You see them striding around town, using ski poles, but what are they doing?

They're pursuing the latest low-tech, affordable, aerobic fitness fad — "Nordic walking" — and in the process, they're getting not just the heart-lung and lower body workout, but by using specially designed poles they're getting the upper body in shape, too.

"It's not like going to the gym. It's a walking meditation, a focus on yourself and your inner peace, all the while burning calories, doing cardio workout and getting good weight loss, if you need that," says instructor Carol Lee Rogers of Ashland, a fitness trainer.

To do Nordic walking, all you need are a good pair of walking shoes, a set of poles, a little instruction and, of course, willingness.

There's no big learning curve involved — you walk normally, with more attention to a heads-up posture, and you push off with poles so you work the upper body.

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Rogers starts her students by having them drag poles, letting arms instinctually pick up the rhythm. She advises against walking with weights in hands, as that adds to the load carried by the back and hips. Don't use a single walking stick, either, as that gives an unbalanced workout, she says.

"I really like Nordic walking a lot. It's good to equalize the weight training I do and the poles take a lot of weight off the lower back," says Ruth Lizotte of Ashland.

The workout is good for all ages, but especially for seniors, notes Rogers, because it not only strengthens heart and lungs, but its mild resistance workout helps counter osteoporosis.

"I'm old enough to worry about my bones," Lizotte says. "I've had a bone density scan and found I'm at risk for osteoporosis, so, combined with yoga, Nordic walking is great."

With age, people unconsciously become more afraid of falling and so spend more time looking at the ground in front of them — and their back begins to curve. With walking sticks, as they're called, people always have at least two points on the ground, they feel more secure and their posture improve, says Rogers.

Poles adjust for length (your hands should be about navel height), have quick-release straps (in case you need to blow your nose or get out your credit card), have day-glow panels for traffic and come with various tips — treaded rubber for pavement or carbide tip for gravel or grass, according to Mountain Supply Staff in Ashland.. You can attach the traditional baskets for cross-country skiing.

They go for $100 to $200, with lots of online sites offering a package that includes digital pedometer, GPS and instructional DVD.

Newly retired from a sedentary job as a hospice nurse, Dee Clary of Talent is using Nordic walking to "get my body back, weigh less and get the strength it's bringing, both mentally and physically. I feel so much better every day."

A nice part of Nordic walking, says Lizotte, is that it's outside, often in nature "and you're not focused on watching the clock, like in a gym. It seems I move quickly with more focus and get more exercise."

Rogers has many clients who offer excuses for not walking, such as bad back or bad knees, but she tells them Nordic walking, because it lifts weight off back and knees, will allow them to get going and strengthen the weak or sore areas.

"I have a bad back. This makes it a lot better. It's very helpful and it is strengthening muscles and taking pressure off my lower back," says Wil Thomson of Ashland.

John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.