Why hiking

So, why hike? There are the obvious benefits of hiking like good exercise and getting outside. However, the reasons to pursue hiking go far beyond the physical benefits of which there are many , and extend to finding a healthier and happier life through the outdoors. It has always been the mission of Bearfoot Theory to get people — everyday people — outside to enjoy nature and outdoor activities. While some of the physical benefits may be obvious — like weight loss — hiking has some surprising perks.

Hiking is great for cardiovascular health. Even light hiking can raise the heart rate to a moderate level which helps improve aerobic fitness and endurance. Over time, your body adjusts to new fitness levels and you can hike longer, faster, and harder without feeling as fatigued or out of breath.

Hiking can also improve markers associated with cardiovascular health like blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol. So if cardiovascular health is a concern for you, hiking can be a great way to improve your heart health!

There is actually science behind this. As you walk along a trail, your leg and core muscles are constantly engaging and contracting to provide stability and balance over uneven terrain. As these core stabilizing muscles strengthen over time, balance improves. As you hike, the brain is processing every rock and root and gauging what it will take to step over obstacles. With practice, the brain becomes more adept at judging these obstacles, and as a result, balance improves.

Hiking is a fun way to improve balance while spending time in the outdoors. As we touched on above, one benefits of hiking is it helps build stabilizing muscles in the legs and core to improve balance.

But hiking also strengthens other muscles of the body including the arms and back. In fact, hiking is great exercise for almost every major muscle group in the body! Walking uphill engages the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves while hiking downhill engages the ankles, hips, and core.

The arm and back muscles can be strengthened while hiking through the use of trekking poles or carrying a moderate to heavy pack.

Learn how to choose a good hiking pack here. Bone density refers to the amount of bone mineral in your bones. High bone density is important for preventing broken bones and reducing risk for osteoporosis. High impact and weight-bearing activities like hiking help to improve bone density by strengthening the bone tissue. But in order for these activities to be effective in increasing bone density, they need to be done at a moderate to high-level. For example, the physical impact of hiking up a steep trail is more beneficial to building bone density than hiking along a flat trail.

The recommendation for physical activity for adults is at least minutes 2. If your goal is weight loss, try starting out with three 50 minute hikes per week on a local trail. I first started hiking back in when I spent a summer on the Big Island of Hawaii.

It helped me lose weight and drastically improved my self-esteem. Believe it or not, your bones are alive. You can think of them as tissues. Hiking regularly triggers the formation of new bone tissue and strengthens them.

Like muscles, bone tissue also responds to progressive overload and stress. When you periodically exert pressure on the bone, the body responds by enhancing and adding to its density, enabling it to withstand the overload. Hiking will exert direct pressure to the bone, and the above results will be experienced in a short while. Moreover, arthritis is alleviated as your joints become more fluid. Balance becomes more and more critical as you age.

The elderly often suffer balance-related falls. Hiking will help to reduce your risk of developing certain types of cancers, including lung, blood, colon, bladder, rectum, neck, head, kidney, and breast cancers. Additionally, being physically active can help improve the quality of life during cancer treatments. Even if you are feeling under the weather or are just having a bad day, going for a hike outdoors will lift your spirits.

What happens is that the body produces endorphins, which help in fighting mood swings, depression, and anxiety. If you experience problems sleeping at night, rather than popping some sleeping pills, you should go hiking and make it a regular activity. Hiking will help you fall asleep faster and feel refreshed when you wake up.

It achieves this by reducing your stress levels, which is the number one cause of insomnia. Once the stress is out of the picture, you fall asleep with ease and sleep like a baby. You probably are thinking this is a little bit far-fetched. Another of the benefits of hiking is that it will improve your creativity. It helps to stimulate the Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor, which in turn stimulates the growth of new brain cells in a region known as the hippocampus, which is linked to long term memory.

However, with the new brain cells and improved survival cell rate, hiking can help in improving your imagination and creativity. While people are busy searching for the elixir of youth, you are lucky enough to have found it in hiking. In fact, one of the benefits of hiking is that it helps to increase life expectancy by a couple of years. How cool is that? Hiking is done in mountainous and hilly regions where you are bound to get a great view.

It is also done in forests where the air is fresh and clean. The more time you spend on these trails, the more you learn to appreciate nature.

While hiking is a fun, low impact outdoor activity, it often comes with several unpredictable variables. To enjoy it to the fullest, you need to be prepared for anything that might happen.

As a beginner, here are some tips that will help you prepare for your sessions:. Remember, hiking requires more energy than walking. So start small. With every elevation gain feet , add an extra hour to the estimated time.

Or, after you feel prepared fitness-wise, you could plan an overnight backpacking trip, which requires you to hone a whole slew of skills, like pitching a tent, filtering water, cooking on a camp stove, and mastering a bear bag hang, just to name a few. A study suggests that spending time in nature changes signals in the brain and promotes a more relaxed state. Any relief from stress, which affects both memory and mood, will likely have positive effects on the brain.

Hiking is more than just a stroll through the woods. Learn from my mistakes. For one, you have to dress the part. Wear layers suitable for the weather and made from breathable, moisture-wicking fabrics, like silk, wool, or synthetics no cotton, please! Together, these supplies may help keep you safe if you become stranded overnight in the wilderness.

Bring them along even if you think it seems like overkill. Alicia Filley , a hiking coach and physical therapist, recommends taking along extra snacks to help push you up and over the most challenging parts of the trail.

Steep hikes burn many calories, so keep an easily digestible snack handy and eat a few bites after several micro-breaks. There once was a time when I was too proud for trekking poles. But on a group trek in Peru, the guide encouraged me to have an open mind and give them a try. I quickly discovered they improved my stability and increased my speed.

Today, I never leave for a hike without them. While training for my multi-week backpacking trip, I scoured many online forums for tips to improve my hiking prowess. Apparently, I had made a common mistake on my first hike by underestimating the physical feat that awaited me.

Adding too much distance or elevation too quickly could increase the chance of injury. Meredith Bethune is a writer and avid hiker based in upstate New York. Most weekends, you can find her exploring trails in the Catskills, Adirondacks, Green Mountains, or Berkshires. She covers health, food, travel, and the outdoors and is passionate about sharing the latest information about brain health.

Hiking gets you outdoors, sweating, and enjoying beautiful scenery — but you may also want to know how many calories you can expect to burn.