Top Health Benefits Of Hiking And Mountain Climbing.

There are plenty of reasons to head out on a hiking trip or mountaineering expedition.

Both outdoor sports get you right into the heart of the natural world – enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of nature and providing you with the chance to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

They are also both great social activities. Head on a private expedition with some friends or family to reconnect or join a group tour and make some new friends. Regardless of the option, you’re almost certain to create memories that last a lifetime.

Keep reading: A Beginner's Guide to Mountaineering

However, one of the top reasons to take up or continue your hiking and climbing passion is the myriad physical and mental health benefits that both provide.

Hiking and, especially, mountaineering is strenuous physical activities. In order to enjoy and excel at them, you will need to get into good physical condition and maintain it.

The reward for doing so, however, is immense. Not only will you get out into the wilderness and visit places to which cars, cities, and nature documentaries simply cannot bring you, but you will also reap the numerous health benefits associated with getting there.

Below we’ve listed just a few of the top health benefits associated with mountaineering and hiking for your consideration.

Establish Healthy Routines

Most guides recommend that participants spend at least three months getting ready for their trip, undertaking a combination of flexibility, cardiovascular, and strength training regimes.

These may include some combination of heading out on biweekly runs, going to the gym three or four times each week, and making time to do some yoga in the morning or evening. Regardless of the exercises, you choose to undertake, you will likely fall into some sort of routine over the course of your training period.

After making it up to that mountain summit or completing your hike or trek, you will probably not find it too difficult to stick with the same fitness routine.

Not only will this keep you in shape, but it will also keep you perennially prepared for any other mountaineering or hiking opportunities that come your way.

Lower your risk of heart disease

Hiking and mountain climbing are among the many ways to reduce your risk of heart disease. The physical act of walking and climbing increases the amount of high-density lipoprotein in your blood. Known as good cholesterol, HDL helps your body collect bad cholesterol – LDL – and transport it to the liver to be removed.

By increasing your heart rate as you hike or climb, the two sports simultaneously help to lower your triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood. When their levels become too high, they can contribute to the buildup of plaque in your arteries.

Increase bone density

Hiking and mountain climbing are weight-bearing exercises and involve plyometric movements, both of which contribute to increasing bone density and slowing the rate of calcium loss.

Both types of outdoor sports require you to move your body uphill against gravity. Due to the rate and frequency of muscle strain caused by climbing or hiking uphill, the bones become increasingly dense and more resistant to breaking.

The magnitude of the muscle strain during the exercise also contributes to increasing bone density. Climbing and hiking with a moderately heavy pack add to the magnitude of the strain exerted in the same way that weight lifting does.

Additionally, both outdoor sports strengthen the muscles in your legs and back, which in turn help to hold your bones in place. Climbing and hiking with the correct posture can help to prevent or reverse the impacts of osteoporosis, a disease in which bone mass deteriorates over time, as wel