Nordic Walking and Double Poling: Investigating a Movement Born in Cross-Country Skiing and Kept Out of Competition

Nordic walking was born in the tracks of cross-country skiing, and that is where a paradox comes from. The technique that has taken over the highest level of cross-country skiing, double poling, has no place in Nordic walking competition, where the rules require an alternating movement, with opposite arm and leg. The gap is intriguing, and it has been quietly stirring the sport for several seasons. This investigation gives you what you need to understand it, with sources.

A child of cross-country skiing

To understand the debate, we have to go back to the origins. Nordic walking, sauvakävely in Finnish, comes straight from cross-country skiing. As early as the 1930s, Finnish skiers trained in summer by walking with their poles (Wikipedia).

The practice took shape gradually. In 1966, teacher Leena Jääskeläinen had her pupils walk with poles. In 1979, coach Mauri Repo described off-season sessions very close to today's Nordic walking in a skiing manual. Things sped up in 1997. Marko Kantaneva, from the Vierumäki sports institute, published his method, and the company Exel launched its “Nordic Walker” poles with the Suomen Latu association (Wikipedia, Nordicoach).

The most telling detail is an anecdote. Also in 1997, the Finnish ski federation organised the very first Nordic walking race, to make up for a lack of snow, according to Wikipedia. In other words, competitive Nordic walking was born in place of a ski race. In 2000, INWA was founded in Finland. In France, the French athletics federation (FFA) received the ministerial mandate in 2009 (Wikipedia), then launched the Marche Nordique Tour, its national race series, in 2014 (FFA).

The common thread to remember is that walking with poles was originally meant to imitate the skier's push. For the full story, read our article History of Nordic walking: from Finnish skiers to a worldwide phenomenon.

Double poling, a movement driven by the arms and the core

Let us start with a definition. Double poling means pushing on both poles at the same time, without alternating the arms. The upper body tilts forward, the trunk and abdominal muscles tighten and “fall” onto the poles, then the arms finish the push. The force therefore comes from the core far more than from the shoulders alone (Skimco). In elite skiers, it is a whole-body movement, and the best flex their elbows and hips faster and further, and press harder on their poles (Holmberg et al., 2005).

In Nordic walking, this simultaneous push follows a rhythm. Jean-Pierre Guilloteau, a state-qualified mountain leader and tester of the MØNARC® Arcs de Marche®, describes two forms in his book: the two-beat simultaneous push, which he calls the “pas de deux”, and the three-beat simultaneous push, the “pas de trois”. This movement has its own grammar and its place in learning, well beyond competition. The video below shows the three-step rhythm uphill.

In cross-country skiing, a spectacular rise

Long confined to flat sections, double poling has become the main technique of the classic style (Torvik et al., 2021). Manufacturers followed, led by Fischer, with skis designed for double poling only (Glisshop). In December 2015, in Toblach, Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby won a 15 km classic World Cup race using double poling only, on skis with glide wax only (FasterSkier, La Presse).

This rise sparked a controversy among skiers that strangely echoes the Nordic walking debate. Would diagonal stride disappear from races? France's Maurice Manificat defended double poling as a legitimate evolution, recalling that when skating appeared, rules were set and the new technique found its place without killing the old one (La Presse). On the other side, former Swiss skier Daniel Sandoz regretted the loss of the classic movement and suggested making parts of the course compulsory in diagonal stride (Ski-Nordique.net).

That is the path the International Ski Federation (FIS) chose. Rather than banning double poling, it capped classic poles at 83% of the skier's height in 2016, because long poles favour double poling (Skitrax, 2016), then allowed zones to be marked out where only diagonal stride is permitted (Nordic Mag; Torvik et al., 2021). This compromise speaks volumes, since even the cradle of double poling felt the need to defend its traditional movement.

In the video below, Ski de fond Québec explains the movement at full speed (in French).

Why is double poling excluded from competition?

On the Nordic walking side, let us be precise. The FFA's rules do not contain a single line saying “double poling forbidden” in black and white. The exclusion comes from a more fundamental rule, one that defines the very nature of the movement.

The federation's text states that Nordic walking means propelling the body with all four limbs, pushing on the ground as the pole strikes, with the tip staying on the ground until the end of the push. Above all, it sets two permanent conditions (FFA, technical rules 2023-2024):

• At all times, the walker must have one foot and one pole in contact with the ground.
• Arm and leg must always be in opposition, as in natural walking.

These two requirements are enough to rule out double poling, because pushing on both poles at once breaks the required opposition. The rules add other safeguards. They forbid running steps and penalise the gliding step, they require the hand and elbow of the leading arm to pass in front of the chest and then behind the buttock at the end of the push, and the judges check body alignment (FFA; G2 Athlé).

