Whether on a trail or a sidewalk, poles help you safely go farther, faster and engage your upper body. Here’s how to reap the benefits.
Ashley Hawke was originally a skeptic of trekking poles. But after twisting an ankle on a tree root while descending a hill during a 2015 backpacking trip, she tried a pair.
“I couldn’t believe how much easier hiking felt, especially while wearing a 40-pound pack,” Ms. Hawke, now 30, said. “I used to think they were just for older people. Now I tell everyone I know to use them.”
As a Ph.D. candidate in integrative physiology, Ms. Hawke did a meta-analysis, scouring 40 years of research into hiking poles. There weren’t many papers, but the ones she found showed that using them often improved balance, took weight off the legs, made hiking feel easier and led to fewer sore muscles.
Other small studies suggest poles can make hiking gentler on your joints and can boost the cardiovascular benefit of walking.
In other words, you don’t need to be a long-distance backpacker — or a senior — to benefit from using trekking poles.
Why use walking poles?
Put simply, poles can help you walk easier, faster and farther. One small study found that walking with poles increased the amount of oxygen and calories subjects used by more than 20 percent.