walkers.

The first, more traditional group uses poles primarily for stability and for taking some of the load off their feet and knees - especially while hiking downhill. They plant their poles in front of their feet as they're walking.

The pole walkers, meanwhile, use slightly longer poles to assist in propulsion - much like a cross-county skier. Their pole-plant is alongside their heel, or behind it.

The point of Nordic walking is that the downward push on a pole with each stride brings arm, back and chest muscles into play, adding an "upper-body component" to what is otherwise a lower-body workout. The intensity of workout varies, depending on how aggressively one uses his or her arms and poles.

Pole walking is a rather odd-looking activity - inviting such catcalls as "Where's the snow?" or "You forgot your skis," according to Nate Smith of Eugene, a Nordic walking instructor for LEKI, a pole manufacturer.

"There's still a bit of a 'geek factor' to it," laments Smith. "Considering the stares that I get, probably 90 percent of the population has never seen anyone Nordic walk ..."

Rene and Pam Moye of Corvallis have been pole walking daily "for more than 15 years," Pam Moye said just before a walk Sunday on Eugene's riverbank bike path. But until last month, they had never encountered another pole walker.

"We met two women in Corvallis who had just got their poles," Moye said. "They told us it was 'the hottest thing going.' I said, 'That's good. Now maybe we won't look so strange.' '

The Moyes had been exercise walkers before they responded to a Nordic Trak advertisement for walking poles. "But when we walked before, we didn't get quite the workout we do with these," she said.

According to LEKI's Smith, people using poles "end up walking faster, and generally about 20 percent farther" than they would without poles. Their heart rate also increases with the extra arm motion, and the number of calories burned per mile walked goes up by as much as 40 percent, according to some researchers.

"You're bringing back, chest and abdominal muscles into play, plus your posture is better," Smith said. "One of most important benefits of Nordic walking is posture improvement."

Smith said the exercise is especially well-suited for people getting along in years.

"This is phenomenal activity for seniors, many of whom have mobility issues," said Smith, who has been working with residents of a local retirement community. Smith will also conduct a free Nordic walking clinic July 29 at Campbell Community Center, starting at 10 a.m. (Call 682-5318 to reserve a spot).

For seniors, the extra stability provided by two additional points of contact with the ground is helpful, even if they don't put much effort into the poling motion.

Meanwhile, the popularity of traditional trekking poles among hikers and backpackers is also on the rise.

"In the past three years, I've noticed an increase in sales of poles," said Calvin Roberts, a supervisor at the Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) store in Eugene.

"The popularity is growing," said Marc Lancy of McKenzie Outfitters. "It used to be only people carrying heavy packs would use poles to help keep their balance. But people are much more aware of them now. Anybody who has any kind of a knee issue at all is the first candidate for trekking poles."

Chuck and Sandy Reul of Eugene got their first trekking poles about 10 years ago, after a two-week hike around a mountain in France, Italy and Switzerland.

"By the end of that, we were saying, 'We've got to get trekking poles,' " Chuck Reul said. "I think we got them initially to help our knees when we were going downhill steeply."

Hiking lore is full of anecdotal reports that poles ease the impact on joints while going downhill. Now there's also scientific evidence to back that up.

Julianne Abendroth-Smith of Willamette University in Salem and Michael Bohne of the University of Western Illinois are researchers who have been measuring the biomechanical effects of pole usage on subjects walking down inclined ramps of varying steepness in the laboratory. They measured the "ground reaction force" (impact) generated by footsteps, plus "braking forces" and muscle activity.

"On our simulated hill, what we've seen is that two poles are better than one pole, but one pole is better than no pole for most people," Abendroth-Smith said.

"Men are especially good at reducing forces" by "unloading" weight from their feet, she said, probably because of their upper-body strength.

Women tend to use poles "more as a braking mechanism, particularly on steeper slopes."

While the reduction in force per step is not dramatic (about 8 to 10 percent), she said, taken over a four-mile hike, "the total reduction in forces on the joints is pretty extreme."

Most inexperienced hikers "don't realize it's the downhill portion that makes them sore," said Abendroth-Smith, who uses trekking poles on her hikes.

"Those are the kind of people I'd sure like to reach, because those are the ones who need it most."

Meanwhile, the original hiking stick has fallen out of favor.

"The market has moved away from the hiking-staff design," said McKenzie Outfitters' Lancy. "They're not as portable, not as easy to take with you in an airplane or a car."

Many trekking and walking poles are telescopic, so they can be adjusted for users of different heights and collapsed into a size short enough to fit in a pack when not in use.

Less-expensive poles are made of aluminum, while more expensive models are often made of high-tech lightweight materials. Some trekking poles also have a built-in spring mechanism designed to help absorb some of the shock of going downhill.

Many have plastic "baskets" to keep the tip of the pole from sinking too far into mud or loose sand. The tips are usually carbide steel, although some poles have protective rubberized covers for walking on cobblestone or pavement. Nordic walking poles come with a tip that is slanted at an angle to provide more contact surface with the pavement.

Most trekking and walking poles alike come with wrist straps, the proper use of which helps avoid hand injuries.

Pole prices range from $40 to $200, depending on materials and features.

For more information on Nordic walking, log on to www.nordicwalking.com.