With today’s current “craze” for exercise and keeping physically fit, taking off excess pounds and inches as well as looking and feeling good is what Americans crave.
One of the ways of gaining control of your health as well as communing with the beauty of nature is to “go take a hike” somewhere.
Does the slower pace of hiking result in the same healthful body conditioning as running, jogging, or working out in the local gym or YMCA?
It’s been pointed out by doctors and exercise authorities that one’s physical conditioning program is not determined solely by how hard you work your body at something but the length of time you can sustain the pace or intensity of that exercise workout. For example, hiking on a flat trail may not force your heart to pump as fast as jogging, running, or jumping, but it will require your circulatory system to work at an increased rate for a longer period of time.
Hiking also allows you the opportunity to stop along the way – smell the roses, as they say- and perhaps enjoy some refreshments and the accompanying beautiful scenery with your hiking party.
Lastly, this enjoyable experience can also be turned into an educational event with family members in identifying various types of trees, shrubs, flowers, wildlife, rock formations etc.
So, try some of the suggested hiking trails in this publication and see for yourself how enjoyable and rewarding hiking can really be.
Before you attempt any hikes, however, you may want to get an okay from your family physician. Just to be sure!
