Maple Syrup Time - Ideal Time of Year for Cross Country Skiing and Nordic Walking!

Cold nights and warm days are ideal for the tapping of maple trees for maple syrup. It is also an ideal time for spring skiing and/or Nordic Walking.

This has been a perfect spring for making maple syrup and the snow is still holding up and very skiable.

And for those deprived of snow - just get out and beef-up your walking campaign with walking poles. Walking with poles provide many of the awesome health benefits of cross country skiing. The walking poles also radically reduce the stress to the shins, the knees, the hips and back.

Originally skiers deprived of snow knew the secret benefits of walking, hiking, trekking, ski walking, hill-bounding, ........... with poles. And now the word is out. You can burn 20-40% more calories by walking with poles. That is 20-40% more calories than regular walking - walking without poles. The poles also radically improve balance and stability.

When deprived of snow and not cross country skiing I use my poles for hiking in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and during my lunch break I run with my poles up the hill here behind the office and then ski walk back down. I not only get a better workout, but my knees find the poles eliminate the stress and strain.

When looking for walking poles be sure to not get scammed by all the cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece collapsible poles flooding the market from China and costing anywhere from $20.00 per pair to $200.00 per pair. If the poles are equipped with twist-locks or flip-locks be sure to avoid them. Skiers only use one-piece poles and the same quality one-piece poles work best for hiking, walking, trekking, running, ski walking and hill-bounding with poles.

Skiers and other athletes would destroy cheap/flimsy collapsible poles. Plus they rattle, vibrate, gradually collapse or fail altogether unexpectedly. Seniors and anyone with a balance issue should NEVER use cheap/flimsy collapsible poles. Quality one-piece poles that are sized correctly will always prove to be safer, lighter, stronger, more durable and much more user-friendly.

Perfect length poles help us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.

According to Nick Mahood, SWIX USA Nordic Walking Director, "Pete Edwards, The American Nordic Walking System and SKIWALKING.COM's owner/founder/coach, has single handedly introduced thousands of Americans to Nordic Walking through his enthusiastic Nordic Walking clinics! I have no doubt that Edwards is the #1 retailer of Nordic Walking Poles in the USA! You can quote me on that!".

We are the #1 retailer of quality one-piece poles in North America. Unfortunately thousands of Americans in the USA and Canada are getting scammed everyday into purchasing cheap/flimsy collapsible poles from China. When those collapsible poles prove unfriendly they find us and our 100% positive satisfaction ratings.

Walking with poles is the best! Walking with one-piece poles that are sized correctly makes a good thing even better.

Nordic Walking Poles - Huge Benefits For Those With Diabetes and/or Neuropathy

Last week I hosted Nordic Walking Classes at Mercy Hospital in Cadillac, Michigan during their annual Diabetes Health Expo. It was exciting to get so much positive feedback from those who had never tried Nordic Walking. And as always, the doctors and physical therapists commented about their clients' successes with the Nordic Walking Poles. Individuals that already had our Swix and Exel Nordic Walking Poles shared their personal success stories including weight loss, the need for fewer medications, improved walking posture, increased walking endurance, radical improvements in stability, decrease in blood pressure, ability to walk on uneven ground again, .......

The cardiac rehab department at Mercy Hospital utilizes our one-piece Nordic Walking Poles too. The one-piece poles prove to be safer, lighter, stronger, much more durable and much more user-friendly than cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece collapsible poles that tend to rattle, vibrate, gradually collapse or completely fail altogether. I would NEVER recommend collapsible poles for anyone with balance or stability issues. I also don't recommend collapsible poles for everyday use. One-piece poles that are sized correctly are far superior to collapsible poles.

All of our quality one-piece poles are equipped with real Nordic Walking straps - comfortable fingerless glove type straps that allow the user to keep their fingers relaxed and never have to grip or squeeze the poles. All of our poles also come with the special rubber Nordic Walking tips/asphalt paws that are removable. Permanently attached to all of our poles are durable metal tips for off-road, grass, non-paved trails, the beach, sand dunes, snow and ice.

Unfortunately thousands of seniors from coast to coast are being sold collapsible poles that were made in China. Quality one-piece poles sized correctly would be so much safer, lighter, stronger and hassle free.

Perfect length poles help us to automatically walk with a super straight back - better walking posture is biomechanically a good thing. This improved walking posture when combined with the unique 4-Wheel-Drive type action of walking with poles radically reduces the stress to the shins, knees, hips and back. Nordic Walking is low impact and yet provides a highly effective workout - burning more calories and working more muscle groups than regular walking.

At WWW.SKIWALKING.COM and the American Nordic Walking System we are dedicated to the simple fact that one-piece poles that are sized correctly will always prove superior to cheap/flimsy collapsible poles.

WWW.SKIWALKING.COM LLC Relocates To Empire, Michigan

The American Nordic Walking System and SKIWALKING.COM are North America's leading Nordic Walking Company. World Headquarters has moved from Glen Arbor, Michigan to Empire, Michigan.

As the exclusive North American retailer for SWIX out of Norway and EXEL out of Finland, SKIWALKING.COM ships quality Nordic Walking Poles world-wide. No other USA or Canadian retailer offers 16 different lengths of quality one-piece Nordic Walking Poles. SKIWALKING.COM is also the exclusive North American source for SWIX and EXEL Nordic Walking rubber tips/asphalt paws.

The American Nordic Walking System is the instructional branch of the company. Pete Edwards, the owner/founder, has hosted hundreds of Nordic Walking Classes and introduced thousands of Americans to Nordic Walking. His hands on experience, combined with over 25 years of coaching runners and skiers, has enabled him to clearly define a safe and effective Nordic Walking System that accommodates all ages and all fitness levels. The American Nordic Walking System is based on the best biomchanics of running and cross country skiing.

