Tom Rutlin has been promoting walking with specially designed poles since 1988. He has promoted this exerstriding technique, which works more major muscle groups than walking alone while not adding the risk of strain injuries seen with carrying weights.
While Europe has seen widespread enthusiasm over fitness walking poles and the sport of nordic walking, as of this date it still has not caught fire in the USA. Rutlin attributes the present difference in trend status to "the significant cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe. In Europe, both Nordic skiing and outdoor fitness activities, in general, are a more integral part of European culture," he says in a press release.
Rutlin continues, "I have spent fifteen years of my life promoting the benefits of walking with poles, and I am excited about joining forces with many others in INWA who share that mission."
Walking is by far the most popular fitness activity in the U.S. according to the surveys conducted by the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association and the National Sporting Goods Association.
