Nordic Walking History
The term Nordic Walking originated in Finland in 1997. As a recreational physical activity, the sport began as a summer training exercise for cross country skiers, using their ski poles for their training during the off-season.
It wasn’t until the later part of the 20th century that the concept of fitness walking with specially designed poles was developed as a method of exercise in its own right. It soon evolved as a sport of its own when Exel, a Finnish company, invented a new wrist strap system which now forms the present Nordic Walking technique. This wrist strap system allows the walker to access the full range of associated physical and health related benefits.
However, it was believed that the original concept of fitness walking with specially designed walking poles can be dated as far back as 1988 in the United States when Tom Rutlin pioneered “Exerstriding”. Exerstriding is a specific technique which makes use of Exerstrider fitness walking poles to provide a total body workout while walking. It was in 1997, in Finland, when people began to recognize Nordic Walking as a real sport. Thus, what was then known as “Exerstriding” eventually evolved into what is now more commonly known as Nordic Walking.
Nordic Walking has rapidly increased in popularity and is considered as a fitness sport today. As a matter of fact, in 2005, there is an estimate population of over 4 million people who are engrossed in this activity.
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