Your body can take a hike at pretty much any age, this article says, provided you follow some commonsense advice: If you have exercised or participated in sports throughout your previous decades, talk with your doctor and be sure you…
Fitness
Health, fitness and first aid for hikes, camping, backpacking and other outdoor activities.
Top 100 Health and Wellness blogs
by tmangan • November 6, 2007 • 1 Comment
Lots o’ stuff on losing weight and chasing off the fat, but our little just-walking-upright corner of the world rates 9: (source: Nursing Online Education Database). Walking & Hiking One of the best exercises in the world is walking. Although…
Hiking for mental health
by tmangan • August 10, 2007 • 2 Comments
Walking releases chemicals that improve mood and reduce anxiety — yeah, we know that. Some poking around online this morning led me to this story mentioning a local psychologist who pioneered the practice of getting counseling off the couch and…
Hyponatremia: Losing your water balance
by tmangan • July 13, 2007 • 11 Comments
Cynthia Leeder sent me this link yesterday: A description of “hyponatremia,” which happens when the body has too much water and not enough salt. An excerpt: Ultra endurance events including marathons, triathlons and even the popular “eco-challenges” are seeing an…
Top 10 reasons to hike for fitness
by tmangan • June 27, 2007 • 1 Comment
1) The farther you walk, the more beers you can justify. 2) Walking the same way six times because you’re lost counts as reps. 3) No fear of falling off the treadmill. 4) No need to towel off the equipment.…
Morning walks update
by tmangan • June 11, 2007 • 1 Comment
Since I ragged against speed hiking last week I feel compelled to confess I’ve been some racing the clock myself of late. Not in our Sacred Cathedral of the Backcountry, mind you, but still: it’s walking (somewhat) fast and is…
Speed hiking: here we go again
by tmangan • June 8, 2007 • 9 Comments
The New York Times declares “speed hiking” a new sport. The latest dirt: The first speed-hiking race, to be held on Aug. 11, is perhaps the best indication that the sport is taking off. Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vt., will…
Another hiking weight-loss success story
by tmangan • May 30, 2007 • 3 Comments
Fresno Bee’s outdoors writer profiles a hiker who lost 70 pounds. Each time we met, I learned more about her. How Ordway grew up in rural Tennessee. How she moved to Fresno and ballooned in weight. How she lost nearly…
Where I’m walking these days
by tmangan • May 24, 2007 • 0 Comments
The place were we live now has this huge open green space with a nice little soft jogging track next to the sidewalk. A full walk around it is about a half-mile. I figure I might just as well take…