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Mountain Hiking for Fitness
5 Top Benefits
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Mountain hiking is not just a hobby. There are many benefits for your health and fitness that might spur you to do so every week!
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What are you going to do this summer?
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While the beach is an attractive place to relax and play with water, going to the mountain is also a great idea.
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However, mountain hiking might require you to spend more energy and preparation time: from keeping track of the weather to choosing the best carabiners for safety purposes, and kukri to help clear the way and protect yourself. You would also need to think about proper hiking gear including trekking poles and hiking sticks.
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That said, mountain hiking is not simply for fun. It does provide many health benefits. Below are 5 benefits of mountain hiking for your health. You can start your journey instantly!
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The 5 Benefits of Mountain Hiking
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If you have opportunities to take the whole family with you, it will be a valuable moment to enhance and deepen your relationships. Furthermore, each of you will enjoy various health benefits from mountain hiking.
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1. Improve Your Fitness
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Mountain hiking for one hour can help you burn more than 500 calories, a number which you will find difficult to achieve in the gym.
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Of course, it is calorie burn will be dependent on how much you carry or the incline level of the mountain slope you climbed.
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But it is still an ideal way to improve your fitness, especially for those who look for better ways to lose weight. With a loss of +/- 500 calories, your weight reduction efforts will yield good results more quickly.
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2. Helps Lower Your Blood Pressure
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When mountain hiking becomes a habit, you will reduce significantly the risk of high blood pressure problems..
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Hence, your risk of suffering from cardiovascular problems such as stroke, will be much lower.
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Interestingly, scientists have found out that hiking downhill can double the efficiency of reducing the sugar level in your blood and enhancing glucose tolerance as well.
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This is an incentive for you to start training yourself to go hiking every weekend, isn’t it?
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3. Reduce Depression
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Undeniably, many people choose mountain hiking as a way to free themselves from stress and depression on a daily basis. It is scientifically true as well.
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Hiking is a good method to cope with depression. Researchers claim that hiking reduces significantly the incidences of suicide.
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More importantly, the contact with nature will even lead us to adopt a healthier lifestyle and become more active when we return from the hike.
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4. Helps Promote Healing
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When you are sick, the likelihood is that you will not want to do much exercise. Nevertheless, studies show that hiking has great impact on the healing process..
In particular, it is claimed that hiking is beneficial in the recovery from cancer. When you go long-distance hiking, your anti-oxidative ability improves. This can help boost your body’s capability to fight diseases.
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And undeniably, hiking could be a great way to help prevent some degenerative diseases.
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5. Tones Your Body
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Regular walking has many outstanding health benefits, such as helping your butt get in shape. But you can get much more with mountain hiking.
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It affects every part of your body: every muscle has to work, which enables you to have a toned body.
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Caution
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Do not rush into hiking without preparation! For those living at low altitude, going hiking might cause altitude sickness.
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This means a series of discomforts, such as fatigue, nausea or headaches. To deal with this, you need to drink sufficient fluids.
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In Summary
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In general, mountain hiking is a good way to boost your physical and mental health. Do not forget to hike with friends or family to enjoy every moment to the fullest extent!
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Author: Richard Clayton
I am a gardening enthusiast. That is the reason why I create my blog (mygreenerylife.com). On my website you, me and our friends can discuss everything about lawn care, DIY gardening and critter control topics.
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