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Hiking Will Keep You In Shape
If
you’re planning on spending a lot of time on the
trail, one of the best things you can do for
yourself is to get a hiking staff. Now, this
doesn’t mean that piece of pulpy pine tree that
you hacked off near the trailhead and shaved
down. Though that walking stick may make you
feel like a member of the Lewis & Clark
expedition, it’s not going to make your hike
easier or more comfortable; in fact, it’ll
probably do you more harm than good, and you’ll
end up ditching it by the second or third mile
anyway. A number of manufacturers make
high-quality aluminium hiking staffs, most of
which resemble downhill ski poles without the
basket at the bottom. These hiking staffs are
usually either collapsible, extendable, or both,
and can make your hike much easier and more
comfortable.
A
hiking staff’s primary purpose is to provide
stability for your body during your hike. Dual
hiking staffs, though they may look like you’re
trying to ski your way down the trail, are
actually even better than a single hiking staff.
Since they provide much more stability than
walking without a staff at all, dual hiking
staffs can actually take up to 30% of your
weight off of your knees. Since your knees and
ankles don’t have to work as hard to keep you
balanced when you’re using a hiking staff or
two, those using staffs will be less prone to
knee or ankle injury and stress. This can make a
big difference at the end of a long day or at
the end of a string of long days. When others
are complaining about sore knees or ankles you
can stay fresh if you protect these important
joints.
When I was hiking in New
Zealand I was reminded a number of times that
river crossings are the number one cause of
death in the New Zealand backcountry. Though
often times these deaths were due to
inexperienced parties attempting to cross
flooded rivers, other deaths occurred where
people were crossing rivers that should have
been safe to cross when they lost their footing
and feel into the water, later dying of drowning
or hypothermia. Hiking staffs are a huge boon to
river and stream crossings, providing a large
amount of added security while your legs are
shaking from the cold and trying to find
purchase on slippery underwater rocks. I didn’t
have a hiking staff when I started out, and I
ended up borrowing my friend’s staff anytime we
had to cross a river.
Always Make
Sure You Have Good Quality Boots
Your hiking
boots, more than any other piece of your hiking
equipment, can make or break a hiking trip.
Think about it; if your stove breaks you can
always build a fire and cook over open flames.
If your tent leaks you can patch it or build a
shelter, or if there’s enough room you can just
move to another part of your tent. If your
jacket tears you can put on another layer to
stay warm. However, if your hiking boots are
uncomfortable every single mile on the trail
will be agony, especially if you plan on hiking
for a few days in a row.
If
you’re out to find a new pair of hiking boots
there are a lot of choices out there. However,
if you’re looking for a standard multi-day hiker
you’re in pretty good hands, as this is where
most of the hiking boot market is targeted.
Sure, there are some low-topped day hiking boots
and some huge, overbuilt expedition boots, but
what you’re looking for is a high-topped boot
that will give you lots of ankle support over a
lot of miles. Pay attention to the construction
and stitching, as a good pair of hiking boots
should last you for years before wearing out,
and even then most soles can be replaced, at
least on quality boots. Many hikers like
waterproof boots lined with Gore-Tex or a
similar material, though most of these boots
still won’t keep your feet bone-dry if you’re
wading through water during a stream or river
crossing. Also, the lined boots may keep your
feet a little warmer, though if they do get
soaked in a river crossing they’ll take longer
to dry out than unlined boots.
A boot’s features are only secondary to how your
hiking boots fit your feet. Don’t just try on a
new pair of boots, stand up, walk around the
room once, and declare them good to go. Keep
them on for a half hour or so, and try walking
around the outdoor store with a loaded pack on
your back to test how the boots feel under
weight. Pay attention to any hot spots that
develop on your feet and how your arches feel
when you step forward. Try this with a few
different boots to see how they match up to each
other and never, ever buy a pair of hiking boots
without trying them out first.
Finally, before you head off on that big hike,
be sure to break in your boots first. When new,
hiking boots can be stiff and will be hard on
your feet in the first few days; wear them
around the house to avoid having sore feet once
you hit the trail.
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home exercise equipment.
All About Space Efficient Home Gyms
As the lifestyle of people changes, more and more
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First of all set certain realistic
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There's Always Tomorrow
Never
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Treadmills are an essential part of any gym
Treadmills are an essential part of
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5 Power tips to losing weight successfully
Visualization is a very good way
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Body Sculpting Workouts
A medical history and physical
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Everything You've Been Told About Exercise Might be Wrong
Ok, you've probably heard by now
exercise is good for you. I'm
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Disclaimer
This
site is not responsible for the viewpoints expressed or advice given
on this page for the articles, links and advertisements.
The
sole purpose of this site is purely informative and entertainment.
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Title:
Inexpensive Ways To Exercise For
Weight Loss!
Author: Ray Kelly
Article:
Perhaps you're a
student, trying to make it on a
student budget. Or, you're a
stay-at-home mother with little cash
to spare. Or you're just getting
started in your career and you don't
have much in the way of disposable
income. No matter what your
situation, know that there are
inexpensive ways to exercise for
weight loss.
To begin with, one of the most
cost-effective ways to exercise is
simply by walking. It requires no
special equipment--other than a good
pair of athletic shoes. You can do
it virtually anywhere--in a park, on
a hiking trail, or around your
neighborhood. Walking is also one of
the best methods of cardiovascular
exercise around. If you're able to
increase your pace from
three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half
miles an hour, you can expend 50
percent more calories. That means
that, in a half hour of walking, you
could burn more than 200 extra
calories.
Another low-cost way
to exercise is to work out with an
exercise videotape or DVD. These
tapes and DVDs can cost less than
$20, but they can provide you with a
year's worth of exercise routines.
