Modern Body Xperiment

The Beginner’s Guide to Hiking for Health and Inner Calm

• Dan and Jenni

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This episode takes you through the winding paths of health and heartiness that hiking offers, from the cardiovascular benefits that keep heart disease at bay to the mental clarity that comes from disconnecting from the digital noise. We'll share how to start your hiking adventure, the boots that have become our trusty companions, and the zone two training that has become our go to weekend exercise for a sustainable fitness regimen. 

Join us as we discuss the practicalities of starting your own hiking journey, where even a newcomer can find solace and strength in the embrace of the wild. We don't just talk about the physical steps taken, but also the mental leaps achieved as you take on ever increasingly difficult and rewarding trails. Find out why we swear by the AllTrails app, and how even the simple act of staying hydrated transforms your outdoor experience. It's not just about the distance you cover, but also the peace you uncover along each step of your hiking endeavors.

Jenni:

Welcome to the Will of Wellness podcast.

Dan:

Where we embark on a transformative journey through the intricate facets of health and well-being.

Jenni:

Join us as we explore the interconnected spokes of the wellness wheel, delving into physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental health.

Dan:

Our experiences and insightful discussions will help empower you to achieve balance and harmony in your life, guiding you towards a healthier, happier you.

Jenni:

Get ready to spin the wheel and uncover the secrets of a fulfilling and well-rounded life.

Dan:

Hey guys, welcome to the Wheel of Wellness podcast. My name is Dan and I'm Jenny. On this podcast we go over things that are going to help your health. It's going to help your emotional wellness. The different aspects of the wheel of wellness. One of the things that is very important to us is our health, our physical health. Today, we're going to be going over a guide to hiking for health, a beginner's guide? Yes, it is, and that's what you could call us beginners.

Jenni:

Yeah, I would say so.

Dan:

Yep, what we're going to be doing is talking about the fitness tips that you would need and maybe a couple of equipment suggestions. I know that today we went on a glorious hike. It was in January and the temperature was balmy.

Jenni:

Yeah, a whole seven degrees it was seven, but it was fun. It was awful. Just so you guys know, this is Dan's favorite time of year. Me, I want 80, 90 degree weather. Son, I am a summer girl, he is a winter guy.

Dan:

I appreciate winter. It is an amazing time of the year. I just absolutely love it. I love the cold weather.

Jenni:

Yeah, we can agree to disagree.

Dan:

But anyways, let's go ahead and talk a little bit about hiking. Hiking is a fantastic way to improve your physical and mental well-being while enjoying the great outdoors. Whether you're looking to shed a few pounds, reduce your stress or simply lead a healthier lifestyle, hiking can be a fulfilling and accessible activity for people of all fitness levels. In this podcast, we're going to explore the benefits of hiking for health and we're going to go ahead and give you a couple fitness tips and equipment suggestions to get started on your journey to a healthier you.

Jenni:

Yeah, and the reason we chose hiking is because we do a hike just about every weekend. I know with the winter weather it's been a little sparse for us, mostly on me because I don't like to be out in the cold. But he bought me some awesome boots, so today for Christmas he got me those, so for today we went out and they actually worked great.

Dan:

I'm very happy you enjoyed the boots. I'm glad that they were able to help you enjoy and actually engage in the hike today. One thing is in these type conditions whether it's rainy, especially in like today when it was really cold something you don't like. It's like an ice bath. It's something that you or kind of dreading, but you're going to go ahead and subject yourself to it. It's going to build resilience. So I appreciate that and I respect that for you.

Jenni:

Yeah, so the first thing here as far as benefits of hiking for your health, we're going to talk about cardiovascular fitness. Hiking is an excellent way to improve your cardiovascular health. It gets your heart rate up, increasing blood flow, strengthening your heart and lungs and, over time, this can reduce the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular issues.

