Walk this way

 

 

Trekking poles are intended to make hiking easier. But surprisingly, hikers using poles work out harder without feeling any extra effort. Hikers with poles used 10 percent more oxygen and had heart rates 6 percent higher than hikers walking at the same speed sans poles—yet they reported no perceived increase in exertion, says a new study from James Madison University. “They burned more calories without feeling the extra effort,” says Mike Saunders, Ph.D., possibly because “the workload is spread over the entire body, not just the legs.”

 

 

Image by Rodale