Unlike other Nordic Walking organizations the American Nordic Walking System does not recommend the use of cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece collapsible poles that tend to rattle, vibrate, gradually collapse and/or fail altogether. As a ski coach Edwards knows that collapsible poles are not durable enough to handle the tough use of skiers. One-piece poles prove to be safer, lighter and much more durable than cheap/flimsy collapsible poles. Edwards' SWIX and EXEL Nordic Walking Poles are tough enough to withstand the demands of skiing, but are ideal for hiking, trekking, ski walking and hill bounding - cheap twist-lock and flip-lock collapsible poles are not tough enough. Collapsible poles are just to cheap and flimsy for skiing and roller skiing. Seniors and individuals with balance should only use quality one-piece poles and avoid cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece collapsible poles.

The new home of the American Nordic Walking System and SKIWALKING.COM is located in the hills above the town of Empire. Empire is home to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters. All of Edwards' poles have gone through rigerous testing on the beaches and up on the sand dunes themselves.

Nordic Walking and Roller Skiing In The Moonlight

It is deer season again and most of our favorite trails here in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are pretty much closed for a couple weeks - even our #1 trail up on Alligator Hill behind town.

My personal Nordic Walking campaign has been cut back due to the fact that I'm testing ski gear - Salomon Cross Country Ski Boots and Swenor Roller Skis. I'm still teaching a bunch of Nordic Walking Classes, but I can never get enough of Nordic Walking. Every night this past week the moon light, even on cloudy evenings, made the visibility pretty decent for a short Nordic Walk and a longer roller ski.

I'm totally hooked on the Swenor Finstep Cap Classic Roller Skis. These super smooth roller skis even come with a slight Nordic camber. These roller skis are light years ahead of classis roller skis made of aluminum.

The Swenor Skate Elite Roller Skis come with a similar Nordic Camber and FASTER wheels to really get up to speed if you feel the need for speed. Total quality.

I've also been testing the following Salomon Cross Country Boots this past week:

Salomon S-LAB SKATE PRO, S-LAB SKIATHLON and S-LAB CLASSIC. WOW. Best boots ever. Even with my weird feet they all skied great right out of the box.

For poles I snagged a pair of SWIX CT1's - can't ever go wrong with a pair of CT1's.

Once we get snow I'm fired up to test the New Salomon S-LAB EQUIPE 10 SKATE SKIS and S-LAB EQUIPE 10 CLASSIC SKIS - they look great and should be fast, especially after all the SWIX base prep that I've done to them.

When teaching Nordic Walking Classes and out doing my own personal ski walking i'm always using my SWIX VIP Nordic Walking Poles - custom made for me over in Norway. They are very similar to my Alu Star classic and skate poles come winter.

My roller skiing poles and Nordic Walking poles have a lot in common. Both are made by SWIX and both are a durable and super strong one-piece design. Cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece twist-lock and flip-lock collapsible poles. Skiers know and appreciate the fact that their one-piece poles are stronger, lighter and much more durable than cheap/flimsy collapsible poles.

When it comes to Nordic Sports it is always best to go with one-piece non-collapsible poles that are sized correctly. The best straps for Nordic Sports are the fingerless glove type straps patented by the Salomon Ski Company and found on all of my walking poles and cross country ski poles.

My personal pole length:

125cm SWIX Poles for Nordic Walking

150cm SWIX Poles for Classic Cross Country Skiing

160cm SWIX Poles for Skate Cross Country Skiing

One-piece poles will always prove to be superior.

SWIX Nordic Ski Poles Win Prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design

The SWIX Triac cross country ski racing poles received the Red Dot Award for its innovative advances and technical improvements. Over 1,600 companies from 57 countries submitted entries. A total of 4,252 entries were presented to Red Dot’s internationally renowned expert jury. In the end only the very best from the field of the top-class participants were selected. The SWIX Triac cross country ski racing poles also had proven success in both the world cup and the Olympics. Especially notable are the fingerless glove type straps and the poles unique ability to accommodate a variety of basket sizes in order to adapt to varying snow conditions.

Link to the Red Dot website: http://en.red-dot.org/index.php?id=2878&tx_smtdbsearch_pi1%5Bswords%5D=swix

SWIX of Lillehammer, Norway makes the world’s best ski racing poles, the fastest ski wax and quality Nordic Walking Poles.

At SKIWALKING.COM and the American Nordic Walking System all of our Nordic Walking Poles are equipped with special fingerless glove type straps that prove to be comfortable and highly effective. All of our SWIX and EXEL Nordic Walking Poles are equipped with these real Nordic type straps – patented by the Salomon Ski Company.

Strapless poles, simple loop strap poles and velcro sling type straps are not as effective as real Nordic straps that allow the power to be transmitted into the cradle of the strap eliminating the need to squeeze the poles. These quality straps are ideal for all Nordic Sports – including Nordic Walking.

The award winning Triac Poles are a durable, lightweight one-piece design. Those active in Nordic Sports demand quality one-piece poles and avoid cheap/flimsy 2-piece and 3-piece twist-lock and flip-lock collapsible poles that are heavier and tend to rattle, vibrate, gradually collapse and/or collapse unexpectedly. One-piece poles prove to be lighter, safer and much more durable than cheap/flimsy collapsible poles.

And when it comes to Nordic Walking one-piece poles prove to be lighter, safer and much more durable than collapsible 2-piece and 3-piece poles.

Swix continues to lead the charge providing award winning ski poles, fast ski wax and quality Nordic walking poles.