About Us

Nordixx Pole Walking Canada Inc.

Dr.Klaus Schwanbeck
President

Nordic Pole Walking is more effective than regular walking without poles and is suitable for everyone

“Everybody, at any age or fitness level can Nordic Pole Walk for fitness and fun.

In 2008 I was invited to Canada to teach Nordic Pole Walking at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and the rest is history.

I am from Berlin, Germany where I have spent the past twenty years launching nationwide health and wellness programs.

For more than twenty years, I was looking for a physical activity that everybody could perform; especially people, who are not used to do or don’t like a regular exercise program like running, joining a gym, cycling, swimming etc. It was during this time that Nordic Pole Walking began in Europe.

This form of exercise intrigued me and more than a decade ago, my wife Dr.Sabine Schwanbeck (MD) and I incorporated NPW as a physical activity for our patients in our doctor’s office in Berlin, Germany. Nordic Pole walking was a wonderful physical activity to support different therapy programs, normally based on medication.

Our patients immediately discovered the instant improvements. They felt physically strong, their endurance improve and their back and neck pain diminished. Others showed positive results with their blood pressure reading and our Diabetic 2 patients show decreases in their blood sugar levels. These positive results could allow us to reduce medications drastically.

When I came to the Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto I brought with me many years of successful health promotion. My scientific background in Sports Medicine and long years of training experience as a national coach for Germany’s Track & Field team allowed me to understand the true benefits of this form of exercise. My experience along with all of the clinical studies supporting Nordic Pole Walking allowed me to initiate an Employee Wellness Program at Sunnybrook Hospital. The news of my Nordic Pole Walking Wellness Program has spread and continues to spread to many medical and Health Facilities throughout Toronto and Canada.

The Canadian Diabetes Association, numerous walking clubs, health and wellness centre along with the general public have recognized the great health benefits of this most popular outdoor sport in Europe. Today in Europe there are more than 10 million Nordic Pole Walkers and I am so pleased to see this sport start to grow in popularity in Canada.

With Canadian friends and a team of health and business professionals who recognized the potential of Nordic Pole Walking Canada we have established Nordic Pole Walking Canada Inc. and we are all committed to improve health and fitness for the broadest segment of Canada’s population.

Nordic Pole Walking Canada develops holistic health programs, certifies Nordic Pole Walking Instructors and provides high quality nordixx-poles and equipment for affordable prices. We are looking forward to teaching and motivating everyone to begin Nordic Pole walking as their regular physical activity.

Nordixx Master Instructors/ Distributors

Shawn Nisbet

Master Nordic Pole Walking Instructor for Canada Fitness Consultant and Registered Holistic Nutritionist

Shawn has been involved in the Fitness and Nutrition Industry for nearly 30 years. Shawn began her Fitness and Nutrition career as the Fitness Director of the Aurora Highlands Golf Club then had the wonderful opportunity to start Timberlane Athletic Club’s Fitness Centre over 20 years ago and also initiated the Health and Fitness Program for Tetra Pak Canada.

Shawn lives in Aurora, Ontario with her husband David and four teenage children, two of which attend University and two attend high school. Apart from raising her family Shawn has always had 2 passions in life, one being nutrition and the other fitness.

Discovering Nordic Pole Walking

Discovering Nordic Pole walking has been a life changing experience for me.

For many years I kept hearing about and reading articles here and there about Nordic Pole Walking but my schedule just didn’t allow me to look into it further. One winter while walking with my walking group through the woods we were passing a group of mature ladies who were walking with poles. As one lady, who was probably in her late 70’s past me she called us “Amateurs” in a friendly voice. Well that was enough to get me very intrigued. Soon after that morning, as fate would have it, I received an e-mail from the Canadian Diabetes Association advertising a Nordic Pole Walking Clinic to be hosted by Dr. Klaus Schwanbeck from Germany. As busy as my schedule was I knew that this was my opportunity to finally learn about this sport that had interested me for years. At that clinic, I was one of roughly forty participants that morning being taught the basics of Nordic Pole Walking. Within minutes of adopting this new technique I could feel the difference between walking with poles and walking without poles. It reminded me of the exilerating way my upper body felt with the muscular movement of rowing all while holding my body in proper posture like a dancer. It was a wonderful feeling.

