Alternative to the Gym Exercise Routine

Exercising in a gym - BORING

Exercising in the backcountry - EXHILIRATING

Consider this comparison:

                   GYM                                            BACKCOUNTRY

Overcrowded parking lots                               No lines telling you where to park
Spandex tights and fancy garb                         Comfy convertible pants and wicking tee
Pull those heavy doors open                            No doors - Start hiking
Show ID, Club Card, or Pass                          No ID needed - Start hiking
Start at a less favorite station                            No apparatus - Start hiking
           because
all the treadmills are in use                                 No treadmills - Start hiking                             

That said...Around every bend in trail is a different landscape.  All the sweet smelling fresh air your lungs can handle is at your disposal.  Continuous decision-making, i.e., where to step, where to plant poles, how to negotiate the rock formations ahead, all things to make and help strengthen connections in ones brain.

Look up, see this,then tell me you should be at the gym.

Outdoor exercise can burn up to 20 percent more calories than indoor exercise. Why?  Because the body must continually fight to stay stable on uneven terrain and maintain its temperature in all kinds of weather.

Chances are you will get a harder workout in nature because your focus is on the effort, not the screen up on the wall or the LED display on your apparatus.

This versus the treadmill...what are you gonna do?

One study found that outdoor exercise cuts heart disease by boosting levels of vitamin D.

Hiking is a low impact exercise. So it's good for those of us with arthritus. Hiking strengthens lower leg and thigh muscles.  Using poles takes pressure off knee joints.  Plus swinging the arms when using poles provides a virtual full body workout.

Movements associated with hiking help to dilate the arteries, reducing blood pressure taking stress off the heart.  HDL (good cholesterol) levels are increased when hiking.  Plus, when you increase your pace on trail you get an aerobic workout to help tone your heart.

Therapy...I don't need therapy you say.  Well, there is something therapeutic about being outdoors in nature.  Hiking on a sunny day gives you an extra dose of vitamin D.

Gym, what gym, I don't belong to a gym.

So if your gym workout routine seems monotonous, and a bit pricey, choose a different path.  Call a friend, GO HIKING.

Sources: Men's Journal; Healthmad.com/fitness

Watch for the next installment on exercise for those over 50 on this blog.