An angry sky promised rain to come as I drove up for my Nordic Walking initiation. I was cold, tired and hungry after a long drive and more inclined to curl my fingers around a hot chocolate rather than a pair of poles. Half an hour later our large group was snaking along the Thames path and I was beginning to enjoy myself. It's the mood-boosting outdoors-never fails.

You simply cannot Nordic walk with poor posture and the pole propulsion is quite remarkable. Lift up the poles and you experience a definite deceleration. I was working hard and was ravenous so without doubt burning off lots of calories. Throw in a few pole stretches, resistance exercises and Nordic circuits and the potential benefits to a wide range of people are evident. There's also Nordic boot camps, hill walking, jogging and bounding which is an odd mixture of hopping and skiing. The possibilities are seemingly endless. In fact, I'll wager that Nordic barbie is on the drawing board at this very moment.

I met a spritely group of four senior ladies strapping on their Nordic poles. Having struggled for years to lose weight they claimed to have lost a total of twenty pounds betwwen them since taking up Nordic walking and believed that the key to this success was altered focus. "Whereas in the past I'd be pre-occupied with and hell bent on losing half a stone, now that is secondary to my main motivation which is the sheer enjoyment and sociability of the activity. I can do this. I look forward to it as a chance to catch up with my friends in the great outdoors. The fact that my clothing is getting looser is simply an added bonus."