Hiking Your Way to Better Health

Take a Hike!

Looking for a way to get in shape while enjoying the great outdoors? Just lace up a pair of sturdy shoes and start walking.

"Hiking is a wonderful way not only to participate in aerobic exercise, but also to clear your head," says board-certified family physician Ray Sahelian, MD, who not only recommends hiking to his patients but also practices what he preaches by hiking regularly in the mountains near his Southern California home.

• Get advice on starting a hiking program on our Exercise and Fitness board
• Grab a drink to go with that hike because some beverages can help you lose weight
• Exercise outdoors -- even with allergies!

Texas allergist William Howland, MD, who says he's "just a guy who likes to be outdoors," is another hiking enthusiast, both professionally and personally. "Hiking offers benefits for both the mind and body," he says.

In the first place, hiking (which can be as moderate as a walk around your block or as strenuous as a mountain climb) is a weight-bearing exercise, which helps prevent osteoporosis, Howland explains. Being outside in the sunshine, which provides the body with vitamin D, is another bone-healthy reason for putting one foot in front of the other.

Because hiking is an aerobic exercise, it offers important cardiovascular benefits, says Sahelian. "Going up and down hills gives the heart a great workout."

What's more, hiking can also help you manage your weight, possibly reduce, or even eliminate, your need for insulin if you have Type 2 diabetes, and is a joint-friendly form of exercise that can keep arthritis sufferers more limber and mobile.

Hiking offers psychological benefits as well, say Sahelian and Howland. "There's a feeling of relaxation and enhanced well-being that comes on after a few-mile hike in the woods," says Sahelian.

"Hiking takes you away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life," says Howland. "It can put you into a meditative space, almost like self-hypnosis."

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