Dan:

In hiking you're going to be in what's what's commonly referred to as zone two training, and zone two training focuses on working out on a load of moderate intensity level based on your individual rate of perceived exertion, rpe. Everyone is different. The best gauge to understand if you're in the proper zone is to measure 60 to 70 percent of your max heart rate. Training in this zone makes oxygen the primary driver of energy production, in turn increasing aerobic capacity. Whether you're interested in optimizing your exercise performance, if you're interested in improving your body composition, if you're interested in avoiding injury and over training, or improving longevity and preventing disease, zone two heart rate training deserves your attention.

Jenni:

I do zone two actually quite a lot because our functional medicine doctor recommends for me specifically and most people. If you go into it doing cardio every single day and you're pushing your limits, your body gets stressed out and therefore you can install your improvements on your fat. If you're trying to lose weight, so it does help your heart, but it doesn't always help you if you're doing it every single day, so in your susceptible to injuries as well. So zone two is actually fat burning, which actually you can get a lot more out of it.

Dan:

You get multiple benefits from it. You know, and during this type of training, during the zone two training, the body has enough time to synthesize sufficient amounts of energy to keep up the given level of effort that muscles are demanding without inducing too much fatigue. Defining the zone like we talked about by heart rate is difficult, given it's highly individual, but a rough estimate is 60 to 75 percent of your max heart rate, or five to six out of the 10 effort in the rate of perceived exertion.

Jenni:

Also with hiking. Mental well-being is a factor here, so spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and boost your mood. It also enhances mental clarity. Hiking allows you to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and connect you with nature, which to me, this is huge. For me, it is amazing. I love being out in nature.

Dan:

You can just forget about having yourself on your phone, you forget about all the emails you have. You can forget about a lot of things. You can focus on God's creation and being there and being self-aware of yourself and, like I said, with Jenny, we go together, we have a great time and we're able to build our relationship with that.

Jenni:

And it does, you know, hiking in God's nature, right, it opens every sense. So your smell, your sight, feel just opens all your senses, hearing, and it just kind of elevates that.

Dan:

And because you're being physical, it almost hythens your senses and awareness. So it's amazing Hiking can also play a role in weight management. Hiking can burn a significant amount of calories, making an effective activity for weight management and improving overall body composition. The uneven terrain and bearing ability elevations engage multiple muscle groups. It helps you build lean muscle and burn fat.

Jenni:

And I will tell you, we live in an area that has a whole lot of different trails and terrain and there is a lot of elevation, and I think we've we've done many different types of elevation, one, including the, almost killed us over the summer. Yeah, that was a fun one.

Dan:

Yeah, and the thing is with this, with weight management, you're able to put time into it. Now we've both ran and, you know, done the 5k thing to where you're done in 30, 40 minutes and then that's it. But we've also been on hikes that been three hours to where we've been burning, burning that fat and burning those calories for three hours. So that helps with weight management as well.

Jenni:

Yeah, and you want to start slow. So if you're new to hiking, begin with shorter and less challenging trails. We have an app all trails app that actually tells you about the trail and also tells you the intensity of it, and the elevation actually gradually increase the difficulty as your fitness level improves.

Dan:

The all trails app is amazing. It gives you a map view, it gives you the difficulty view, it gives you the links of view. It gives you reviews from people that have been there None of we put a couple reviews out there so you can check those out and pictures, yeah it's awesome when you are out there hiking.

Dan:

A good tip for you is to have the proper footwear. Okay, you want to invest in a good pair of hiking boots or shoes. It's going to provide ankle support. It's going to provide foot support and comfort. They'll help prevent blisters and it'll provide grip on even uneven terrain. I know me, I use the ultra lone peak trail runner. They say that backpackers love this shoe and that would be an understatement. They're really obsessed with it. It's consistently voted the most popular shoe for through hikers on the Appalachian Trail. An awesome shoe. Everybody that gets into long term hiking. They've used it. Some people like it, some people don't like it, but still the majority of people do. And also, the Colorado Mountain Club was surveyed they're members about the best hiking boot and the clear winner was the ultra lone peak.

