Get more enjoyment out of your hiking
One of the major objectives of hiking is recreation, which means going out and doing something for the enjoyment of it. That enjoyment has to be enhanced if you are not slogging to keep up, if your body is not aching with every step, if your knees or ankles are not creaking in protest. A fit hiker sees and experiences so much more, because he or she is enjoying the experience rather than experiencing the pain.
Reduce the chance of injury
A tired hiker picks up injuries a lot easier—especially when hiking downhill. When fatigued muscles can no longer prevent that thud as you put down your feet, the probability of twisted ankles and knees, sore backs and disjointed hips increases enormously. A tired hiker is also more likely to stumble and get hurt.
Improve your balance ability
Hikers require a sense of balance, especially when boulder hopping, going down steep inclines, climbing cliffs and ladders and crossing rivers and bridges. A fit hiker has better muscle tone is more supple, and this has been proven to increase their ability and sense of balance.
Enhance your ability to handle the environment
It hardly needs explaining that, the fitter you are, the less chance you have of suffering from either heat exhaustion or from cold exposure. Even conditions like altitude sickness, sunburn and frost bite seem to afflict the unfit and unprepared a lot worse than the fit hiker.
Improve your recovery rate
Ever stopped for a lunch break on a hike and not been able to get going afterwards? Ever woken up on day two or three of a multi-day trek and wondered how you were ever going to get hiking again? One of the great advantages of improved fitness is a rapid recovery rate; this means that you shake off the tiredness much quicker, suffer less from stiffness and have a better ability to rid your body of toxin by-products of exercise.
Keep your weight in check
The heavier you are, the harder your skeleton-muscular structure must work to get you up and down the hills. This is compounded enormously if you are overweight. Regular workouts will help you control your weight. |
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