INWA says the same

INWA's 2026 rules, which govern its World and European Championships, go the same way. Arms and legs move alternately, at no point may both poles leave the ground together, and the push must be active, with the hand finishing behind the hip (INWA, rules 3.3 to 3.9). In 2026, INWA even published a statement encouraging stronger use of the poles in races. It explains that when the shoulder rises instead of the elbow extending, the force goes vertically instead of into the pole.

Competition clearly aims to reward walking, that is, an alternating movement, not propulsion by upper-body strength alone. That is the movement the judges assess, through two families of faults, one about the push and the other about alignment (Pratique Marche Nordique).

Incidentally, these rules are not set in stone. At the end of June 2023, around sixty competitors signed an open letter, feeling that some faults were too hard to judge with the naked eye; the federation removed the pole planting zone criterion from September 2023 (Pratique Marche Nordique). The definition of good technique is discussed and adjusted. We raised another question, about how much the arms really work at high speed, in our article Nordic walking competition: shall we talk about pushing on the poles again? To discover the races, also read Nordic walking competition: are there races and events?

The case of those who regret the exclusion

On specialist forums, some experienced walkers are still not quite over it. Their first argument, a historical one, is hard to dismiss. Nordic walking descends from cross-country skiing, where double poling is a basic technique that has become dominant. Banning from competition a movement so central to the parent sport looks, to them, like nonsense (Je Marche Nordique).

The second argument is physical. On steep climbs, they say, double poling is less wearing than the alternating push, because it spreads the effort over the trunk instead of one shoulder after the other; many walkers switch to it naturally (Je Marche Nordique).

The third argument is about teaching. Double poling works on opening the hand and on the long push backwards, without the left-right coordination that holds back so many beginners. Used as a drill, it helps you feel what really pushing on a pole means (Je Marche Nordique).

Then there is efficiency. On the flat, double poling is the fastest technique in classic skiing, which is why it has taken over races (Torvik et al., 2021). It even inspired the SkiErg, a gym machine popular in fitness training (Decathlon), and it would be wrong to call it a minor movement.

The case of those who defend the rule

On the other side, the defence of the rule also stands up, and it starts with identity. Nordic walking is walking. Its founding movement is natural alternation, with opposite arm and leg. Allowing double poling in competition would turn it into something else, closer to a SkiErg on the move than to walking. Both the FFA and INWA chose to protect this uniqueness.

Next comes the readability of judging. A race is judged with the naked eye, at real speed, and a single, codified movement is easier to check than a free mix of techniques. The 2023 simplification shows how much this constraint weighs.

Finally, the example of cross-country skiing works in favour of the rule here. Rather than throwing the door wide open to double poling, FIS capped pole length and created diagonal stride zones. If the sport that invented double poling feels the need to protect its classic movement, it is easy to see why a young sport like Nordic walking wants to defend its own.

What physiology says, without settling it

The figures do not settle the debate, but they shed light on it. They come from studies of cross-country skiers on roller skis, because no study has yet measured double poling in Nordic walking.

• On the flat, double poling wins. It is the fastest classic technique, and its advantage is clearest on the flat and downhill (Torvik et al., 2021).
• As soon as it climbs, it costs more. Diagonal stride becomes more economical from a slope of about 3°. At 5°, in 23 junior skiers, double poling required about 18% more energy, and exhaustion came 29% sooner (Andersson et al., 2021). On steep slopes, elite skiers climbed up to 17% in diagonal stride, against 13 to 14% in double poling (Torvik et al., 2021).
• It uses a smaller muscle mass. Peak oxygen uptake is about 8% lower than in diagonal stride, because the legs contribute less (Andersson et al., 2021). The upper body therefore works closer to its maximum and tires faster.

Alternating Nordic walking, on the other hand, engages the upper and lower body continuously. At the same speed, Nordic walking uses about 20% more energy than walking without poles (Church et al., 2002). You often read that it works “90% of the muscles”, but we have not found any study that measured this widely quoted figure. The two movements do not have the same goal. One seeks fast propulsion on firm ground, the other complete and lasting engagement of the body, and neither is the truth against the other.

And what about leisure Nordic walking?

This whole discussion only concerns competition, which takes the drama out of the subject. On an outing, on a course, in training, nothing forbids double poling. Many instructors use it uphill or as a feel drill, before returning to the alternating movement on the flat.

Jean-Pierre Guilloteau sums it up well. For him, the essential thing is to work all four limbs, and he distinguishes competitive Nordic walking, with its judging constraints, from Nordic walking for pleasure, where you freely explore the two-step and three-step rhythms depending on the terrain. These two worlds complement each other and need not be set against each other.

