How Important is Hiking to Your Health?
There are endless reasons to start hiking. Let us start with the basics. Hiking is a low-cost and generally accessible technique to remain fit. Adapt the route, pace, and length to your fitness level and goals to build a solid foundation of strength and endurance for other sports. So, let’s discuss how important is hiking to your health.
How Does Hiking Affect Your Body?
Not only that, but hiking is good for your mental and physical wellbeing. The main factors of Hiking to Your Health are as follows.
Reduces Stress
Outdoor exercise relieves tension and depression. One study looked at the impact of urbanization on mental health. The results showed that persons who walked for 90 minutes in nature had lower neural activity in an area of the brain linked to mental illness than people who walked in cities. (1)
Have you heard of woodland bathing? Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is a Japanese stress-relieving ritual. The goal is to slow down and fully absorb your surroundings. While not the same as trekking and not including actual bathing, the experience of smelling, seeing, and touching nature has a significant positive impact on one’s mental health. (2) If you’re nervous, take a slow walk outside. Get off the road and enjoy nature’s sights and sounds.
Boost Bone Density
Around age 30, bone density and muscle tone starts to decline. Exercise is one of the most powerful antidotes. Intense activity puts stress on the bones, increasing calcium deposition and bone growth. Less weight-bearing activities mean healthier bones. Carrying a pack, hiking uphill, and using trekking poles are all great ways to keep bones strong.
Reduces Cardiovascular Disease
Obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes are all lifestyle illnesses induced by inactivity and poor nutrition. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the US. (4)
Improving your cardiovascular health can help you feel younger and reduce your risk of developing certain common conditions. Hiking is a terrific way to build leg strength and get a great cardiovascular workout. Switch to the “Hiking” sports category in the Adidas Running app to track your progress. To maximize your hike, use a smartwatch to track your heart rate and establish your maximum heart rate.
Great for Weight Loss
Moderate walking is a great way to build stamina for trekking. Once you’ve gained some leg strength, try hiking for weight loss to increase your calorie burn. Your calorie burn is determined by your intensity, pace, fitness level, age, and weight.
A strenuous journey with a pack at a rapid pace will burn more calories than an afternoon of sluggish woodland bathing in the woods since speed contributes to calorie burn.
Remember:
To reduce weight, you must monitor your calorie consumption. Prepare yourself with the facts on healthy weight loss.
TAKEAWAY
Consider your goal. Weight loss hiking? Stress relief in the woods? Let your aim choose the best hikes and routes for you.
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