Nordic Walking nt pole walking, ski walking, fitness walking
Maybe you've heard of Nordic Walking, the biggest Trendsport in Germany. Have you seen people strolling through a city park with ski poles? Have you waited at a train station alongside a group of backpackers with retractable walking sticks? Have you had your Sunday route impeded by a marathon of people puffing through the streets waving Nordic Walking poles? No? I have. And it's weird.
Before I came to Germany, I had seen ski poles in two locations: ski hills and serious mountain hikes. Here Nordic Walking is such a big hit that Germany is the home of the Nordic Walking World Championships. Local sports accessory stores (including the curiously named SportScheck) have whole sections devoted to Nordic Walking training accessories.
So what's the deal with this sport? First of all, it's target demographic seems to be the Aquafit set. Germany has a very large, very visible and very active group of elderly people; almost 1/3 of all Germans are retired. It's clear - from the adverts featuring grey-haired Nordic Walkers taking back the city to the group of golden-age Nordic Walkers in Goretex who swarmed us on the train to the Black Forest - that elderly people are driving this trend. And I get it. It's a hit with older and less-than-fit people because it makes walking - the king of low impact, no-way-I'm-going-to-pull-anything exercise - even easier, and also bringing your upper body into the mix. Your stride and posture are supported by not one, but two canes, and not an ivory handled, tortoiseshell old-lady cane - an ultra-light, super skinny aluminum cane with yellow lightning bolts up the side and the word "Nordic" emblazoned across it. And we all know Germans, especially older Germans, have a soft spot for all things Nordic.
It's also clear that some marketing team is trying to convince Germans that this Nordic Walking thing is an international movement. After all, it's not called "Nordischer Spazieren." (It's funny how Germans seem to adore all things English language, except for the people who actually speak it.) Sure, it may have "originated" in North America as training for cross-country skiers, but I have never seen anybody, let alone anyone in their 60s, trucking along with ski poles on an urban trail in Canada. Given how mobile and well-represented old people are here in Germany, I think that a little more international exposure for this hip-replacement-friendly sport would be worthwhile. No one should have to survive on Aquafit alone.
Image via www.nordic-walker-hameln.de
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