Many fitness lovers know that jump rope, trampolining and hanging on the rock solid basketball goal systems (I mean playing basketball aggressively) are some fun ways to burn fat. However, today, I’m gonna show you another interesting way to maintain your fitness. Yes, it is Hiking. Hiking has some amazing health benefits that let you live a healthy and happy life.
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Hiking is not a high intensity interval workout, but it’s the recreational form of walking. Walking is usually performed in the urban areas and hiking is enjoyed in the countryside which is longer than walking. There are a lots of hiking trails in the United States. Some of those trails are short and a few of them are even longer than 1000 km. PCT or Pacific Crest Trail is such a long trail. Okay, now let’s see the health benefits of hiking.
You have to carry a heavy weight bag on your back, you’ve to walk long ways and if the trail is in the mountain, then you’ve to step up the mountain. It has been proven that an hour of hiking can burn about to 500 calories or more depending on the level of difficulty of the trail and the weight of the pack on your back.
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Even, hiking is also more effective than running because hiking trails are softer than the concrete roads on which a lots of people run to burn their fat. Hard surface actually hampers our joints, but, softer surface helps our joints to get stronger. Moreover, if you go for the mountain trails, weight loss results will be even better. No unfit people can hike a long trail. So, if you like to achieve fitness, start your hiking on a short and easy trail which is only 2 - 3 miles long.
These are the most amazing benefits of hiking. So, it seems to me that next time you hear someone tell you, “take a hike,” you won’t ignore them and from my experience, I can assure you that, hiking with a group is much more enjoyable than solo hiking. But, you may enjoy solo hiking if it is on a short trail. However, you shouldn’t miss hiking if there’s a trail near you.
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| Top 10 Amazing Health Benefits of Hiking : Wiki Health Blog |
Hiking is not a high intensity interval workout, but it’s the recreational form of walking. Walking is usually performed in the urban areas and hiking is enjoyed in the countryside which is longer than walking. There are a lots of hiking trails in the United States. Some of those trails are short and a few of them are even longer than 1000 km. PCT or Pacific Crest Trail is such a long trail. Okay, now let’s see the health benefits of hiking.
10 Amazing Health Benefits of Hiking:
From the recent study of the American Hiking Society, it has been proven that hiking is very effective to reduce the risk of colon cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, dying of coronary heart disease and it also helps to control weight. Here are the major benefits of hiking.Hiking Increases Fitness:
What does fitness mean? To lose weight, to burn fat or to gain weight? I think, fitness refers to having a healthy and strong body and hiking is very effective to gain strength. Like to know how? Okay, hiking is a weight bearing activity which gradually increases your strength to handle more weight.You have to carry a heavy weight bag on your back, you’ve to walk long ways and if the trail is in the mountain, then you’ve to step up the mountain. It has been proven that an hour of hiking can burn about to 500 calories or more depending on the level of difficulty of the trail and the weight of the pack on your back.
Read more : Great reasons to exercise in the morning
Even, hiking is also more effective than running because hiking trails are softer than the concrete roads on which a lots of people run to burn their fat. Hard surface actually hampers our joints, but, softer surface helps our joints to get stronger. Moreover, if you go for the mountain trails, weight loss results will be even better. No unfit people can hike a long trail. So, if you like to achieve fitness, start your hiking on a short and easy trail which is only 2 - 3 miles long.
It Helps To Take Control of Your Workouts:
As you’ve already known that the difficulty level of the hiking trails is not same, so, you can easily chart your own course for your fitness. Slowly inclining scenic trails are easier than steep trails like Angels Landing, Utah. To achieve your dream fitness, you should set your own pace, maintain your own speed and choose the suitable distance which won’t be impossible for you to reach and complete. At first, select a 2-3 hours long trail, and then gradually choose the longer one. This way, regular hiking offers you to take full control of your workouts without listening to any bossy commands of the fitness trainers.
Hiking Helps Prevent And Control Diabetes:
You know, blood sugar causes diabetes. If you’re now free from diabetes, then regular hiking will save you from the diabolical diabetes. However, the good news is that hiking helps to control diabetes by lowering and maintaining the blood sugar level. Another amazing benefit of hiking is that this activity gives your muscles a moderate workout, which helps to move the glucose from your bloodstream to energy.
It Lowers The Blood Pressure and Cholesterol:
Trail hiking, weather short or long, on a daily basis or at least regular basis lessens blood pressure and cholesterol, which is very effective to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke for them who are even at high risk. Trails are usually somewhere steep and somewhere downhill and hiking downhill is very effective at maintaining blood pressure, blood sugar level and improving disease prevention ability.It Fights off Disease:
Hiking also helps you to maintain your cardiovascular health. Regular hikers don’t need to practice high intensity cardio workouts. One of my friends, who is an oncologist, told me that hiking even accelerates the recovery of the cancer patients. A health column published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine shows that through hiking trips can improve the antioxidative capacity in the blood of the oncological survivors, which helps fight off a lots of diseases.Hiking Reduces The Pain of Loneliness:
Hiking is very effective to diminish the painful feeling of loneliness as it’s one of the most enjoyable social activities. It is even suitable for the introverts. Hikers usually enjoy regular weekly meet-up, create plan to hit the new hiking trails, wish and inspire to hike longer. Being a member of a hiking community and regular interaction with the hikers encourage new hikers to engage with the fitness workouts as a lifestyle, rather than a pain of burning some fat, which of course inspires you more likely to stick with fitness for the long haul.Hiking Increases Your Creativity To Lead a Healthy Life:
Trail hiking is a great outdoor activity and enjoying outdoor recreational activities increases our attention span and improves the creativity to solve real life problems by two times than the average jane. A group of researchers of the Graduate School of Education, Stanford University also found that “walking gets the creative juices flowing far more than sitting”.It Improves Your Outlook:
Another awesome benefit of hiking is that it reduces the likelihood of the over analysis of the failure and negativity of life that some people, specially introvert people, do very often. Running on a treadmill is a great exercise to lose weight, but hiking through the nature is really better than treadmill running as it burns the fat as well as it offers to enjoy the beauty of the outdoor world and thus it improves your outlook to your life.Unplug From The World:
Sometimes we feel bore of always being ‘switched-on’. Sometimes we wish to have a break from the chaos of the urban life and sometimes it becomes too important for us to have some refreshments to be energetic in executing our day to day job perfectly. Most of the times, we remain busy in staring at wide screens of our laptop and checking our phones. In other words, we always have to be plugged in to the network of the world. Hiking offers a break from the feeling of “stay connected” and always being ‘switched-on’.Hiking Makes You Happier And Healthier:
Besides all the above benefits, the most amazing benefit of hiking is that it makes you happier and healthier. John Muir said that - “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” Hiking offers the opportunity to walk with the nature, it also creates an opportunity to have a look at the different human culture of the backcountry people, it inspires to lead a more active lifestyle. That is how hiking makes you happier than ever and also healthier.These are the most amazing benefits of hiking. So, it seems to me that next time you hear someone tell you, “take a hike,” you won’t ignore them and from my experience, I can assure you that, hiking with a group is much more enjoyable than solo hiking. But, you may enjoy solo hiking if it is on a short trail. However, you shouldn’t miss hiking if there’s a trail near you.
