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The Benefits of Hiking
Many exercise programmes or sports activities require special
equipment to get started. This is one of the many benefits of hiking.
Taking up hiking is much simpler and is more beneficial than any other exercise.
Hiking allows us to maintain our body in good working condition by walking which
is by far one of the best exercises available. Hiking improves our physical as
well as mental health. Hiking also offers you the opportunity to indulge in some
quality time together with Mother Nature, so it also provides stress relief
which will contribute to an overall improvement in blood pressure, anxiety and
depression.
Other health benefits from hiking include:
Losing those unwanted extra kilos
Preventing heart disease
Overall improvement in high blood pressure
Slowing the aging process
Preventing osteoporosis,
Preventing and controlling diabetes,
Improving arthritis,
Relieving back pain.
Enhances your immune system |
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Hikers have less incidence of cancer, heart
disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. Hikers live longer and get
mental health and spiritual benefits. If you hike with a partner or group of
people, you will find you will also increase social bonds.
There is much medical research and data available to support the massive health
benefits and overall mental health benefits of hiking.
Usually if you are planning to do a multi-day hike then you need to train
beforehand to make sure that you are fit enough so by setting a date to do the
hike then you are more motivated to go out and train. This gives the added
benefit of making you exercise to get fit before you go hiking. For some of the
harder hikes I have done I train for about 3 months before the hike so that when
you do the hike you are much fitter and enjoy it more instead of struggling on
some of those big hills.
You should not let age stop you hiking as I have seen some groups of people in
their mid 70's out on hiking trails enjoying the outdoors while remaining very
fit at the same time. If you are older and considering hiking then it may be
worth considering hikes where you don't have to carry much weight. There are
many hiking companies that can organize this for you. As an example most
companies that organise the Kokoda treks have a policy that you have a porter to
carry your pack if you are 55 or older. This being said when I did the Kokoda
trek my group was all over 55 and we carried a full pack so it is possible to do
it either way.
It has been found that on longer hikes when you are fit and have walked for a
few days then you get a feeling of wellbeing and a sense that you could continue
to walk forever, which has to be good for you. So you can see, there are many
health benefits of hiking.
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