BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Neuromuscular Diseases Walking with Poles

With the weather turning nicer, I find myself wanting to get outside to walk again. Walking for exercise has been recommended to me by my physician, and is often recommended to those with various types neuromuscular disease. Recently, I discovered the benefits of using walking poles while walking.

Walking with Poles

Have you ever tried walking with poles? Do you find walking poles to be useful? I would be interested to hear about your experiences.

Good for you Jori , walking has ALWAYS been my therapy and exercise. It is free and can be done any time.

Angela, I agree that walking can be beneficial for one's state of mind as well as body. I often find that it can also be meditative if I take the time to clear my mind of the day's worries and 'clutter,' and focus on my own movement and nature around me.

Jori, Can I ask which walking poles you use? Are the inexpensive ones sufficient?

I bought a pair of walking poles from Wal-Mart for about $20. I looked for the packaging but cannot find it to give you the brand name. Overall, I have really enjoyed them. They are easy to adjust to my hight, have straps and fit comfortably to my hand, and have been light and easy to use.

I wore out the rubber tips (meant to go over the little spikes for trail walking when walking on pavement) within a couple months, however, so they are noisy when I walk around my neighborhood. I cannot seem to find resplacement tips. So, I cannot fully recommend them. If I save a little money, I will probably go to a sporting goods store at some point and buy a new, more expensive pair with better (quieter) tips for walking in my neighborhood.