Gentle Running Healthy walking is gentle on the joints and traning

Gentle on the joints and demanding: Hiking as a gentle endurance sport
Hiking is one of the most popular pastimes for many Germans. It not only offers a great way to spend time in nature, but also serves health. As a sport, however, it is only referred to by very few. But hiking is as effective as jogging.

Hiking is healthy
Scientific research has shown that walking is healthier than expected. According to an older study, health wandering has a positive impact on the entire organism: it reduces body weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and body fat. And it lowers the cardiovascular risk. However, hiking as an endurance sport is ridiculed by many. It's just walking. But hiking is indeed - as far as energy sales are concerned - almost as effective as jogging.

Hiking as an endurance sport is ridiculed by some contemporaries. It was only walking. But walking is actually almost as effective as jogging. (Image: blas / fotolia.com)

High energy consumption and reduction of body fat
Jessica Klapp, consultant for health and marketing at the German Hiking Association, explains in a message from the news agency dpa that it uses a lot of energy and degrades body fat. "That's why it's good for a long walk to get rid of extra pounds and get fit," says the expert. Klapp explains on the basis of a sample calculation: At a body weight of 65 to 70 kilograms (kg) one uses during a hike in flat to hilly terrain about 350 kilocalories (kcal) per hour. In the mountains, it is even around 550 kcal.

Beginners should not be overwhelmed
In comparison to jogging, hiking also has the advantage that it is gentler on the joints. "Through the quiet, regular exercise, muscles, bones and ligaments are slowly trained and built." Hiking may also be exhausting: "You may be able to work up a sweat, but not into panting." In general, one should still be able to talk comfortably - accordingly fast or leisurely one should be on the way. But even if the pace can be adjusted quite well - especially if you are on the road with an experienced hiking guide - beginners should not start straight to day trips. Rather, it makes sense to take a two to three hour hike at least once before.

A hike should match the physical fitness
"If that worked out well and you got used to the effort, then a longer hike comes into question," says Klapp. "Well worked out" does not mean, however, that it must have nowhere tweaked during the tour. "But it should not come to severe pain," said Klapp. "A hike should always correspond to one's own physical condition and fitness." As the dpa statement concludes, it should therefore be a matter of course to familiarize yourself in advance with the course and its inclines by means of a hiking map. The German Hiking Association has summarized important information on the subject on its website. (Ad)