Gimhae City Introduces Nordic Walking Exercise... Perfect for Social Distancing in Daily Life

Class session of the 'Nordic Stick Walking Exercise Class' pilot program operated by Gimhae City Public Health Center (Photo by Gimhae City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province announced on the 25th that it will introduce the new sport Nordic stick walking exercise and conduct a pilot operation this year.

Since it is walking outdoors using sticks, it requires securing a certain space, making it a perfect exercise for the post-COVID-19 era where social distancing is maintained while taking care of health.

The city's Health Promotion Division opened a Nordic walking exercise class, which is an upgraded form of walking exercise, in mid-last month, with 15 participants currently in the pilot operation. After observing the response this year, they plan to fully operate it from next year.

Because it is an exercise using sticks, unlike regular walking that mainly uses the lower body, it involves more upper body use, engaging over 90% of the body's muscles, increasing metabolism, and providing both aerobic and anaerobic exercise effects simultaneously.

It is also good for posture balance, increases walking speed and stride length, reduces body burden through proper weight distribution, and especially alleviates impact on the knees and lower back, making it effective for those with weak joints or rehabilitation from herniated discs.

The Nordic walking exercise class is held every Monday and Wednesday morning at local attractions such as Haeban Stream and Surungwon. After completing the exercise class, the city encourages continuous health management by linking with the mobile walking app WalkOn's 'Georeogaya Gimhae' (Walk, Gimhae).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.