Whether trekking, hiking or Nordic walking – exercise on foot in the great outdoors is “trendy”. For good reason: hiking of any kind has been proven to provide optimal physical, mental and spiritual fitness. As a child, we moved a lot, but going for a walk or even hiking with our parents usually didn’t generate much enthusiasm.
As adults, the longing for movement in the great outdoors reawakens in many of us at some point. In recent years, good old hiking has been rediscovered – and with English terms like “hiking” it has been packaged as old wine in new bottles. As a result, even the younger generation is enthusiastically moving along alpine trails or the Way of St. James, often dressed in cool outfits and professional equipment. But even without a lot of trappings, hiking is healthy and simply does you good from head to toe.
Hiking sports
- Hiking: (mountain) hiking
- Mudflat Hiking Tour: mudflat hiking (which is in fact more of a mudflat walk).
- Hitch-hiking: not a form of hiking, but hitchhiking.
- Trekking: coping with a longer distance with luggage; usually means a tour that extends over several days in mostly rough terrain. Means of transport are not necessarily the feet, but can also be, for example, bicycle, ski or canoe. Is sometimes also referred to as Wilderness Backpacking (backpacking through the wilderness).
- Bush Walking: bushwalking; form of trekking on foot.
- Walking: walking; therefore also walking shoes (street shoes) and walking stick (walking stick).
- Walking tour: (moderate) walk
- Nordic Walking: fast walking, supported by two sticks.
Walking can be done anywhere
Purely theoretically, you can hike anywhere and anytime. The big city at night with its canyons of houses, but also green spaces and parks are just as suitable as the mountains of the Alps in the early morning. No one can talk themselves out of not having the opportunity to hike.
Areas with inclines and descents are particularly suitable: regular uphill walking significantly lowers cholesterol levels, and controlled downhill walking breaks down far more sugar in the muscle than normal walking. Of course, there are healthier hiking trails than big city streets. And: nature opens the senses! When you are out and about in the forest, on the moors or in the mountains, you can literally feel your body and soul being cleansed.
Cleaned is apparently also the tongue: a glass of fresh buttermilk, a ham sandwich or simply plain water – during the rest under the open sky you realize that nature tastes and smells good.
Hiking for health
Exercise in the fresh air and in the silence of the forest is the most effective means of freeing ourselves from emotional tension and stress – over time, this calm also returns to us, the head is freed from stressful thoughts and we better perceive the sensory impressions of nature. In addition, regular exercise significantly lowers blood pressure.
Hikes in higher regions often result in feeling fit as a fiddle for days after the tour. One reason for this is that the number of oxygen-transporting red blood cells increases.
