Hiking to Lose Weight: Is it a Good Option?

In a nutshell, hiking to lose weight is healthy for your body. Hiking is a low-intensity activity and has a low impact on the body. This means you can typically do it for an extended period, for example, more than hours compared to staying in the gym. Hiking, yoga, swimming, and trail running are low-intensity activities that help burn fat. Since your body needs oxygen to turn fat into energy, you can get more energy through hiking.

How to use Hiking to Lose weight

Hiking has always remained one of the ways to lose weight regardless of age. You will burn calories and also have the opportunity to enjoy the natural environment while hiking. These are some proven ways to lose weight with hiking:

Choose Trails With Elevation Gain

If you are just hiking for fun, you can follow the normal trail. However, if your goal is to lose weight, hiking uphill is a form of cardio that will build your strength. Trying some uphill sections while hiking will help get your blood pumping and burn some calories along the way.

Choose Rugged Terrain

You can burn calories and build strength by running on rocks and roots and climbing over boulders. These activities are distinct from those that people perform daily. Your body’s various muscular groups are worked on. You’ll increase your blood flow, build up your muscles, and aid in calorie burning.

Add Pushups

Hiking is a low-impact exercise; pushups can be added to make it a total-body workout. According to some experts, integrating pushups into hiking makes your upper body and core active, while your lower can rest. In addition, since you’re using more muscles on the route, you’ll burn more calories overall, even while your legs are on break.

Try a Short Sprint

On the trail, occasionally sprint for a short distance. But avoid tripping over rocks, roots, leaves, and other debris.

Hike Longer

Quick hikes are good, but you need more time to burn fat effectively. There is no denying that long hikers tend to burn a ton of calories, especially on longer hikes. This is because long hikes keep you active for a large portion of the day and burn off significantly more calories than you take in.

Conclusion

While engaging in these activities, it is important that you don’t listen to your body. Hiking is helpful as it will help you enjoy the natural environment while staying active. However, to use it as a way to lose weight, you need to go the extra mile to burn more calories.