The Wacoal Sports Science Corporation, makers of CW-X Conditioning Wear and LEKI announced a strategic partnership to market their high-end lines in tandem. The agreement will begin immediately and focus on Nordic walking and trekking.
The new strategic alliance will supply LEKI instructors, marketing, and promotions staff with CW-X Conditioning Wear, including patented tights, tops and sport support bras. LEKI poles will be supplied to Team CW-X athletes and tech reps. Both companies will utilize each other’s products in photo shoots and catalogs, and incorporate the poles and apparel into trade show activities. The two companies will likewise pool their public relations efforts and develop joint marketing activities.
“Millions of Americans are drawn to fitness walking because it builds long-term health and well-being. Medical studies have shown an association with walking 30-60 minutes daily with reduced risk for a variety of ailments,” said Wacoal Sports Science’s John L.A. Wilson, executive vice president. “It’s compatible with everything we stand for as a performance apparel manufacturer. Together with LEKI, we hope to introduce fitness walking to an even wider audience.”
Nordic Walkers use poles to engage the upper body and redistribute weight bearing to the lower extremity, which increases the cardiovascular benefits and caloric demands of walking. Nordic Walking began as a summer training exercise for serious cross-country skiers, and has become the hottest new trend in fitness in recent years, spreading rapidly worldwide.
According to the NSGA, 86.0 million Americans walked for exercise in 2005, making it the country’s number one participation activity. A recent SGMA survey reveals 36.3 million engaged in fitness walking last year.
Adds Greg Wozer of LEKI, “Nordic Walking and trekking fit right in with CW-X products. It’s only natural that people involved in a high-energy physical fitness activity would want to pair it with high-efficiency fitness apparel designed to extend the benefits of their work-out.”
Nordic Walking takes fitness walking to the next level by building upper and lower body strength and aerobic capacity. Walking with poles as little as 30 minutes a day, three times a week, can help lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and help to relieve back, shoulder and neck pain, according to the American Nordic Walking Association, which is sponsored by LEKI. This type of walking is particularly good for people who can no longer take the steady pounding of running or jogging, but desire similar benefits.
