Effect of Nordic walking on functional fitness in older adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Nordic walking exercise on functional fitness in older adults. Seventeen healthy adults (11 women and 6 men, aged 70±6 yr) volunteered to participate in the exercise group (EX-group) and 17 (14 women and 3 men, aged 69±7 yr) volunteered as controls (CN-group). The EX-group participated in a 12-week supervised exercise program for 904 min/day, 3 days per week. After the program, the EX-group showed significant improvements in the arm curl, chair stand, up and go, back scratch and 12-min walk tests compared with the CN-group.