The Teaching Method of the INWA (trademarked)

How we cover them in our course levels.

 1.  Posture

• Keeping your body in alignment
• Feet forward, straight back, squared but relaxed shoulders, chin level, chest out, stomach in, lengthened spine

2.  Walk

• Create the basic movement for Nordic walking
• Maintain good posture whilst walking
• Swing your arms from the shoulder joint (not from the elbow)
• Roll your feet; from heel to toe, as if squeezing a lemon with the ball of your feet

3.  Drag (this is just an exercise; we don't do it when we are walking)

• Coordinate your arm and leg rhythm
• Learn the correct angle of the pole (roughly 45degrees)
• Keep the arm swinging from the shoulder - keep it close to your side, but don't clamp it into your body

4.  Place

• Find the right position for your pole (roughly by your back foot, pole is still at 45degree angle)
• Practice the right grip of the pole: Close your whole hand softly around the pole handle – use the pressure of a friendly handshake

 5.  Push

• Propel the body forward more actively – push down/back into the strap
• Use a smooth, steady pressure, with a progressively relaxing hand
• The more firmly you can push down the length of the pole into the ground, the faster you will go

Foundation Course:
We focus on the first 5 steps. If you put them together, you are Nordic walking and can join our walks. You will have found a smooth, relaxed way to propel yourself forward, using most of your muscle, while avoiding straining your joints.
We also take a glance at the other steps, specially step 8: the swing forward and step 10: body rotation.

6.  Extend fully

• Push further behind you; Keep the tip of the pole in touch with the ground as long as possible
• Push your hand past the pelvis – ultimately, you have a straight line from the shoulder to the tip of the pole. The pole is like a continuation of the arm – parallel to your back leg

7.  Release actively

• Release your grip and let go of the handle
• Press the heel of your hand against the strap – and push off with your foot at the same time

8.  Swing forward

• Swing the pole forward clean and crisp, avoiding pole bouncing, dragging or double planting
• Learn how to open and close your hand with the right timing
• Keep your knuckles pointing down towards the ground
• Reach forwards as if to make a low handshake

9.   Lean

• Create more forward momentum and increase your speed
• Lean from your ankles, not your waist – keep your chest open

10.   Rotate

• Integrate movement of the upper and lower body; allow your torso to gently rotate as you push the pole backwards.
• Enables you to go faster, as you can extend/push your poles even harder.

Advanced Course:
We revisit the first 5 steps, and then fully focus on steps 6-10. The more you use these advanced methods when Nordic walking, the more muscles you are engaging, and the more you open your spine and chest. This boosts the circulation the whole way down your spine and brings oxygen and nutrients to the discs and vertebrae.

Andrea is a certified INWA instructor.