Nordic Walking Coming to Scandinavian Folk Festival (No Skis and No Snow Required)

Jamestown, NY, July 09, 2008 --(PR.com)-- REAL Nordic Walking Poles will be available for test-drives and lessons. Nordic Walking classes and lectures will be available on Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and 20th. Please check festival program and/or website for more information and details.

The classes will be hosted by Pete Edwards the owner/founder/coach of The American Nordic Walking System and WWW.SKIWALKING.COM. Edwards has hosted hundreds of Nordic Walking classes across the USA and has introduced Nordic Walking to thousands. His poles are custom made in Lillehammer, Norway and are safer, lighter and much more durable than cheap twist-locking adjustable length/telescoping/collapsible poles.

Nordic Skiing has its roots in Scandinavia and so does Nordic Walking. The ski coaches in Finland saw the success that their cross-country skiers gained from Ski Walking and Hill Bounding with poles. They also noticed that hikers and backpackers eliminated knee and back pain when using trekking poles. They added removable rubber tips to their modified cross country poles so that the many health benefits of cross-country skiing could be done year round – even on pavement and other hard surfaces. They also added special fingerless glove type straps to effectively and efficiently walk with poles. Over 6 million Europeans are walking with poles – in the cities, in the country and up in the mountains.

According to the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, walking with Nordic walking poles burns 20 percent more calories than regular power walking. Not only does walking with poles burn more calories than regular walking, the poles help to reduce the stress to weight bearing joints. The poles are also proving to be a huge aid for anyone with balance issues including MS, Parkinson’s, Neuropathy and Post Polio. Despite knee issues, hip issues, scoliosis, arthritis, stroke recovery, cancer recovery and other issues many individuals are finding walking doable again thanks to Nordic Walking Poles.

Perfect length poles and the correct technique are the winning combination. Edwards developed the American Nordic Walking System to ensure that ALL ages and ALL fitness levels can safely and effectively participate and benefit from Nordic Walking. The American Nordic Walking System provides levels of varying intensity – from casual to extremely intense. And when combined with the perfect length poles helps us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.

For more information regarding the 7th Annual Scandinavian Folk Festival please go to: www.scandinavianjamestown.org

6 million Europeans can’t be wrong.

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