Nordic Walking Can Improve Your Heart Function: Here’s How It Works

This is likely because of the upper and lower body muscle groups Nordic walking activates. Using upper body strength to move and stabilize the poles while also activating your lower body can increase your heart rate, which increases your cardiovascular benefits.

Dr. Chip Lavie, who led the study’s accompanying editorial, told Medical News Today that “the addition of Nordic poles to moderate to vigorous-intensity walking is a simple, accessible option to enhance improvements in walking capacity, increase energy expenditure, engage upper body musculature, and improve other functional parameters such as posture, gait, and balance all that could improve walking speed.”