A Better Medway’s Nordic Walking program are delighted to have been invited to work alongside Parkinson's UK and the local Parkinson's working age group to deliver an opportunity to people affected by Parkinson's and other medical conditions.
The main walking and training venue Will be at Capstone Farm Country Park, twice a month on Wednesday mornings.
You must book in advance using the contact details supplied as new walkers will have to attend training on the correct use of the equipment. Poles can be provided for these sessions.
The project has been running since 2020 and has been able to establish a regular group attended by instructors and Volunteer Walk Leaders who have attended British Nordic Walking's Parkinson's and related conditions CPD training modules.
Our introduction to Nordic walking Session will:
· Allow you try Nordic Walking for the first time.
· Free to attend
· Discuss how to maximise the benefits of this exercise.
· Offer tailored walking sessions from just 1 minute up to 30minutes using a loop of the lake.
· Use a venue with an already established walking community
Benefits to Health of Nordic Walking in itself are great for your overall health, improving your body’s use of the heart and lungs, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and helping blood sugar regulation.
Nordic Walking in particular can help you maintain a better posture and keep you more upright. At the same time, taking longer strides can gently stretch your limbs and keep your body rotated, which can help you loosen up and improve your coordination.
If you feel that you tend to walk slower and take smaller steps, Nordic walking creates a steady beat to improve your pace. It can also make exercise fun and social when done in a group.
… “I think it’s an excellent activity to help with specific Parkinson’s problems. For me it’s helped with restoring what had become very poor and often absent arm swing, making my shoulders move, having developed very reduced shoulder movement and maintaining heel-toe foot movement preventing a shuffling action” …