Assuming you already have a VCR or
DVD player, you won't have to invest
in any expensive equipment. You
can also do the exercises in the
privacy of your own home, so you
don't have to worry about how you're
dressed. Also, a number of
television stations run exercise
programs--the only money that's
required is paying your monthly
cable bill, an expense you might
already have. Yet another way to
exercise without putting out a great
deal of money is to ride a bicycle.
While you will have to invest in a
bike, you might be able to pick one
up at a low price by buying
second-hand through a newspaper ad
or through a used bike shop. Once
you've bought your bike, you won't
have to invest any additional money
in your exercise routine.
A number of magazines offer regular
exercise features. These can be
quite good and may even offer
full-body workouts. By investing a
mere $3.00 in a magazine, you might
be able to find a fitness routine
that you can use the entire year
through. If you want to be really
frugal, you can simply check out a
fitness
magazine from your local library and
Xerox the exercise pages for future
use. One no-cost way to exercise is
to dance. You don't even need
any training--you can simply get up
out of your seat and begin to move.
Turn on a radio station with dance
music and let yourself go. You might
also consider checking out dance CDs
and audiocassette tapes from your
neighborhood library.
You can also pick up free exercise
tips from the Internet. You'll find
that many exercise experts offer
their own websites which are filled
with valuable information. Your
doctor can also help you in
developing an exercise routine
that's right for you. As you can
see, it doesn't take a great deal of
cash in order
to exercise. And physicians say
that, with regular exercise, you
should be able to lose weight. By
investing just a little bit of money
up front, you can achieve as good a
workout as you would be able to get
at an expensive gym.
About the
author:
Ray Kelly is
an Exercise
Scientist
with 15
years
experience
in the
health and
fitness
industry.
Sign up for
his Free
Exercise and
Meal Planner
at
The Biggest
Loser or
http://www.free-online-health.com
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Title: Big
Strides, or Fast, Little Steps?
Author: Marek
Zalewski
Article:
Those interested in Nordic walking,
or for that matter just
walking as fast as possible,
endlessly debate whether it can be
done faster, by taking long - almost
at maximum extension -
steps, or faster, shorter ones.
Aristotle has said a long time ago,
that: "The person who walks
with short and slow steps is a
person who starts his business
sluggishly and does not pursue a
goal".
I do not necessarily agree with the
famous philosopher, mainly
because it does seem to me that
taking shorter, faster steps is
not only, well...faster, but there's
also less of a danger of
injuring oneself, by overstretching
the stride.
I can only assume that Aristotle was
not too concerned about the
actual speed of walking, but rather
with one's personality. He
also talks about "slow" steps and
that's not what we are
interested in here.
About a year ago, trying to catch up
with a woman, who passed me
on the trail around Burke Lake,
Virginia appeared to be totally
impossible. Very quickly I realized
that my super-long steps
simply were not the way to win
races.
She did admit (probably to make me
feel better, as she was
passing me) that she used to be on
the U.S. race walking Olympic
team...
Anyway, after struggling for about
half a mile and at the same
time seeing the woman steadily
pulling further and further ahead
of me, taking very fast, but
relatively short (by the standard
of my longer legs) steps, I decided
to try to emulate her
technique.
It didn't come naturally,
particularly in view of the fact
that
I had to exponentially increase not
only the cadence of my legs,
but also of my arms and Nordic
walking poles, but lo and behold!
I did start to slowly gain on her!
Was not able to catch her before the
end of the lake circuit,
but the slightly shorter, but much
faster steps almost brought
me within striking distance!
I suppose that the optimal
combination would be achieved by
taking long and very fast steps.
Unfortunately, most of us are
limited to a certain effort and in
order to maintain a very fast
cadence, the stride has to be
shortened at least to a certain
degree.
Most of the time, when I do not try
to race someone, or attempt
to beat a personal best time, I
usually Nordic walk with my
longer, slower steps, which seem
more natural than a really fast
tempo. When doing that, I usually am
able to push harder with
the arms. There is simply more time
to do so.
Shortening the step by 5, to 10 cm
(2-4 inches) will not affect
the distance walked nearly as much,
as increasing the frequency
of the steps from 90-92 steps per
minute (my long step average),
to 130 + steps per minute (again-my
average).
Losing let's say, three inches out
of every stride would
translate into 180 inches, or 15
feet (about 5 meters) per
minute, or only 300 meters (900
feet) per hour. On the other
hand...considering that my steps are
around 1 meter-long (3.3
feet), the 40-step per minute
increase translates into 40 extra
meters for every minute, or 2,400
meters (1.5 miles) additional
distance covered every hour!
Do the math yourself, substituting
your figures for mine.
Once again, regardless of the tempo,
cadence, stride length,
proper form should be maintained. If
you cannot maintain the
form, try slowing down the pace, to
the point where both speed
and form can happily co-exist.
Faster cadence might be easier to
manage with slightly shorter
poles. I haven't been doing it, but
you are all welcome to try,
if your regular size becomes too
cumbersome at 130+ strides per
minute.
On the other hand, if you are
looking for a better upper body
workout, slightly longer poles might
help. Once again, all I do
is simply concentrate on pushing
harder and/or doing some hill
climbs, but using longer, or
adjustable poles may be a very good
idea here.
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About the
author:
I am the editor, owner of Nordic
Walking US
http://www.nordicwalkingus.com/
Am an active hiker (did the
Appalachian Trail from south to
north in 1973), cross-country
and alpine skier. Have been kayaking
(both sea and whitewater).
In general love the outdoors and
some time ago have found that
Nordic walking is a great way not
only to spend some quality
time in picturesque places, but also
a super way to get in shape
and to lose weight.
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