Prentiss Riddle
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- Time of past OR future Camino
- Português and/or Francés in 2023
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anti-pole polemics
I don't remember having much difficulty learning when I started, but I have used this technique to help others who have been 'square gaiting' - moving the right foot and right pole forward together, then left foot and left pole. I also used it teaching my grand-daughter to use poles.This worked for me... Just attach pole straps to your wrists and just drag them, don't grab the handles, while letting your hands move in a natural rhythm while walking... After a while grab the pole handles
... I did saw a great video for this but I'll need to dig it up
Just like the Nike commercials used to say, "just do it." Swing your arms naturally like you are walking sans poles. The rhythm comes with use. Use them to brake going downhill and to help pull up on sharp inclines. Nothing to it. Buen Camino.I just bought my first pair of trekking poles (Black Diamond Z-Poles) and I'm feeling like a klutz because what I thought would come naturally isn't.
I know that the right pole should move with the left foot and vice versa, but try as I might I don't seem to be able to stick to that pattern. I'm also worried about stressing my wrists. I've watched a bunch of random videos and just feel confused.
(This isn't a new feeling for me, by the way. I can't dance, catch a ball, or stay up on a pair of skates.)
Does anybody have a surefire way to learn to use trekking poles correctly? Perhaps a specific well-made video?
And no anti-pole polemics, please! There are other threads for that. :-]
Prentiss
Felipe, es el Sr. en la entrada del pueblo depues de Astorga, el que te manda al cafe de su hijo? He makes lovely gourds, but if that's him, did not know he coached people on how to use poles. Last fall I was walking with a group from the Canarias who are part of a local walking group. Showed me how it's supposed to be done. Think not. Way to much work for the arms in my opinion ;0)Don Pablito (it is not a diminutive for Pablo, that's his name) , from Azqueta, one of the local Camino personalities, gives free wooden staffs to pilgrims (besides shells and squashes) and also a basic usage lesson to newbies. He insists that it is not the same technique when you are climbing than going down the hills. And I think he is right.
I hope the old señor be still there, welcoming walkers at the first street of his village.
I agree. Last summer I hiked about 500 miles, 320 miles on the very rocky northern part of the Appalachian Trail, and another 180 miles on a trail more like the CF. I used two trekking poles every step of the way, without straps. For me, I found trekking poles not only the useful, but essential. But that is just me. Poles are not everyone's cup of tea.Annie, what good are the straps anyways? Mine don't seem to be adjustable, so if I listened to people here, and not grip my poles, I wouldn't have poles.
Felipe, es el Sr. en la entrada del pueblo depues de Astorga, el que te manda al cafe de su hijo? He makes lovely gourds, but if that's him, did not know he coached people on how to use poles. Last fall I was walking with a group from the Canarias who are part of a local walking group. Showed me how it's supposed to be done. Think not. Way to much work for the arms in my opinion ;0)
Annie, whenever I have looked for some objective evidence for this, what I have found is anecdotal reports about downhill skiing accidents, and so far nothing about injuries incurred when walking. I have a friend who had a major fall coming into Zubiri where a pole stopping him falling and hurting himself. His wrist was sore for several days, but he believes that the pole probably saved him from even more major injury. The middle section of the pole was bent quite substantially, and replaced by Leki when he got back to Australia. I know that is only one case, but you seem to be basing this advice on a personal opinion rather than some objective evidence.I also would never use the straps... that's a good way to break a wrist if you do fall, imo.
It has always puzzled me that when someone buys a piece of technical equipment, even one as apparently simple as a modern technical walking pole, they avoid RTFM! Is it just a bloke thing? If you want a good explanation of what straps are for and why they are so important, have a look at what must be the grand-daddy of good internet resources on walking pole usage, Pete's Pole Pages. They are a wonderful resource.I don't know what the straps are for except for hanging them on coat pegs or holding them together on the train.
Kathy, it took me years to get over that feeling! It was great walking with poles on the Camino, where no-one was tempted to make silly remarks etc.I tried them out on local walks, always felt like a dork.
Using poles is nothing more than swinging your arms with a stick attached.
When you say they died, were they sprung poles and the spring collapsed, or did the locking mechanism holding the middle or lower shaft to the next shaft fail? I have had both happen. When the spring fails, I have been able to use the remedy you describe. When the locking mechanism itself fails, all is pretty much lost and the poles are no longer usable.My screw-type poles died after about 200km, and I managed the rest of the Via de la Plata with them taped up with fabric dressing.
This is a great video for Nordic walking, but I am not convinced that pure Nordic walking is what you will end up using when hiking/trekking/tramping. The big difference is the balance between propulsion and lift. The Nordic walking techniques favour propulsion, helping you go faster, and will raise your energy expenditure quite a lot. Trekking techniques favour lift - reducing the load on your lower joints. You won't necessarily go faster as a result, and will not raise your energy expenditure as much.well, i would recommend to start with a double poling technique, every 2nd or 3rd step as shown on this video:
actually i like it on a rough path. used it on some stretches of CF causing common enjoyment for the pilgers i passedhope this helps.
This is a great video for Nordic walking, but I am not convinced that pure Nordic walking is what you will end up using when hiking/trekking/tramping. The big difference is the balance between propulsion and lift. The Nordic walking techniques favour propulsion, helping you go faster, and will raise your energy expenditure quite a lot. Trekking techniques favour lift - reducing the load on your lower joints. You won't necessarily go faster as a result, and will not raise your energy expenditure as much.
Nordic walking probably makes a great deal of sense if you are a Nordic skier wanting to keep up your fitness in summer, or as a general exercise technique. I agree it doesn't make sense to use it if your main interest is keeping weight off your knees.To me the Nordic walking use of poles looks more like a Nordic Skiing technique. All about pushing forwards and even some of the diagonal skating techniques. All of the techniques shown are used in Nordic Skiing. Didn't make a lot of sense to me.
Nordic walking probably makes a great deal of sense if you are a Nordic skier wanting to keep up your fitness in summer, or as a general exercise technique. I agree it doesn't make sense to use it if your main interest is keeping weight off your knees.
Annie, whenever I have looked for some objective evidence for this, what I have found is anecdotal reports about downhill skiing accidents, and so far nothing about injuries incurred when walking. I have a friend who had a major fall coming into Zubiri where a pole stopping him falling and hurting himself. His wrist was sore for several days, but he believes that the pole probably saved him from even more major injury. The middle section of the pole was bent quite substantially, and replaced by Leki when he got back to Australia. I know that is only one case, but you seem to be basing this advice on a personal opinion rather than some objective evidence.
It has always puzzled me that when someone buys a piece of technical equipment, even one as apparently simple as a modern technical walking pole, they avoid RTFM! Is it just a bloke thing? If you want a good explanation of what straps are for and why they are so important, have a look at what must be the grand-daddy of good internet resources on walking pole usage, Pete's Pole Pages. They are a wonderful resource.
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