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Hi guys! So, I’ve got some exciting news to share with you all.
I went hiking for the first time ever this past weekend! It was everything that I imagined it would be and so much more. It was so refreshing being a part of nature, away from technology and the noise that brings the city to life, and I really enjoyed not feeling tempted to check my phone at least once every hour. In fact, I enjoyed not having this pressure on me so much that I didn’t even bother to take that many pictures!
(Sorry! But really not sorry 😉).
Although I do wish that I did because it was such a beautiful sight.
But all that silliness aside it was really such a fun and amazing experience. I’ve always wanted to go on a hike but I never wanted to do it alone. So, this past weekend my older brother, his girlfriend, and I decided that we would go on a hike and that’s what we ended up doing.
As a first-time hiker I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was expecting it to be challenging but not as challenging as it was. And let me just tell you that it was extremely challenging!
There were so many inclines, rocks, and tree stumps in the road that made getting up the incline hard. But once you got past that it got somewhat easier to walk, but as would be my luck it was only short lived before it was back to another incline. I got close to seeing a waterfall in person, I saw two families of deer, a ton of chipmunks, and was among bears in the wilderness even though we did not directly encounter them (thank God!).
This was such a fun and amazing experience that challenged me to get out of my comfort zone, and I ended the day discovering new ways to improve on my health and fitness. That’s what today’s post is about. I’m going to share with you 3 ways that you can improve your health and fitness by hiking.
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But first…
Before we jump into the blog post if you’ve never gone hiking before here are some essentials that I would recommend you buy. I didn’t buy all of this my first-time hiking and even though I was ok, there were some things that I encountered and didn’t expect to encounter and wished I had listened to my gut and invested in the product beforehand. There are also things on this list that I would recommend simply for safety.
However, do note that I’m no hiking expert, and as a first-time hiker who plans to go hiking more often, I do believe that you will be just fine with the bare essentials. Check out the list below!
Hiking Essentials
Bare essentials:
- Comfortable shoes. Make sure these are shoes that won’t hurt your feet and that you don’t mind getting dirty.
- Backpack with a water pouch. I used then Outdoor Products Norwood Hydration Pack from Target and it worked wonderfully.
- A light sweater of some sort. It never hurts to be prepared for unpredictable weather conditions.
- A water bottle. If you don’t buy a backpack with a water pouch that is completely fine. Just make sure you at the very least have a water bottle on hand.
- A map of the trail. There were plenty of times during the trail when we thought we were lost, having a map of the trail handy will help you in ensuring that you don’t get lost.
Other essentials you may want:
- Headlamp. Having a headlamp on hand will help you see in the dark if you find yourself hiking in the dark and it’s hard for you to see.
- A pocket knife. You never know what may happen. It never hurts to be prepared, but please be safe and responsible.
Improve your stamina
Something that I learned very quickly while on this hike was that it was going to challenge my stamina. If you’re not sure what stamina is it’s your endurance level. It determines how long you are able to withstand physical activity, such as doing cardio during a workout. I’ve never had great stamina, in fact I think my stamina sucks big time, but I still wanted to challenge myself and see how far I was able to get on the hike before I could do no more of it.
To my surprise I got pretty freaking far. The only reason I was not able to finish the hike was because it started to get dark outside and we did not have flashlights to light a path for us back to the car besides the ones on our phones. The hike was a total of 5 miles (or so it said at least) and by time we had got back to the car after hiking my Fitbit said I had walked a total of 8.6 miles!
That’s insane to me! I know I walk a lot during the day but for some reason seeing that number on my wrist and double checking it in my phone to be sure was mind blowing to me. I had challenged myself in regards to how my stamina (and asthma mind you) would do against this hike, and I actually made it out alive!
Hiking will challenge your stamina because it will require you to put in a lot more effort than what you may be used to doing when working out. As I mentioned earlier there were a lot of inclines in which I had to really engage my legs and manage my breathing just to get up the hill. That plus really pushing myself mentally, put my stamina to the test. There were plenty of times when I thought I was going to tap out but I didn’t.
I stuck with it and saw it through to the end. As a result of it I have noticed a slight improvement in my stamina. I can go a little bit longer in a cardio workout before I need to take a 2 minute break to catch my break, and I’m even finding that I can walk just a little bit further and longer before my body starts to ache and I know I need to start heading home.
