Master these three outdoor hiking tips to enjoy recreation, fitness, and weight loss all at once
Hiking may seem simple, but even the most basic movements—going uphill and downhill—require technique. Today, our editors at Trailblazer Hikers have gathered some tips to provide you with a scientific, fat-burning hiking method for fitness. Enjoy recreation, fitness, and weight loss all at once!
Head outdoors for a hike and burn fat while enjoying the openness of nature!
Hiking is an aerobic exercise that increases protein in the blood, boosts immunity, and helps expel toxins from the body in a timely manner. While promoting metabolism, it also accelerates fat consumption, making hiking uniquely effective for weight loss and body sculpting.
Warm up before heading uphill
Before you start hiking, remember to warm up. When beginning your hiking workout, do not immediately increase the intensity; you must progress gradually and then slowly increase intensity according to a certain breathing rhythm. This can prevent sudden changes in your breathing rate during the activity. Warm-up exercises should focus on the waist, knees, and ankles, and avoid repeated bouncing motions.
1. Waist: Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, hold one leg with both hands, keep your back straight, and bend your body downward.
2. Knee joint activation: Bend your knees, place both hands on the knee joints, rotate clockwise, then counterclockwise.
3. Ankle joint activation: Stand with your weight on one leg, the other foot’s toes touching the ground, and rotate first clockwise, then counterclockwise.
Hiking intensity
Tests show that hiking burns more fat than many other forms of exercise. For a man weighing about 70 kilograms, hiking uphill at a speed of 2 kilometers per hour on a 70-degree slope for 30 minutes burns approximately 500 kilocalories. This is equivalent to swimming at a speed of 50 meters per minute in a pool for 45 minutes, or doing 50 minutes of tedious abdominal muscle exercises in the gym. To enhance fat-sculpting effects, aim to hike 3–4 times a week.
It’s important to note that higher intensity isn’t always better. Scientifically, hiking intensity should maintain your heart rate between (220 - age) × 60% and (220 - age) × 80% beats per minute. So if you feel discomfort in your heart or excessive fatigue while hiking, stop and check your heart rate.
Relax after descending
After hiking, it’s essential to relax your muscles promptly; otherwise, you may experience soreness in your calves, thighs, or overall body aches. This is because exercise produces by-products—mainly lactic acid—that cause muscle stiffness and soreness. Relaxing your muscles promptly enhances the effect of fat burning and body sculpting. Focus your relaxation on areas prone to soreness (waist, hips, thighs, and calves), using stretching and loosening techniques. Hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds, alternating sides.
1. Sides of the waist: Stand with feet wider than hip width, lean your body to one side, place one hand above and one below along a straight line perpendicular to the ground.
2. Hips: Stand with feet staggered, front knee straight and back knee bent, shift your weight backward, keep your back straight, and form a 30-degree angle with your body.
3. Hamstring muscles: Stand with feet staggered, front knee straight and toes pointed upward, back knee bent, keep your back straight, press downward with your hips as the center, touch your front toes with both hands, and try to bring your chest close to the front of your thighs.
4. Front of the thighs: Stand on one leg, use the same-side hand to hold the ankle of the same leg, pull the heel as close to the buttocks as possible, bend the supporting leg, extend the other arm outward to maintain balance.
5. Calves: Stand with feet staggered, place the front foot on a support point, lift the toes, place the heels on the ground, slightly lift the back foot off the ground, shift your body’s center of gravity forward, and keep your hands balanced.
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