This is a great activity for people who have difficulty walking due to knee or other injuries, which is why I was drawn to this activity in the first place. But the idea that this is primarily a rehabilitative activity is one that Lynne would like to correct.
“Nordic walking is great for everyone, young and old, fit and unfit,” she and her husband Pete (who has at-risk knees) say. “It started in Finland as a summer activity to help cross-country skiers continue their training. You can see five-year-olds walking around with poles and it’s now huge in many countries, including Germany and Spain. People take it very seriously and there are lots of contests, but you can also do it just for fun.”
Lynne grew up in Ontario, Canada, and after living in the California Virgin Islands and working on yachts, moved to the UK almost 40 years ago. Given her love of the outdoors, I asked her why she ultimately chose England over Canada. “People ask me that all the time, but it snows over there, so I don’t do the cold.”
Her childhood travels sparked her passion for seizing opportunities in life. “If you’re thinking about traveling, I highly recommend you go,” she says. “This is what I always say to young people.” When she’s not running her classes (which take place between the Isle of Purbeck and the New Forest), she still travels frequently. Last year, she spent three months in Costa Rica as a volunteer with Raleigh International.
Her first career in the UK was as a real estate agent, but she found the role similar to her current job. “When people contact me about walking, I offer them a tasting session. It’s more like going to someone’s home and giving them an assessment,” she says. “Both jobs require a lot of explaining, but both require people to understand you as a person.”
With her warmth and good sense of humor, I suspect it won’t be difficult to achieve the latter. “It’s a Canadian accent,” she laughed. “People tend to think of Scots as being Scottish, but I think it’s a good place to be from Scotland.”
At the start of the taster, she handed us each a few poles. They look like a lighter and slightly thinner version of regular walking poles, just with removable straps. After she adjusts our hands to be slightly lower than our elbows, her brief introduction includes information about why Nordic walking is good for you.
“It’s scientifically proven to teach you how to walk the way you’re supposed to walk,” Lin explains. “Rather than actually gripping the pole, simply swing your arm naturally to the opposite leg and use the strap of the pole to propel each step with the heel of your hand.
“When done correctly, you’re moving into the back of your arms, triceps, back of your shoulders, and back. That means you’re working all of those muscles. Push with all your strength while activating your upper body and core, taking pressure off your knees and hips.”
I’ve tried Nordic walking once before, but the best tip Lynn gave me that immediately made a big difference in my technique is to remove my top fingers from the grip on the pole handles. “If we choose to bring it forward, we call it James, or Jane Bond,” she says. “This is important because it helps you better position your poles and allow for more flexibility in your movements.”
I said I was surprised they hadn’t shown me this before. “Each instructor teaches a little differently,” she says. “I have been trained in two different organizations [Nordic Walking UK and British Nordic Walking] After that, I walked with a walking instructor in Spain. In the 13 years I’ve been teaching, I think I’ve developed a teaching method that works best for both me and them. ”
Those who enjoyed the taster are encouraged to take three additional one-hour sessions. In the first, she focuses on nailing her strapping technique, and in the second, she focuses on walking up (and down) hills. She shows how she teaches the latter, but I think she seems a bit robotic. “That’s because I don’t have any hills!” In the last session, I just go for a walk. “I try to keep it natural,” she says. “I go to nice places and walk and talk and try not to even think about technique.”
These days, a big part of Lynne’s business is taking clients on guided walks. “Growing up, I never thought I would be a leader, but I realized that people like to be led.”
Every Sunday night, she emails Walker’s team details for the upcoming week. Most are regular events, ranging from Monday morning motivators held on Knoll Beach in Studland, tide permitting, to gentle walks in the pool. She also does night walks with a torch and walks in the woods that include a little exercise with a rubber band. Clients purchase a booklet with 10 walks and give them a token each time they participate.
Each walk involves 8 to 15 people and ranges in distance from 3 to 6 miles. Many of Lynn’s clients have been with her for years, and during that time she has seen many strong friendships develop. “We want a lot of young people to get involved, but it’s a great way to get out and be social as you get older,” she says of her clients. Many of her clients are widowed women over the age of 60. “I have a woman who walks with me regularly, and she recently turned 82.”
Since 2016, Lynn has been organizing Nordic walking holidays abroad every year. It starts in Andalusia and includes trips to Ireland, Scotland, Italy and next year Albania. “I was really happy that the trip sold within two days,” she says. “One client was so disappointed that we had to scale up the numbers.”
No wonder her travels are popular. She works hard to keep costs as low as possible (most people share rooms and she dislikes the idea of ”single supplements”) and many of her customers return year after year. “Everywhere I’ve been has been amazing, but I especially love Spain. The scenery, the gastronomy, the way you’re treated like family everywhere you go. Everything about it is amazing.”
After introductions, we move onto a forest path where Pete and I begin practicing walking. It doesn’t take long to stifle a laugh. For some reason, when thinking about walking, my husband suddenly forgets how to walk. He uses the same legs and arms every time he walks, so he starts staggering when he tries to self-correct. At this point I realized what a great teacher Lynn was. Not only is she gentle and kind (but also authoritative), you can see how much she wants that from him. We both agreed that we really enjoyed our session and would love to come back.
By the end of the time, she convinced me about the science behind it as well. At one point she told me to walk with the cane and lift the strap into the air so that I could move forward using the strap. I saw the benefits right away.
As we walked back to the car park, nodding to dog walkers and runners, I asked Lynn if she had a favorite walk in Dorset. “It’s impossible to say that when there’s so much right on our doorstep,” she replies. “I love walks in the woods and walks on the beach. I’m really lucky to walk anywhere in Purbeck. It’s like a big outdoor playground and I’m guaranteed to find something great every time I come.”
For more information, visit nordicwalkingfit.co.uk.
Alternatively, call Lynne on 07855 869009.
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