Hiking for exercise

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librarydebster
librarydebster Posts: 177 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been hiking for a couple of months and I'm amazed at how well I am losing weight. Anyone else finding this too? Cycling worked for me in the summer and I'm finding hiking a good substitute now that it's cooler.
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  • loriemn
    loriemn Posts: 292 Member
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    I love hiking! I dont get to do as much as I would like,,it is good for the body and excellent for the mind!
  • librarydebster
    librarydebster Posts: 177 Member
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    Do you live in Ontario? If so, do you have favorite spots to hike? I tend to like forested areas with lots of hills. Any suggestions are appreciated
  • Mistapholeezkat
    Mistapholeezkat Posts: 80 Member
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    what is the difference between walking outside and hiking?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    The difference to me is the terrain. Walking is something I do around my nearly flat neighborhood on concrete sidewalks or asphalt. Hiking is something I do on a dirt path going up and down hills, often with a pack on my back. Hiking involves more stability movements as I step around tree roots and rocks so it's more difficult than simply walking.
  • PAtinCO
    PAtinCO Posts: 129 Member
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    I started hiking and walking for fitness and found that I love hiking so much that now I work out to hike better, farther and longer. Now we backpack overnight frequently, we did a 120 mile trip in Yellowstone\Grand Teton earlier this year, and I'm planning on hiking the Colorado Trail in the next year or two for a vacation (468 miles, should take about 3 weeks).

    Eventually I'd like to do the Pacific Crest Trail but that will have to wait till retirement probably. It's a six month, 2700 mile endeavor. Hard to get time off for that. :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Hiking is so much fun and great exercise. It is absolutley my favorite exercise because it not only burns calories and improves fitness, but it is the very best stress reliever for me.
  • ddarpel
    ddarpel Posts: 14 Member
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    The desire to hike and go backpacking was a big part of my motivation to start a diet and exercise "journey." My first goal was a 70 mile Boy Scout trip this past June. I made my goal and had a great trip. While I try to get a good outdoor hike in once a week (like backpacking two weekends ago), I don't get out as much as I like. My suburban location makes it tough.

    I have worked my backpacking and hiking goal into my workouts. With some help from a trainer I do my exercises with a focus on gaining stability - very little done on a stable surface. instead of a bench I use a stability ball to do my chest work; she had me use straps hanging from above for a whole upper and lower body workout for a few weeks; I do things on one foot or standing on a pad a lot; I also do a lot of hip and core work. I don't run (I don't enjoy it), instead I work on setting a fast paced walk. Leading up to my bigger trip I wore a pack with weight in it when walking. All of these things are to help build my fitness for backpacking / hiking.

    This mindset really makes my workouts more meaningful to me. My goal is not (just) to get bigger or lose a pounds now. My goal is to be fit enough to allow me to better enjoy what I love - being in the outdoors. I am now usually the one leading the pack, setting the pace and encouraging others that are struggling on our trips. It really feels good to have my efforts rewarded by being able to do what I love!

    Next potential goal - complete an adventure race next spring!
  • librarydebster
    librarydebster Posts: 177 Member
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    Thanks for all your replies. Hiking burns more calories than walking too, because of the effort of hills and obstacles on the forest paths. I'm hooked! So far I haven't found a need to join a gym because I cycled in the summer and did water aerobics and since the weather got cooler i have been hiking. All have helped me lose weight.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I love hiking and the desire to be able to hike again for long periods is one of the main reasons I began my weight loss journey. Great active meditation, too!
  • justalittlecrazy
    justalittlecrazy Posts: 88 Member
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    The need to lose weight to backpack was the start of trying to get fit. I live in Washington state and the direction of nearly all of our trails are up, more up, and insanely high up. I have a long ways to go but I have now taken my kids on 4 backpacking trips.

    I am planning to hike the PCT, too, in 12 years. It's a long way off but I have kids in school still so it will need to wait a while. In 2.5 years I am going to hike the Wonderland Trail, 100 miles around Mt. rainier and one tough mother. I can't wait!

    I live in a suburban area but am lucky enough to have some very large parks with hiking trails very close to me. Love, love, love to hike!
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
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    Obviously I love hiking. I try to challenge myself with steep hills and climbing to get the extra calorie burn.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Any exercise will help you lose weight, as long as you expend more calories than you take in. :)

    Hiking is fun - I am lucky enough to have a 2-mile circuit trail up a hill only a third of a mile from my house, so I enjoy getting out in the woods and watching the subtle changes with the passing seasons.

    That said, I'm missing something from your original post: why can't you cycle in cooler weather? I commuted home from work today on my bike in 27-degree (F) weather. It's all a matter of layering and matching clothing to effort! It will probably be about 24 degrees tomorrow when I go out for my morning run. (I should probably find my balaclava tonight!)
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I want to join a hiking meetup group but I am walking on my own first so I will be able to keep up. I am glad to hear it is helping with weight loss.
  • librarydebster
    librarydebster Posts: 177 Member
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    I haven't tried layering up to bicycle yet in the cooler weather but I have considered it. I think part of the enjoyment of cycling in the summer was the sunshine and warm temperatures.
  • librarydebster
    librarydebster Posts: 177 Member
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    It's snowing out now and I wish I were out hiking in it instead of being at work.
  • hiker_chick
    hiker_chick Posts: 16 Member
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    I LOVE hiking. The weeks I get a good hike in I always lose weight. I'm up in the PNW too....so I never run out of hiking options!
  • phyllb
    phyllb Posts: 735 Member
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    I have learned to really enjoy hiking. We weekend near a hill so we incorporate the hills also....soon snowshoe season! Anyone looking forward to that?
  • phyllb
    phyllb Posts: 735 Member
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    librarydebster wrote: »
    Do you live in Ontario? If so, do you have favorite spots to hike? I tend to like forested areas with lots of hills. Any suggestions are appreciated

    Collingwood is full of great hiking areas. My two favorites are pretty river and up alongside the creek trail at blue
    Spoon to snowshoe
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    I love to hike. I am fortunate to live in the country. I hike our woods which have steep hills. When the snow gets too deep to groom the trails with our 4-wheeler, I hike our county road, which is more open and colder than walking in the woods where the trees and hills shelter the wind quite a bit. Still I hike year round and actually prefer the winter over the summer with the humidity and insects.
  • AmandaLY17
    AmandaLY17 Posts: 184 Member
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    lorib642 wrote: »
    I want to join a hiking meetup group but I am walking on my own first so I will be able to keep up. I am glad to hear it is helping with weight loss.

    I would join anyways and post up about your current fitness level. I used to join groups when my kids were little and would have to come with me... I would just post up I had a 3 year old that was hiking too (and really in better shape then I was at the time LOL) and would join those that didnt mind. And its great for weight loss and general health. I think my mental/emotional health has the greatest improvements from being in nature

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