Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Love

I have many loves, God, my husband, my best-friend, family, food, fitness, and hiking. I cannot think of any better way to enjoy a warm Saturday / Sunday afternoon then grabbing some food and hiking up some trails. Hiking is fantastic because your really using your legs. Its a fantastic work out and is actually considered one of the best exercises in toning your legs....and trust me I need it, lol!

The benefits of hiking seem endless. For women, hiking can actually help prevent osteoporosis. This is accomplished because while we hike we work against the force of gravity, which in return helps increase our bone density and can actually slow down any calcium loss. Therefore, our bones can become stronger and are then less likely to break. Hiking also can improve our balance.

Our balance is improved through walking the different terrains. You never know when your going to encounter a hill, rocky areas, stream crossings or other different terrains, therefore you will actually begin to develop better balance and coordination.

Hiking can also help prevent heart, lower your cholesterol, and decrease hypertension by dilating your blood vessels. There are so many health benefits to hiking, but scenery is also remarkable and cannot go unnoticed.

There is nothing better then walking in the middle of a forest and having nothing but nature around you. I love hearing the birds sing, the leaves blowing in the wind, the sun rays shining through the trees, and the warmth of the sun. I can easily spend hours and not even notice. It rarely feels like a work out even though I have burned 1000's of calories. Did you know, that a person who weighs 135 lbs carrying their back pack (say containing approx 20lbs) walking at just 3.5mph can burn 1358 calories over the course of 4 hours! 4 hours may seem like a long time to exercise, but when it doesn't feel like exercise...time will just fly on by. Most of my fondest memories are spent hiking with my husband.

1 comment:

  1. As you can probably guess, my husband and I love hiking too, (except it's hard for me to get him to slow down long enough to do so- he loves running and fast biking so much!) Last summer, we went on a hike from Multnomah falls to Larch mountain, (which was steep uphill in one direction, and 16 miles total round trip). I guess that was a sufficient enough walking challenge for him that he agreed to do it. :)

    Hey, I was wondering if you might do a post on what your regular weekly menu looks like? Like, what do you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis, and what would a normal week look like for you? You're very inspirational to me- You look so so beautiful and thin and fit! (I may need to rethink my ways and try something entirely new with my diet)... ;)

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