WALKING EXERCISE 4 BODY

1. Nordic walking- in non Nordic Countries

Nordic walking was started in Finland in 1997 as a summer fitness work out for cross country skiers . It was later on promoted by the Finnish government to encourage the people to exercise . About 760,000 Finns implement with this walking often.
The Nordic walking spreaded quickly in the Nordic countries like Norway Sweden Germany , where more people are familiar with Nordic style skiing .
In Finland ,at the summer, the mean every day temperature is constantly over 10°C . We also know that all the countries mentioned here are mostly cold countries. So what happens in the hot countries where the mean summer temperatures
Are around 30 c ? Is this kind of activity suitable for those countries , where there is no snow at all ?
I am living in a hot country with summer temperatures about the 30 c.
From my own knowledge I can promise you It fits also to hot countries but I have to emphasis the following subjects :
Walking time: Early morning , is my favorite time . The air is usually not polluted .The car traffic is low . You have a chance to see the daybreak . Not Many walkers .
Clothes: Use light clothing as possible . Light shirt .Short trousers. A hat if you will meet the hot sun !
Footwear : There are especially designed shoes for Nordic Walking , but a good walking shoe or a running shoe can also do the job .
Water : Very important ! I usually carry on my backside a water bag , with a pipeline so I don't have to leave the walking poles for drinking .
Walking poles : Using the walking poles with gloves is unbearable .The hands feel very hot and sweaty inside the gloves. The solution is to use walking poles without gloves but they should not be the kind with flat cork shaft . The reason of course is that the sweating hands are sliding on the shaft, so you can't give that thurst with the hands , which is a part of the Nordic Walking .
This leads to the thought that the shaft has to be the type with curves which fit the fingers. With this kind of shaft you can "play " with the way you are holding the walking poles : Before sweating in the hand palms , you can have a full grasp on the shaft . Later you can hold the shaft with the thumb and index finger only.
Another way is to put the thumb on top of the shaft , and with the remaining fingers grip the shaft slightly . As we can see there are Nordic Walking solutions also for the not so North countries .

2. A Great Activity In The English Lake District

Many see scrambling as a mountain adventure like rock climbing - and, yes, it is exciting, but if done properly it provides loads of excitement with none of the risk. The Lake District offers many fine scrambles, including the most famous of all - Jack's Rake. If you're of average fitness, and with a stout heart, this is scramble well worth attempting.

But let's start by answering the fundamental question of all would-be scramblers. How do you define scrambling? It's a pastime somewhere between steep walking and rock climbing. It's not really climbing, but it certainly isn't hill-walking (known as fell walking in this part of the world). You'll always need your hands to hold on - together with your feet and any other spare part of your anatomy!

If you want something more exciting than fell-walking, scrambling is an exciting step upwards which will add huge interest to a day out. And for rock climbers, a day spent scrambling is a great rest-day alternative.

But what may appeal to you most is the chance to get off the beaten track. Scrambling usually takes place off conventional trails and footpaths, so even on the busiest days you have the chance of solitude.

The Lake District has many varied scrambles, ranging from steep ridges and buttresses to water-filled ghylls and ravines. There are many guide books available which take you through the classic and more challenging routes. They are graded from 1 to 4 - if you're a beginner, you'll want to start with Grade 1, the easiest.

Although the easiest scrambles are well within a fit walker's capacity, unroped scrambling in exposed situations can present some risks. If you want to try it, make sure that you are well-briefed, and ensure the weather is suitable - wet rock in particular can be very dangerous.

To learn more about scrambling contact the British Mountaineering Council on 0870 010 4878 or visit www.thebmc.co.uk

And so - you've decided you want to try it: where to go first? Jack's Rake in the Langdale Pikes is a classic scramble, well known to generations of walkers.

You start in Langdale from the Stickle Ghyll car park, and ascend up to Stickle Tarn in one not-so-difficult ascent. This gives you the chance to survey the Rake, a diagonal traverse of the face of the crag opposite you. The cut of Jack's Rake makes its way from the bottom right to top left of Pavey Ark - and it's easy to see. Now's the time to rethink your plan for the day if your nerve gives way!

The exposed areas can be seen clearly. If you decide to go ahead, walk around the tarn to the foot of Jack's Rake and look up the crevice in the rock. The first feature point is a sole Rowan tree about a hundred yards ahead - beyond that, it's easier to go on rather than turn around.

For most of the ascent you climb inside a rock groove. which makes this feel very safe for beginners. Although there are tight spots the rock channel offers comforting protection from exposure to the drop down to the tarn. However, bear in mind that there are some very exposed sections later on!

After you've passed the Rowan tree, there's a small flat piece of ground with no edge protection - perfect for viewing the scenery! The path is wide, but step off and you're going to be falling off the cliff and down to the tarn. Be very careful where you tread!

The next stage of the climb has a few scary moments - mostly involving smooth rock which is slippery when wet, or tight crevasses which you cannot squeeze through, and so must traverse on the edge of the rock face. And near the final ascent comes the most exposed bit of Jack's Rake: a sharp turn to the right to gain the summit, with a sheer drop below you to the left. Like so many frightening situations, it's better if you don't stop to think, grasp your handholds firmly, and haul yourself up.

Finishing the scramble is a moment of triumph, and if you're a novice Lake District Scrambler it will give you fantastic memories for years to come!

3 Walking Will Help You Lose Weight

The concept behind successful weight loss is that you have to burn more calories than your body is taking in, this is known as a calorie deficit. A good way to get your body into a calorie deficit is walking.

Walking will help you to lose weight, not only is it a low impact exercise, it will burn plenty of calories. Apart from walking you will also need to make up an exercise plan, and remember that planning is essential to succeed in anything, losing weight is no different.

You need to construct your plan so that you are doing some sort of physical activity everyday. The more physical you can get on a daily basis, the more weight you will lose.

It is completely up to you as to which exercises you want to do, make sure that whatever you choose they fit in with your life and that you enjoy what you do.It is really hard to stick to something if you hate it. You could choose from running, skipping, swimming, dancing, tennis, walking, golf, or any number of activities, a gym is not the only place to burn calories.

The good thing about walking is that it is not too hard and anyone in reasonable health can do it. It is also free to do, which is another big bonus. The longer you walk, the greater the benefits, so try to make sure that you walk for at least half an hour each day. This is an easy way to be able to exercise 7 days a week.

You may feel a little apprehensive about just walking around, but don't; If you need to go somewhere that is within a mile of your house, walk there instead of taking the car. Drive out of the city a couple of times a week or on the weekends. Then walk in the fields or hills, this will give you lots of fresh air and give you peaceful surroundings to walk in.

Make other changes to the way you do things. Try walking up the stairs instead of using lifts or esculators, take the kids to a park a couple of times a week and kick a ball around, just think of things in your daily activities that can be changed and will burn more calories.

Once you have become accustomed to walking for certain periods, start to make it more difficult, run for short stretches, make it more challenging by carrying a small backpack with some weight in it, or even try jumping for 20 yards every 5 minutes. Although it is advisable to do this where you are alone or you may get some strange looks.

The secret is to keep it progressive, meaning that you continue to increase what you do. If you don't increase what you do, your body has no reason to change as it can easily cope with what you are doing. By doing more your body will have to constantly change to cope with the extra work.

Begin to do this as soon as possible, and don't keep putting things off. In time you can move onto more difficult and more challenging ways to exercise, but in the begining walking will help you lose weight.