Jenni:

These are wonderful, and even for hiking these are great, but also even every day wear running. They have different lines of shoes, different ways. You can utilize them, whether it's hiking, running, walking, whatever the case may be. These have a more natural toe box.

Dan:

Yeah, they have a large toe box and it allows your foot to be able to function the way a foot is supposed to function. It doesn't scrunch your toes up in the toe of it when you're running or doing things and you land your foot. It doesn't drive your foot into a point at the end of it. And the ultras, they have many different lines. They have street shoes, they have trail shoes. They have very minimal cushion. They have zero drop.

Jenni:

They have thick super cushion for those with you know arches that they need some more padding there.

Dan:

So ultra shoes highly recommend.

Jenni:

Yes, absolutely so. Hydration is also a huge factor when we're out hiking, so we want to stay well hydrated by carrying a reusable water bottle. Dehydration can lead to fatigue and decreased performance.

Dan:

You do not want to be dehydrated, and even in the cold weather you have to pay attention to it. This one thing I love to pre hydrate. I love to hydrate while we're on the trail and I love to make sure that when we're done, then I'm also hydrating at the end of it as well.

Jenni:

Yeah, I need to do a better job of hydrating.

Dan:

You do, you struggle with that I really do. Another thing that you might be able to use is trekking poles. Trekking poles can aid in balance. It reduces strain on your knees and it helps you navigate tricky terrain more comfortably until you can become more comfortable with it. Even if you're more comfortable with the train, it can also help you. It can help you be safer on the trails.

Jenni:

These are good in bad weather too, so if you're out and it's rainy out and you get slippery leaves and stuff, so these actually help you with your traction. And also, you know, like today, out in the snow, we did an easier trail because I was not about it really, so we did one that was pretty flat, but typically if you're on, most of the trails that are around us are not flat.

Dan:

No, not at all.

Jenni:

And those in this type of snow, which we have, about three to four inches on the ground, it typically can get quite dangerous and you have a different quality of trails.

Dan:

You have improved trails, you have improved trails and it's just on the unimproved trails. You have to be prepared for things. You know, you're going to come across a place where you might have to scooch down on your butt because you have to drop down three feet or you have to have to go up on a three feet boulder to be able to keep continuing, and these type of trekking poles is going to be able to help.

Jenni:

Yeah, and with that you want a backpack.

Dan:

So choose a small backpack to carry your essentials comfortably, because you don't want it something bulky and heavy, because that's just going to tear up your back especially if you're doing a day trip or a two, three hour hiking thing, you know you want to be able to carry the things that are going to be able to be effective for you and during that time period it's all event oriented. So, with it being event oriented, your clothing extremely important today.

Jenni:

it was kind of cold, a lot cold. It was a little cold it was chilly. There might have been a chilly, you've got to be kidding. No, it was freezing.

Dan:

It was seven degrees, you know why it wasn't that cold for me.

Jenni:

Layers.

Dan:

Dressed in layers that were suitable for the season.

Jenni:

Look, I look like the abominable snowman walking out of the house. Today I had probably four to five layers of just about everything on, because I just don't do cold Well you could see the, the slit in your eyes, and you really couldn't see that.

Dan:

You can only see that when you took your sunglasses off.

Jenni:

Yeah, we did have to have sunglasses today because fortunately the sun did come out, which looked beautiful on the snow. It was nice and glittery and pretty, but that white snow can really be hard on your eyes with the sun.

Dan:

And that's very true With the clothing you want to pick. There's just so much technologically advanced clothing. Make sure you get moisture wicking materials that are excellent for staying dry. It's able to remove the moisture from your skin and either put it out into the atmosphere or put it out into your outer layer of clothes to be able to help you stay in the correct body temperature.

Jenni:

And highly recommend wool socks.

Dan:

Merino wool socks or the best. Oh yeah, amazing.

Jenni:

REI carries one by the way.

Dan:

Yes, REI is a great place to go for all of these type things.

Jenni:

So, navigation tools you want to consider a map or compass or a GPS device to ensure that you don't get lost. Now, this could be a little challenging in some areas because of you don't have any connection, right.

