How To Increase Your Calorie Burn By Twenty Percent

A few months ago I ran 78 miles through the Canadian Rockies in the Canadian Death Race. It is called that because if you finish, you probably cheated death. Roughly 35 percent of solo runners finish. I was one of them, and I am writing a book about the experience. But there is one piece of gear I want to pull out of that trip and put in front of you now, because it carries over to anyone who walks or hikes regularly.

Trekking poles.

The on the mountain reason I started using them

On a training descent before the race I realized my quads were not going to survive 78 miles in that terrain. Dale, the race director who happens to go by Dr. Death, gave me a five minute trekking pole tutorial. Five minutes. That was it. By race day the poles were one of the two or three reasons I finished. They especially helped on the descents, where I could move fast without blowing out my knees.

When I came back from the race I kept using poles on trail runs at home. I got some funny looks. People asked me about the ski poles. Most of them had never seen anyone running with poles, much less walking with them.

The data underneath the funny looks

Trekking poles are not a fringe device. The published exercise physiology work is direct on this. A series of studies, including work in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, has shown that adding poles to walking or hiking increases caloric expenditure without increasing perceived exertion. The number that gets cited most often is around 20 percent more calories burned for the same subjective effort.

The mechanism is straightforward. Poles recruit the upper body and the core. You are no longer powering the movement with just your legs. The arms drive, the trunk braces, and the energy cost goes up across more muscle mass. Subjectively the work feels distributed, which is why your perceived exertion does not rise to match the actual workload.

The other reasons I use them

• On descents the poles take a meaningful share of the load off the quads and knees. If you have any history of knee trouble, this alone is reason enough.
• On uneven terrain the poles give you two extra points of contact. Falls are a low frequency, high consequence event for anyone over 60. Adding two more contact points to an uneven trail is cheap insurance.
• In winter conditions, ice and packed snow turn ordinary walks into hazards. Poles function like extra legs. You go from two legs to four.

How to start

• Pick a pair of adjustable aluminum or carbon fiber trekking poles in the right length range. As a rule of thumb, with your elbow at 90 degrees and the pole tip on the ground, your forearm should be roughly parallel to the floor.
• For most walking, set the pole so your elbow is just below 90 degrees. Shorter on climbs, longer on descents.
• Plant the pole opposite the foot that is striking. Right foot forward, left pole forward, and the same on the other side. That is the natural human gait pattern with arms.
• Use the wrist straps correctly. The strap takes the load when you push down, not your grip. Done right, you can almost open your hand and the pole stays put.

If you walk for general fitness and you want more aerobic work and more body engagement without longer sessions or higher impact, this is one of the cleanest upgrades available. Get the poles, give yourself a week to get used to the rhythm, and you will look back at your old walks the way you look at flip phones.

— Doc