Globe and Mail

Take Walking Up a Notch

The activity exploded across Europe in the 1990s and has grown to the point where today more than 20 per cent of Finns and about 10-15 million Germans regularly pole walk.

 “I’ve never been an athlete,” says Ms. Keene, who lives in Toronto and heads out pole walking five or six times a week. “I’ve always enjoyed walking but now, using the poles, I really get a workout. I’m in good shape. My doctor is impressed.”

Dr. Schwanbeck has been a pole walking advocate for more than 25 years. Aside from pole walking being a form of exercise ideal for people of any age, Dr. Schwanbeck says it also has medical benefits.

Anyone who suffers from diabetes, who’s overweight or has high blood pressure and has been encouraged by their physician to exercise, improves at much faster rates pole walking than by simple walking, says Dr. Schwanbeck.

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