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Hiking as Exercise

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June 21, 2010
	Dr. Tim McCrossen : Head Fitness Ego

Healthy Alter Ego goes to the mountain top! (At least the shirt did.)

Last week while on vacation in Arizona with my girlfriend and co-fitness-ego, Robin, she had the insatiable urge to go hiking. Now mind you while on vacation the only urge I have is to lay on a raft in a body of water somewhere.  So we compromised and went hiking three different times. Not much of a compromise in my opinion.

Arizona offers great hiking with awesome desert views. We even hiked in Sedona which has unbelievable views of different rock formations.  The hikes we did were three different types.  Sedona was a 5 mile hike with gradual rock terrain, Camelback Mountain had areas where you use much more upper body to climb, and pinnacle peak had areas of steep inclines followed by flatter areas that you could recover. Mind you, I am a SPRINTER by nature and therefore anything farther than a quarter mile is considered “distance-endurance work” to me. There are days where I have the aerobic capacity of a popped balloon! Robin knew when she would get too-far ahead of me when she couldn’t hear my gasps for air.

Funnies aside, hiking is a great exercise with many health benefits, physical and mental. The average hike without carrying any weight (ie backpacks) burns about 500 calories an hour. Now this calorie burn number can fluctuate by how great the intensity of your hike, steepness, and whether you jog, run, or walk it. 

Hikes are much more visually stimulating than the monitor attached to the treadmill at your local gym. (Sorry Oprah!)

Some hikes, like Camelback feel like a constant “stair-stepping” movement. Some of the positive mental aspects include exercising outside in the fresh air and the feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top or end of the hike.

Hiking is relatively inexpensive for the novice hiker, a good pair of hiking shoes or boots and a water pack and you are set to go! Travelling business people who feel they cannot workout while on business because they are away from their home gym or trainer can also hike in the town they are working in. Hiking areas are easily found on the internet if you look at the area you are staying.

Factors to always remember are to bring plenty of water with you to keep hydrated. We used special water pack belts that would hold two canisters of water on your waist. Another factor to consider is know where you are going! Map out your hike prior to your hike. If you are a novice, start with a well marked path for your first few hikes.

All in all my vacation was great and hiking provided some great workouts  while we were away. It also helped to fill up our computer with some great scenic pictures of the Arizona landscapes! 

For those of you in the Cincinnati region, check out this great resource for regional hikes.  And for those of you not in our area, go straight to www.trails.com for a list of great resources.

It’s not always easy or a convenient time of year to get out and explore nature. Summer is upon us, so take advantage!