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| Many of you have told Sports Development
in the past that one of your favourite pastimes is walking. Whether it’s
the dog, around the lake in Central Park or just down to the shops, you love to
get moving out in the fresh air! |
| This week I tried out a new
type of walking, Nordic Walking. Jane Leary is a Nordic Walking instructor from
Sawbridgeworth who has started leading walks around Hylands Park on Wednesday
mornings. Armed with specialist poles, Jane led our group of three around
beautiful areas of Hylands I never knew existed! |
| The session started out with
an explanation of the background of the activity (very popular in Scandinavia)
and a gentle warm up. We then went on to begin our walk and gradually
introduced the use of the poles as we went along. You would think walking was a
straightforward task right? Wrong. Jane was really friendly and gave us useful
hints and tips on how to improve posture, rhythm and outlook when we walked.
The poles are there to encourage stability, but more importantly to ensure your
upper body gets a right good workout! The idea isn’t to climb a mountain
with them, (and Hylands hardly offers this type of terrain…) but to aid
your cardiovascular output. The poles help to release tension in the shoulders
and upper back by encouraging a wider range of movement, and when used in
various drills later on in the walk, provide an element of hilarity! |
| This is not an activity
which will leave you panting for breath but will most definitely leave you
wanting to do more! It is suitable for adults of all ages and abilities and
being such a fantastic source of exercise can help improve health, fitness and
wellbeing. Each session lasts between 60 and 90 minutes and costs £5,
including pole hire. Nordic Walking is not a Chelmsford Borough Council Sports
Development activity just yet, so if you would like to know more, or attend the
walks, please contact Jane on… Tel - 01279 723802 or 07903 404225 |
| Jane's Website
your.nordicwalking.co.uk/jane_leary |
| The next walk Jane is
leading takes place on Wednesday 28th July 2010 and leaves Hylands Park,
Writtle entrance car park at 11am. . |
| Prior to this she is
running a free 30 minute taster session from 10am – 10.30am |
| If you would like to
attend either of these sessions, please contact Jane directly. Please also feel
free to contact me, as a first hand experience participant, I would be happy to
help! |
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