Nordic Walking Gets Seniors Moving Around Maple Grove
All year long, a group of seniors in Maple Grove are walking their way to better health with poles.
“It energizes you and gets you out in nature, and other people, and it’s fun and exciting,” said Sheryl Monfore.
Monfore has been proudly leading the Nordic Walking group since 2012. Over the years, the group has morphed into different types of walkers. The 757 group, the Fair Weather Walkers and Strollers. Each group is designed to fit each walker’s schedule and pace.
Shellie Nerdahl is another group leader who has been part of the group for 7 years. She says it’s been fun to see more people joining.
“Now we have about 10, sometimes 15 people to walk, so we’re becoming quite the group,” said Nerdahl. “It’s just so easy. It’s such a wonderful group of people that we walk with. We’ve all become really close friends and we do a lot of social things together. It’s just a good way to avoid depression, isolation, and to feel good about being outside, especially during the pandemic we want to be outside more.”
The Nordic Walking group takes advantage of all the different walking trails and scenic areas Maple Grove has to offer. It’s a friendly group of outdoor enthusiasts for its ease on the joints and the simplicity of movement.
“The poles do the work and you just walk.”
Lynn Bergstrom likes to walk with the group for overall wellness.
“You use about 80 percent of your muscles and that’s what we need to do. We’re all at risk for osteoporosis and any other kinds of diseases and exercise, sociability, that’s all part of staying healthy and living longer.”
“Poles are getting harder to find so if you want to get started you better start looking,” Bergstrom added.
The group is offered through the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation 55+ program, but all people are welcome to join the group. The Nordic Walkers consistency meet three mornings a week.
