A trekking pole resembles a ski pole. You may choose to use one during hiking to provide improved balance, reduce the amount of stress on your knees and hips, move overgrown vegetation out of your way and increase the calorie burning benefits of your workout.
Calorie Burning
The American College of Sports Medicine reports that when you use a trekking pole, your oxygen demands and heart rate increase. An increase in heart rate leads to an increase in the number of calories burned. ACSM cites that when you use walking poles, you have the potential of burning between 22 percent and 46 percent more calories.
Perceived Exertion
The use of trekking poles can also be referred to as Nordic walking. Even though the addition of walking poles increases your heart rate, you will not feel as if you are working harder. Your exertion level can be rated on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being an uphill sprint. If you feel your exertion level to be at a five during your walk, the addition of poles will burn more calories, yet not increase your perceived exertion level.
Total Calories
Nordic walking has the potential for increasing your heart rate 10 percent to 15 percent more than traditional walking. When you walk, you burn approximately 280 calories per hour. When you walk with poles, whether trekking, Nordic or even an Exerstrider, you may burn up to 450 calories per hour.
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