Our tips for trying double poling on an outing

• Start on a steady climb, on ground with good grip.
• Plant both poles together, level with your feet, arms slightly bent.
• Let your upper body bear down on the poles, core engaged, then finish the push with your arms, hands open behind your hips.
• Find a rhythm, with one push every two steps (two-step) or every three steps (three-step).
• Return to the alternating movement when the slope eases, because it remains the basic movement and the only one allowed in competition.

To improve your alternating push, see our 7 drills to improve your Nordic walking technique. Do you run a club? A MØNARC® Partner Club gets preferential terms on our certified courses for clubs and coaches, and a €30 discount per pair of Arcs for its members.

The MØNARC view

At MØNARC, it is not our role to settle this debate, and we do not wish to. Double poling has its own logic, inherited from cross-country skiing; the alternating movement has its own, rooted in the identity of Nordic walking. Both deserve respect.

What concerns us comes before this question. Whatever technique you choose, what matters first is the quality of the push and the pleasure of the movement. That is where our Arcs de Marche® come in. Their full-length curve encourages a forward-directed push and a grip that respects the natural axis of the wrist, with a booster effect when the pole strikes. The Université Grenoble Alpes measured it with regular walkers. At the same speed, the push angle drops from 46° with a straight pole to 33° with the Arcs, propulsion is 22% more efficient and the vibrations passed on to the arms fall by about 25%, with no increase in oxygen uptake or heart rate (see the study). They are the first poles whose shape has been scientifically compared with straight poles.

The idea has never been to reinvent Nordic walking or to impose one school over another, but to help everyone walk more easily and with more pleasure, whether they push alternately in competition, where our Arcs are accepted, or enjoy a few double pushes on a hill. For the geometry in detail, read The curve of Nordic walking poles: what difference does it really make?

A healthy debate for a young sport

That Nordic walking is still discussing which movements are allowed is nothing to worry about, because it is the sign of a living sport, mindful of its roots and of its big sister, cross-country skiing. The line between tradition and evolution will no doubt keep moving. In the meantime, the best movement is still the one that makes you want to pick up your poles again the next day.

And you, do you ever switch to double poling on a climb? Tell us in the comments, we are curious about how it feels for you.

Frequently asked questions

Is double poling forbidden in Nordic walking?

It is only excluded in competition, where the FFA and INWA require an alternating movement, always with one pole on the ground. For leisure, on courses or in training, it is allowed.

What are the two-step and the three-step?

They are two rhythms of simultaneous push, with one double push every two steps or every three steps. The three-step is often used uphill.

Is double poling more efficient uphill?

In skiers, studies show the opposite, since from a few degrees of slope diagonal stride costs less energy. In Nordic walking, no study has measured it, but some walkers like it on hills to vary the effort.

Are curved poles allowed in competition?

The MØNARC® Arcs de Marche® are accepted in competition. INWA's rules require Nordic walking poles with no spring or mechanism and a length of height × 0.68, give or take 10 cm. That is the formula in our size guide, and the Arcs are fixed-length, one-piece carbon poles.

Sources

• FFA, Règles particulières techniques, section 8 “La marche nordique compétition”, updated 28 September 2023; “Marche Nordique Tour” page, athle.fr.
• INWA, “Nordic Walking Competition Rules 2026” and statement “Fair Play and Active use of a pair of Nordic walking poles”, 2026.
• Pratique Marche Nordique, articles of 19 September 2022 and 21 July 2023 on the simplified rules.
• Skitrax, “FIS Technical Committee ruling on maximum classic technique poles”, 6 October 2016.
• Torvik P.-Ø. et al., Journal of Human Kinetics, 2021, 77: 97-105.
• Andersson E.P. et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2021, 121(8): 2229-2241.
• Holmberg H.-C. et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005, 37(5): 807-818.
• Church T.S. et al., Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 2002, 73(3): 296-300.
• Termoz N., Depery C., Lorenzi T., Université Grenoble Alpes: straight poles versus MØNARC® curved poles.
• Wikipedia (French), “Marche nordique”; Nordicoach; FasterSkier and La Presse (Sundby, Manificat); Ski-Nordique.net (Daniel Sandoz); Nordic Mag; Skimco; Glisshop; Decathlon (SkiErg); G2 Athlé; Je Marche Nordique forum.
• Jean-Pierre Guilloteau, mountain leader and MØNARC® ambassador (conversation and book); videos by MØNARC Nordic Walking and Ski de fond Québec.

Disclaimer. This article provides general information. It does not replace the advice of a doctor or health professional, nor supervision by a qualified instructor. Before starting or stepping up physical activity, especially if you have a health condition, pain or ongoing treatment, consult your doctor. Exercise according to your fitness, on suitable ground and with equipment in good condition. Each reader remains solely responsible for their own practice and for the decisions they make based on this information, and MONARC SAS cannot be held liable for their consequences.