“It never stops there. Hiking is a wonderful cardio workout that helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Your blood sugar and blood pressure are checked when you go hiking. Research shows that people who hike have a lower risk of stress and anxiety.
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Hiking is an exercise for overall health
At first, hiking and walking seem like different terms. Lower body mechanics may appear to be the same. However, the landscape and the shoes vary. According to research, your heart, muscles, and joints work distinctly when you’re hiking compared to when you’re just daunting about the block.
Daniel Ferris, a professor of engineering and biomechanics at the University of Florida, once pointed out that “passive dynamics are effected by your body when you walk with a level.” He adds inclusively that a walking stride is similar to the swing of a pendulum. Thanks to kinetic and gravitational energy, a pendulum that is swung once will not need any additional energy input as it will move forward and backward independently.
Moving on flat ground helps you do this without much effort, like any pendulum. To top it off quickly, he says that if one is walking on uneven terrain with deep sandy beaches, nature trails and other surfaces, it is natural for too much energy to be put on the surface, resulting in an increase in metabolism and heart rate as well as more calories burned.
It happens that the energy of your body increases by about 28% when you walk on uneven ground compared to normal walking on flat ground. This is in regards to a study done by Dr. Ferris at the University of Michigan. The different slopes of terrain you encounter on your hike are different from walking on flat ground. Subtle changes are required by paths that have downs, ups, and sides so that your leg muscles get shorter and longer as you perform work. It is these changes that dramatically increase the amounts of energy expended during your hike.
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Forget the calories burned, let’s focus on the benefits of hiking that go way beyond imagination.
Hiking reduces stress
Those who love hiking are always relieved of stress compared to other techniques. The combinations of things that happen with hiking provide its effective antidote to stress. The combination of a calming environment, aerobic exercise, the opportunity to relax, and the freedom to think freely, hiking remains the effective and achievable stress-busting technique.
Benefits of hiking
Not only are you restricted from enjoying a tough exercise, but your quadriceps, glutes, and calf muscles are strengthened. It will also help you lose weight.
Disadvantages of hiking
Although fun, hiking can cause extreme muscle soreness. Also, you need proper gear for hiking which is not readily available. Improper hiking methods can lead to serious injuries like falls. Always be vigilant on difficult terrain, this will help you hike safely.
Conclusion
Whether you have planned a day hike, it is very important to have the right equipment. You can check some of the things you need at walkinggearlab.com. We have a list of all your hiking gear you need. Your hiking checklist should include a compass, cell phone, first aid kit, and GPS.