Dan:

Yeah, and I'll go back to the All Trails app, because with All Trails app you can download the trail for navigation, so you can actually say, hey, listen, I want to go do this trail. And then you download it, you can get directions to the trail and once you're there and you don't have any satellite connection or anything like that the trail is already downloaded on your app and you're able to follow yourself on that.

Jenni:

Yeah, don't do like us. But one time we went out looking for a trail that we saw on the All Trails app that we wanted to do, but we didn't quite download the map and then we ended up not ever finding it. So it's just a bad, bad experience all around. So make sure you download that before you actually go.

Dan:

So download the trail, the trail map yeah, because you can go back to the title of this for beginners. That was a real beginner mistake there, yeah it was.

Dan:

Those are some very important things you can have and, once again, it's a very event oriented. The one hike that you're doing today was a small hike. It was only a mile but we still had water and you can carry a refillable water bottle and energy boosting snacks like nuts or granola bars things that's gonna be able to help you keep going on the trail and sustain the energy that you need to be able to complete the trail that you picked out.

Jenni:

And sun protection, especially in the summer and pretty much all year round, but today we didn't really put sunscreen on, but we probably could have because the sun didn't come out. But don't forget your sunglasses that's something that we definitely needed today and a wide brimmed hat, which we both have, which are great especially in the summertime and to protect against, like the sun rays and if you're getting sweat in your eyes, it you know all of those things. It kind of helps.

Dan:

It's great to be in the sun and be exposed and get your vitamin D and everything. One thing that's not great is to find any type of mold that's growing weird or any type of spot in your skin that you got to get the dermatologist and next thing you know you're dealing with the whole thing. So that's why you want to pay really, really reinforce sunscreen and a hat and sunglasses.

Jenni:

And a first aid kit, that's huge First aid kit is imperative.

Dan:

I know for me personally. I have some allergies. I have an allergy to bee stings, so we make sure that we have a happy thing and where we go.

Jenni:

Yep. So hiking for your health is rewarding and it's a susceptible way to improve your physical fitness as well as your wellbeing and your mental status. We just did one on emotional wellbeing and this actually can help you.

Dan:

It definitely can. For me, it's a great place. It's you think it's like a hospital. Really, it's a hospital for my wellness because I go out in nature and I'm able to go ahead and do my self-awareness. I'm able to go ahead and self-assess myself and see where I'm at emotionally. It helps me physically, everything. It's just. It's an amazing place to be for me.

Jenni:

Yeah, I don't know if I would say it's a hospital, but it definitely is good for your soul. It's a cleansing for your soul.

Dan:

Yeah, I'd say it's kind of like a clinic. It's where I go to get. I get better. Yes In that sense, like I said, maybe not an hospital, but I go there and I get better.

Jenni:

And whether you're a beginner or have some experience, the key is to start slowly. You want to choose the right equipment. You want to stay safe on the trail. With the right approach and a sense of adventure, hiking can become a long life pursuit. It can become one of your greatest hobbies, so helping you achieve your fitness goals while immersing yourself in the beauty of the great outdoors. So lace up those hiking boots and hit the trail to embark on your journey to a better health.

Dan:

Got there engaged. Go ahead out there. Adventure awaits you, my friend.

Jenni:

Yeah.

Dan:

Highly recommended. Hey guys, once again you can check out the show notes. You can go ahead and go to our website, wwwwheelofwellnesspodcastcom. We'll see a blog post about this. Got that in there. Our Instagram is going to have something on it, or also our Facebook will have something on it. Go ahead and check it out and if you do go out on some hikes, go ahead and let us know about it. I'd love to hear from you.

Jenni:

Yeah, we love to hear the different hikes that people go on. And don't forget, rri is a great place to get some basic stuff.

Dan:

Like altru shoes, blown peaks or sorrel boots, those are the greatest. Yes, excellent, hey, ok guys, we appreciate your time. You guys have a great day and we can't wait to talk to you again.