According to the Roman philosopher Seneca, happiness is all about enjoying the present, and one sure-fire way to do that is to explore the great outdoors. Hiking gives you a break from all the noise and stress of your daily routine. It allows you to enjoy the solitude and stillness of nature and soak up the beauty of the world around you, which makes it an excellent way to reduce stress and anxiety after a tough week.
So what are some of the benefits of hiking? Well, first of all hiking is great for your health. For city dwellers, it can be a brilliant feeling to swap the grimy urban air for the crisp country breeze. But there’s more, the workout that you get from hiking can have enormous benefits on your well-being.
Hiking will increase the blood flow and levels of oxygen throughout your body, pumping goodness to muscles and tissues which might not always get what they require, especially if you’re sat at a desk all day.
Walking up and down hills and through different levels of terrain will keep your joints active and can really help to improve your overall bone density – something which can go some way towards reducing your chances of arthritis in later life.
It can also help you to lose weight – especially if you do it often. Some estimate that you can burn as many as 500 calories per hour when hiking if you average 4.5 miles in that time. So that could make a big difference to your body shape if you do it regularly.
One of the best things about hiking is that you can make it suit your own personal level of fitness; you can go slow and steady or go at it with a higher intensity depending on what you feel up to. Of course, if you have any health concerns then you should speak to your doctor first to decide if hiking is right for you.
If you’re new to hiking though then it’s crucial that you do your research. Wear proper footwear, make sure you have enough water and food, keep your phone charged and don’t overdo it. Get recommendations from other hikers for good routes for beginners and make sure that you are confident of how you can get back to your car afterwards. Walkingroutes.co.uk and the National Trust offer lists of hundreds of different walking routes across the UK to explore. So, what are you waiting for?!
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