Whether you’re an experienced hiker or just starting out, you’re probably wondering what this type of exercise can do for your physical and mental health. In fact, there are many benefits to hiking.
The American Hiking Society emphasizes the following: “Countless studies prove that regular exercise not only improves health and figure, but also prolongs life and improves the quality of life.”
Since this type of exercise targets the entire body and requires awareness and mindfulness, scientists believe that hiking increases lower body muscle strength, relieves stress, and helps prevent the development of obesity, heart disease, and other ailments.
What is hiking?
Hiking, or hiking, are recreational walks in nature. These walks do not have any specific purpose other than enjoyment and physical activity.
Nature walks are one of the most popular outdoor activities.
Hiking generally involves long and sometimes vigorous walks on trails in rural areas. Your path may take you through mountains and hills. Trekking is somewhat different from hiking, it is a longer trek that lasts for days or even weeks.
Hiking can be done in any area that has hills. In the US, for example, the most popular areas for hiking are Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and Zion National Park.
Health Benefits
What are the health benefits of hiking? Participating in hiking has positive health benefits for a number of reasons: it strengthens your legs and back, and it relieves stress. Let’s talk about hiking (safe hiking, of course) in a little more detail:
- Strengthens your back and lower body
Hiking is an aerobic exercise that works the muscles and bones, mainly in the legs and back. If you walk a lot, especially over uneven terrain, you strengthen your muscles and increase your own endurance.
This type of exercise also effectively improves the sense of balance, increases the amplitude of movement, because sometimes, climbing to a hill, you have to stand on one leg, lean forward, shift the center of gravity and so on.
- Increases endurance and strengthens the heart
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of death from coronary heart disease and decreases the likelihood of developing many chronic diseases.
For example, regular exercise, such as hiking, lowers blood pressure and helps prevent colon cancer, diabetes and high cholesterol.
The benefits of hiking are related to the fact that it makes your heart beat more often and your lungs open more, which speeds up blood flow and promotes oxygenation. Hiking also helps reduce stress-related inflammation and weight loss, which in turn has a positive impact on your overall health.
- Helps you lose weight
Like other forms of physical activity, hiking helps control weight.
Studies show that while walking, a person burns an average of 60-80 kcal per kilometer. And even more energy is expended if you are overweight or climbing uphill. Traveling through the terrain at an average speed, you can burn several hundred calories in an hour, which will certainly have a good effect on the waist and physique in general.
- Helps you get rid of stress
Research suggests that physical activity is much healthier if it takes place in nature. Time spent in nature makes many people forget about anxiety, depression, especially if spent in a way that is beneficial for the body.
Hiking, just like a regular walk, releases happy hormones, including endorphins, which elevate mood and reduce pain. Exercising outdoors also affects our brains, fighting tension, bad thoughts and anxiety, but helping us to find solutions to problems and feel in tune with the world around us.
Hiking improves sleep, which means you will feel energized the next day
- Supports brain function and cognitive function
Hiking boosts your mood and mental health by promoting imagination, memory and critical thinking.
A number of studies have proven that outdoor exercise leads to the development of mindfulness, self-awareness, and even sharpens the senses (sight, smell, and touch).
Scientists have learned that while hiking, areas of the brain such as the retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus help to navigate the terrain, and this develops memory.
Hiking in company develops social skills. This way you feel part of a community and get rid of the feeling of loneliness, which also affects mental health.
Some studies have shown that outdoor exercise improves relationships with the people around us, making us more understanding, responsive, open and generous.
- Reduces the risk of osteoarthritis and bone mass loss
Hiking is very beneficial for bone, joint and connective tissue health. This type of activity is not intense enough to damage joints or stretch tendons, but it is enough to strengthen bones by working with your own body weight and weights.
Exercise with weights can help reduce pain caused by osteoarthritis with moderate exercise. Hiking is also recommended to prevent osteoporosis and loss of bone mass, which increases the risk of fractures and cracks.
Possible risks
The intensity of hiking depends on your skills and fitness. Active and healthy people will suit hill walking, while beginners should start on flatter terrain.
To reduce the risk of falls and injuries to zero, choose quality footwear designed for outdoor activities. Be careful when climbing up rocky and muddy paths and under overhanging tree branches.