If you’ve been looking for a super simple and quick way to improve your stamina, I’m telling you now that hiking is the way to do it! It will challenge you in the best way possible. If it’s your first time hiking you will literally feel like you are about to die, but I promise you won’t.
You’ll just feel that way during the entire hike, but it’s totally worth it!
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A good cardio workout
I’m not a big fan of cardio and this was definitely not something I was expecting to do while hiking. I knew that going on this hike was going to get my heart rate going, I was going to probably sweat a lot (but I actually didn’t sweat much that), and I was going to be working every muscle in my body…but I wasn’t expecting to get a cardio workout out of it.
Walking the hike really required me to engage every single muscle in my body and as a result of that I found myself engaging in a cardio circuit within minutes. The hike itself forced me to create a consist pattern in which I would need to engage different parts of my body for a certain amount of time, before taking a break and engaging another part and then find myself doing the cycle again.
First, I would engage in the incline where I really had to engage my leg muscles. Then I found myself taking maybe a 2-minute break by walking on a straight and flat surface. Next would be a short climb where I had to engage my leg and arm muscles, before another short break. Then I found myself speed walking while also fighting against gravity and trying not to fall when I had to walk down a very steep hill. This was very challenging on my breathing and again my legs. Afterwards the whole process would repeat itself again.
It was so brutal and it was a cardio workout that I had never ever experienced before. The best part was that this cardio workout took place outside, and it was naturally incorporated into the hiking trail. So, I didn’t have to think about what the next “move” would be or even create a circuit of moves to get my heart rate going. Instead I just followed along the trail and whenever the next obstacle would appear, I just shifted my mind and body to adjust to the challenge.
The most challenging part about this was that I really didn’t have time to actually stop and take a break. There were moments when I would be able to stand tall, catch my breath, drink some water, and wipe the sweat from my brow, but for the most part, the hike sort of forced my mind and body to just go, go, go for about 10 minutes straight before taking a break.
If you don’t like doing cardio and it’s one of your weaker areas in your fitness routine, like me, going on a hike is a great and fun way to actively engage in cardio without feeling as though you are doing a cardio workout. I highly recommend giving this form of a cardio workout a try!
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Strengthen your legs
Last but not least, this hike definitely revealed to me just how much I rely on my legs to help me get through the day. I’ve always believed myself to have strong legs. I feel like I’ve got strong leg muscles and I wasn’t expecting to feel any sort of pain with my legs while on this hike.
Boy was I wrong.
Starting off on the hike with an incline instantly put my legs to work and they were not ready for it. I had done a leg workout prior to going on the hike so my legs were already a little sore, and like a fool I did not stretch after this workout or before going on this hike.
So, my legs were sort of shocked by the fact that they had to get to work immediately!
It was really the inclines that challenged my legs into living up to their strength. However, I got through it like a champ. Yes, my legs were hurting going up the trial. Yes, my legs were hurting going down the trail, especially in the dark when it was really hard for me to see and I had to engage my legs even more to make sure that they were doing their part and keeping me on my feet when my mind started to freak out and wanted to check out of the hike.
And in case you’re wondering yes, my legs were throbbing like a mother once the hike was finally over.
I do consider my legs to be the strongest part of my body but man, that hike almost proved me otherwise! In fact, hiking that trail and walking a total of 8.6 miles really put my leg strength to the test. My leg muscles were cramped (because like a first-time hiker I didn’t stretch after hiking) for nearly three days after the hike which made my leg workouts, and even just walking up and down stairs, really painful.
All in all, it challenged me to see just how strong my legs really were, but I got a good leg workout out of it.
If you’re looking for a way to strengthen your leg muscles that doesn’t involve the gym, doing squats every day, or faithfully taking the stairs, go on a hike. Especially one that is riddled with inclines and a steep path going downhill. It will put your legs to work instantly and you will feel it for days afterwards!
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All in all…
Hiking is fun! I can’t believe even though I live in a state that has mountains and plenty of beautiful forests that it took me this long to finally go on one. I crushed my Fitbit goals by going above and beyond my set goals for the day, I crushed my water goals by drinking nearly 2 liters the entire hike, and most importantly I challenged my mind and body and was able to rise to the occasion!
All in all, this was such a fun experience and I’m so proud of myself for being brave enough to try it, and being strong enough to see it through until the very end. Have you ever gone hiking?
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-Xo
Kimora