Tagged with 'hiking'

Don't let hunger pangs distract you from the other joys of your hike -- scenery, good conversation with hiking buddies, and a great workout buzz.

Depending on where you live, there may still be time to get in some hiking, and you don’t have to go hard-core to net the many benefits of it. Think of hiking as simply taking a longer walk in nature; you can hike at any pace, at any elevation, and for any number of miles, hours, or even days.

Major bonus: it doesn’t take a lot to get started. Unlike other outdoor sports that are gear heavy and often require travel and lessons, such as rock climbing and waterskiing, the barrier to entry-level hiking is low. You really need only two key items: proper footwear and a day bag. Find a trail near you at Hiking Project (hikingproject.com), which features GPS and elevation data and user-generated tips for almost 14,000 beginner to advanced trails.

#1 reason to take a hike

Your Legs Will Never Look Better

Most hikes involve climbing up a big hill or mountain, then coming back down, a combo that’s a great work-out for your legs. Trekking up a mountain is a lot like climbing the stairclimber or doing lunges over and over, which strengthens your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. But traveling downhill is what really leaves your legs sore, then sculpted. To go downhill, your glutes and quads need to do a lot of slow, controlled work to stabilize your knees and hips so you don’t fall.

#2 reason to take a hike

Every Step Firms Your Core

Navigating tough terrain also requires your abs, obliques, and lower back to work to keep your body stabilized and upright—even more so if you’re carrying a backpack. A heavier bag makes you more unstable, so your core muscles need to work harder. You’ll burn calories regardless (400 to 800 an hour, depending on the trail), but your hiking bag can help you hit the high end of that range.

#3 reason to take a hike

It’s Killer Cross-Training

Whether you’re prepping for a race or you just want to round out your Spinning routine, scheduling some hikes can improve your fitness level in ways that up your running and cycling game. 

Cyclists tend to have strong quads but underdeveloped hamstrings, and runners tend to have weak hamstrings and glutes. Hiking helps strengthen these muscles to eliminate those types of imbalances.

Plus, if you hike regularly at high altitudes (4,000 feet and up), you’ll get used to exercising in a low-oxygen environment, so your body will adapt to using less oxygen, which could lead to improved performance the next time you do a race.

#4 reason to take a hike

It Decreases Risk of Common Injuries

A lot of standard exercise—running, walking, lunging, squatting—moves you forward and backward or up and down. Hiking, on the other hand, forces you to move every which way, as you climb over fallen trees and sidestep slippery rocks. By doing things that require you to move in multiple directions, you strengthen the stabilizing muscles that fire to prevent common injuries.

Think about it: Most everyday injuries occur when people quickly shift from one plane of motion to another, such as when they reach over to pick up a heavy object and pull a back muscle. If you're not used to moving this way, other muscles will try to compensate for weak stabilizers, resulting in poor form and potentially a pull, a pop, a tear, or a break.

#5 reason to take a hike

It’s a Happy Pill

Know that mmm...ah! feeling you get when you see a beautiful waterfall or gaze out from atop a mountain? Research shows such experiences benefit your state of mind. Even five minutes in nature can boost your mood and self-esteem, and because exercise produces endorphins (known as the happiness hormone), actually moving through nature takes the feel-good benefits to a new level. Hiking creates a wonderful combination of less stress and more happiness.

#6 reason to take a hike

It Sure Beats Bonding at the Bar

Working toward a unified goal—like making your way through the woods with others—strengthens relationships and builds bonds. Hiking usually involves solving little problems together ['Uh, did we make a wrong turn?'], which makes you feel more accomplished as a group. I always remember the people I hiked with more than anything else. No hiking buddy? No problem.

Article courtesy of Shape, September 2016

Hiking can be such an exhilarating experience, but if you’re not prepared for the heat, it could end disastrously. More than half our body is made up of water, and if you lose just one percent of that, you can become dehydrated. 

By drinking water, your body’s able to effectively deliver oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles and all other cells. Water also carries away the waste products created by exercising muscles.

What happens when an athlete does not drink enough water?

If you’re hiking and don’t drink enough water or replace the sweat you lost, you will lose concentration, coordination and endurance capacity. Water (sweat) must evaporate off your body to remove the heat generated by your muscles. If you are dehydrated your body must begin using the water content of your blood. This can cause blood volume to get dangerously low in order to produce sweat to protect your body from a high body temperature.

How Much Water Do I Need To Drink?

It’s easy to underestimate how much water you need while hiking. To avoid dehydration, be sure to drink to thirst. Ideally, while hiking on a hot day, drink 4-8 ounces (roughly 4-8 gulps) every 15-20 minutes to delay fatigue. A mouthful of water from your water bottle equals about 1 ounce. To get one cup of liquid, take 8 big swallows. If you pack a few fruits or vegetables to eat on your hike, they’re high in water, which will also help keep you hydrated.

Carbohydrates While Hiking

I strongly recommend packing food to eat, and depending on the duration and intensity of your hike, you may want to bring a carbohydrate and/or electrolyte-containing fluid. I like adding Nuun tablets to my water for extra sodium and potassium. You can also add a little juice to your water for some flavor and potassium. If you need an energy boost, I really like this Vega Workout Energizer Powder. It provides just the right amount of natural stimulant to make you feel good--not shaky.

For hikes lasting longer than one hour, eat 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour. This can be accomplished by eating or drinking, whichever you prefer.  

Sodium in Fluid

Adding sodium to your fluid has three benefits. #1: sodium may help enhance palatability so you drink more; #2: sodium promotes fluid retention in your body so you don’t lose as much fluid through sweating; #3: prevents hyponatremia (low sodium blood levels) caused by drinking excessively large quantities of plain water. 

