Exercise Adherence and Physiological Responses in Pedometer and Nordic Walking Plus Pedometer Groups

Elizabeth A. Easley^{1, 2,} and David L. Wenos²

¹Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina Lancaster, Lancaster, United States

²Department of Health Sciences, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, United States

Cite this paper:
Elizabeth A. Easley and David L. Wenos. Exercise Adherence and Physiological Responses in Pedometer and Nordic Walking Plus Pedometer Groups. Journal of Physical Activity Research. 2018; 3(2):68-73. doi: 10.12691/jpar-3-2-1

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare exercise adherence and physiological responses in a Pedometer Only group and a Nordic Walking Plus Pedometer group during an eight-week, free-living walking program. Thirty-four sedentary adults participated in the baseline evaluations which included assessments of resting heart rate, blood pressure, resting metabolic rate, pulmonary functioning, lipid panel, body composition, and volitional peak oxygen uptake. Twenty-five participants completed a follow-up evaluation after 8 weeks of a walking program (Pedometer Only group, n=12; Nordic Walking group, n=13). There were significant changes in resting metabolic rate and body fat with an increase of 189 kcals/day and a decrease of 1.26% body fat overall, respectively. These changes were not significantly different between groups when analyzed for treatment effect. Although there were no statistically significant differences in amount of time walked, the Nordic Walking Plus Pedometer group’s median walk time was less than the Pedometer Only group’s median walk time. It appears that Nordic walking poles improve physiological indices without affecting exercise compliance.

Keywords:
exercise compliance walking poles metabolism

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