After the clinic I spoke with Klaus and I was so impressed by his expertise and enthusiasm that I decided to take part in the next Nordic Pole Walking Instructors Program he was teaching in Toronto. I was then asked if I would be interested in taking the “Nordic Pole Walking Master Instructors Program.” Learning how to Nordic Pole Walk and being able to teach others this wonderful sport has been one of the most rewarding and exciting things I have been involved with in the Fitness Industry.

As a Holistic Nutritionist and Fitness Consultant my lectures are always based on the fact that to be truly healthy you have to have balance and this balance comes from concentrating on these 4 areas of your life: healthy nutrition, optimum full body exercise, optimum sleep and stress management. Nordic Pole walking is truly a full body exercise.

 

 

Valerie Amada was born in Tours, France and is a certified personal trainer. She has always had a passion for sports, health and nutrition, so Nordixx was a natural choice to add to her business. She uses the poles to cross train for her running. She is a decathlete and an 8 time marathoner. She is a co-distributor for Cambridge, Kitchener with Ron Baines, and with Susan Rickets in Waterloo and Guelph. valerie.armada@bell.net

 

Ron Baines was born and raised in southern Ontario.  He is the Owner and Co-Director of Dynamic Strides; he is also a Certified Mountain Bike Instructor and a Career Pilot with Jazz Air. Always a teacher, he enjoys helping others master new skills. As a Distributor for Nordixx, his love of training works well for him. dynamicstrides@bell.net

 

Sue Ricketts is an insurance and investment broker. She knows the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Sue is an active Rotarian and is a Shelter Box Ambassador for East Africa through the club. She has a strong background in accounting, and knew that Nordixx was a good investment for her time and her health.  Her community involvement is one of the reasons she is a successful Distributor for Waterloo and Guelph. sueri@bell.net

 

Ginger Quinn is the Distributor for Halton, which includes Oakville, Milton, Burlington and Georgetown.  She and her husband Doug, are in the Home Healthcare business with GEM Healthcare. For Ginger it was a natural fit with her company. She began as a Trainer and with the life changes she saw personally, she quickly became a Distributor. “Nordixx Poles aren’t a fad, for me, they are a newly found friend I can lean on for life! “  Weight loss, increased mobility and a lower blood pressure were all determining factors for Ginger. Ginger.quinn@sympatica.ca

 

Sara Bannerman-Maxwell is a mother, a photographer and a business woman. She began her pole walking journey thinking only of personal use for herself. Sara has ortho-arthritis in her right knee and found that using the poles helped with the pain. She joined Nordixx as a Distributor for Mississauga because she liked the philosophy. The approach to educate first fits in with her way of operating.  “As a society we need to change our philosophy on Healthcare. Think ‘Prevention’ first.  We can take charge of our health, and enjoy a better quality of life. Sara.bannerman@nordixxcpm

 

Peggy and Jim Stewart are a management team for stepping stones to better health. The business is focused on improving and supporting the health and wellness of clients  Instructor, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and an RN.  Jim is a Certified Nordic Pole Instructor, a sales and marketing expert, and an expert sailor. They live in Whitby and their territory is all of Durham Region. Jim was Peggy’s first official client for Nordixx. He lost 40 lbs, improved his eating habits, lowered his blood pressure and his energy level improved dramatically. According to Peggy, he’s a whole new man and owes it all to Nordic Pole Walking! www.pathway2wellness.com

 

Province of Quebec:

Christina Robert is Head-Instructor for the province of Quebec, project manager for regional and nation fundraising projects. Christina was certified as a Nordic Pole Walking Instructor in Germany, and head established INAIRGY Inc. in Montreal, a flourishing Nordic Pole Walking venture.