You’ll Know You're Well Hydrated When:

--Your urine is clear to pale yellow. If your urine is the color of apple juice, drink more water.

--You urinate at least 4 times per day. Start drinking cool water early in the day and at regular intervals during your hike.

Some pre-hike preparation to ensure you have the correct amount of fluids for your hike will allow you to completely enjoy your outing.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Gooods

Hiking or camping on your agenda? It's that time of year! Mapping out your outdoorsy nutrition needs is important. There’s plenty to consider besides simply grabbing an energy bar or a bottle of water. Follow these tips to ensure you have a nourishing and safe food experience on your next outdoor adventure.

1. Have a plan. Your food and water needs are generally higher than usual on activity-based excursions. Pay extra special attention to packing plenty of fluids for hot weather adventures. Some other key considerations before your hiking or camping trip include:

• Length of the trip

• What foods and beverages you’ll carry

• How you’ll eat and drink

• If bringing a cooler is an option

• What food-related tools you’ll need

2. Pack easy-to-carry foods for a hike or a day trip. You can pack perishable foods, such as sandwiches. Just be sure you have a cold source, like an ice pack, to keep these foods properly chilled. The more you stash in a backpack, the harder it is to hike, so opt mainly for non-perishable foods that are relatively lightweight and nutrient dense, such as:

• Trail mix

• Nuts, seeds, nut-based bars or nut butter packs

• Dried or freeze-dried fruits and veggies

• Energy bars, chews or gels

• Granola or granola bars

• Ready-made tuna salad pouches

• Whole-grain tortillas

• Natural or organic poultry, salmon or meat jerky

• Bottled water or sports drink…it’s essential to stay hydrated! Pre-hydrate by drinking at least 4 cups of water before your hike so you’ll have less to carry. Then a good rule-of-thumb is to plan for about 2 cups of fluid for every hour of hiking

3. Pack easy-to-prep foods for camping or a multi-day trip. It’s a little more challenging to pack food for days at a time. The first day you’ll be able to eat perishable foods. But after that, map out your meals so you’ll have what you enjoy and need. If you have a cooler, you’ll have numerous options. Otherwise, include any of these shelf-stable, easily-packed basics to sustain you:

• Easy-to-carry foods mentioned above in item #2

• Ready-to-eat cereal

• Fruit or vegetable puree in squeezable pouches (yes, like baby food!)

• Chunk white chicken pouches

• Individual packets of mayo, mustard, taco sauce and/or soy sauce

• Whole-grain pasta, couscous, rice mix, pancake mix, hot cereal, dried soups and freeze-dried foods (if you’ll have the ability to boil water)

• Marshmallows — for a campfire dessert, of course

• Bottled water, plus powdered beverage mixes

4. To store, serve or dispose of food properly and safely, bring these essentials:

• Disposable wipes/moist towelettes or biodegradable soap

• Bowls, plates and extra plates

• Kettle or cooking pot

• Eating and cooking utensils

• Ice packs

• Compostable trash bags

• Portable water filters or water purification tablets

• Thermometers for cooler and cooked meat, if applicable

5. Always follow good food safety practices, from packing to plating. Remember perishable food cannot be kept out in hot weather (90°F or higher) for more than one hour; and in mild weather for more than two hours. And always practice these four food safety tips:

Wash hands often. This includes before and after eating. Moist towelettes work fine. Hand sanitizer is also convenient, especially with little ones.

Keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate. Use extra plates you’ve packed —one for raw and one for prepared foods.

Cook to proper temperatures. Use a food thermometer to be sure cooked food has reached a safe internal temperature. Not sure what that is? Check out this chart. 

Refrigerate promptly below 40°F. Of course, if you don’t have a fridge, pack perishable food, including meat or poultry, with plenty of ice or icepacks in a well-insulated cooler to keep the temperature below 40°F. Store leftovers in the cooler only if it still has ice. Melted ice is a sign your food is no longer safe and that it’s time to toss all leftovers. Remember to keep the cooler in as cool a place as possible.

Now, take a hike!

Article courtesy of Eatright.org

http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/planning-and-prep/snack-and-meal-ideas/food-tips-for-camping-and-hiking 

I fell in love with hiking the summer I lived in Denver, CO. My bestie and I explored many hiking trails throughout the beautiful Rocky Mountains. In my opinion, there are several components to a great hike, and one of them is the right kind of food and enough of it. Considering the high calorie demand hiking creates, a calorically dense food such as trail mix is the perfect choice.

It’s really simple to create your own trail mix combination, but here are a few things to consider when choosing your “components” for the mix.

Salty factor: Salt is important when you’re sweating. The hotter or more humid the day, the more you’re going to sweat and the more water you lose. While replacing fluids is crucial, you also need to eat a little salt via your food or fluid while out on the trail.

Caloric factor: The typical components of trail mix include a variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, which are calorically dense; just what you want while hiking.

Sweet factor: Taste preferences change while exercising. Foods you many not normally eat, taste great on the mountain, and vice versa. And more importantly, adding dried fruit to your mix adds quick carbohydrates, which fuel your muscles and brain.

Here is a delicious trail mix recipe with all the necessary factors: salty, sweet, soft, and crunchy.

Trail Mix Recipe

1 cup Almonds

1½ cups Sunflower Seeds

1 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds

½ cup Dried Cranberries or Goji Berries

½ cup Incan Goldenberries

If you want to add some chocolate, try these chocolate covered coconut (if the weather is hot, the chocolate may melt).

Mix all. Makes about 5 cups.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods