Thierry Werderits says something happens when people are asked to amble along while holding Nordic walking poles.

“They’ve got these things in their hands and they don’t know what to do with (them),” says Werderits, a Lynden resident and cross-country skier. It’s as if they lose their coordination, he says.

How awkward is it? See for yourself beginning Monday, when Werderits launches his new Nordic walking classes through Fairhaven Runners & Walkers. The free classes will run through March.

You’ll learn motions and techniques used by Nordic racers — cross-country skiers — to train in the off-season, when walking replaces gliding over snow.

“They would do trails and so on with their Nordic poles. It was a good training device because it works your upper body,” Werderits, 57, explains.

Walkers use poles with handles that tilt forward. The poles are behind them, allowing walkers to extend their arms and push off the ground as they stride forward. It sounds easy but somehow trying to coordinate the poles with your stride while trying to keep your arms bent just so to reduce the stress on your elbows feels a little like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time.

But Werderits doesn’t have any problems Wednesday morning at Lake Padden while showing how to make Nordic walking a tougher workout. First, he lengthens his stride. Then he walks up a hill. Then he jogs up a hill. Then he

“skates” side to side while pushing off the poles.

You can even sprint with the poles, Werderits says.

“There are no limitations to it,” he adds.

His classes this month will give walkers the option of starting on flatter, more urban, areas or taking to the trails at Lake Padden to tackle hills.

Nordic walking began in Finland in the 1900s, according to the American Nordic Walking Association Web site, and spread from there, including to the U.S.

“It’s pretty popular on the East Coast and the Midwest,” Werderits says. “This is kind of a new thing for Washington.”

He’d like to see it spread here, touting benefits such as:

“It’s less stressful on the knees,” Werderits says.

It’s more of a workout than regular walking because you use your arms to propel yourself forward. The American Nordic Walking Association says participants use 70 percent of their muscles walking but 90 percent Nordic walking.

Several studies conclude that Nordic walking burns about 20 percent more calories while increasing your aerobic workout as compared to regular walking. That was certainly the finding for the most cited study, which was conducted by The Cooper Institute in Texas. That same study found the increase came without participants feeling like they were working harder.

If you take to Nordic walking, be prepared to hear one question from people you pass on the trails — one that Werderits repeats here. “Where’s the snow?”