KalenaSpire

Where Healing Your Gut Elevates Your Life

Take a Hike to Get Out of an Exercise Rut

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Hiking takes you out of your usual routine, fills your lungs with fresh air, and lifts your spirits with the sights and sounds of nature. You might even forget that you’re giving your body a powerful workout that has many health benefits.

Summer hiking in the mountains.

A regular trek on the trail is aerobic exercise that is good for the heart and lungs. A weight-bearing exercise, hiking strengthens bones and joints, which helps to prevent osteoporosis. Trails with varied terrain build strength in the hip and leg muscles. You’ll also strengthen your abdominal and back muscles, and improve balance and coordination.
Hiking a few times a week, not just once a season, can help you maintain a healthy body weight. Hiking is also good for the mind and spirit. Studies show that exercising in nature lifts symptoms of stress and anxiety better than exercising indoors. When you hike with family or friends, the social experience contributes to good vibes for you and your kin.
Hiking Safety and Fitness Boosting Tips
Pack right. Use a daypack that properly fits your torso so the extra weight you carry (snacks–check out these portable protein powerhouses, water, maps, first aid) won’t cause discomfort. If you aren’t properly fitted for a pack, you could risk injury to the back and hips.
Know before you go. Most trail systems have online maps that indicate degree of difficulty and trail conditions. Familiarize yourself with the trail map. It’s always possible for a GPS to lose its signal or battery strength, so carry a paper copy with you. Check the weather; dress and pack accordingly.
Buddy-up. A partner or group can help you navigate and assist if you get hurt.
Start slow. A short, local hike is best for beginners. Gradually work up to trails with hills, rugged terrain, or higher elevation.
Use poles. Poles propel you forward and engage upper body muscles, which gives a more vigorous workout.
Know your limits. Keep tabs on your water and fatigue level. Stay on marked trails.

What’s your favorite way to exercise in nature? Share in the comments below!

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Image: Vitalalp/bigstock.com

About Christine

Christine Cherpak is a Functional Nutrition & Wellness Expert, and the founder of KalenaSpire, a holistic health coaching and private yoga practice that specializes in freeing people from chronic digestive discomfort. Christine supports her clients in understanding the root cause of their digestive discomfort, creates a custom plan to put them on the road to healing, and shows them how to make sustainable lifestyle changes so they can finally enjoy and elevate their lives.

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Alexandria Z., M.S.

Christine is my wellness goddess. Her amazing support, extraordinary expertise, and undeniable compassion invited me to a world of freedom from digestive discomfort that I didn’t know was possible. The whirlwind of bloating, constipation, brain fog, and digestive upheaval was consuming my life. Exhaustion and frustration were becoming my very existence. And then I met my health goddess! Christine’s astute listening and meticulously tailored guidance, transformed my thinking and whirlwind of digestive discomfort. She helped me achieve a state of equilibrium. The balance I now experience is the center of my wellness existence—the core of my life with digestive happiness.

 

Christine instilled in me the power to embrace the grace and strength of my very own body! She has taught me to internalize the boundless evidence of my body’s functionality to heal digestively. While working with Christine, my exhaustion, pain, and bloating were overshadowed with energy, digestive comfort, glowing skin, and knowledge. Her coaching raised my awareness of food sensitivities, and promoted better food choices, which led to better sleep, a stronger link to overall wellness, clarity in my thinking, and ultimately, more joy in my life.  Christine’s remarkable spirit of wellness will forever echo in my digestive wellness journey. I bestow upon Christine the well-deserved exceptional title, “my wellness goddess.”
2015-07-27T17:47:59-04:00
Christine is my wellness goddess. Her amazing support, extraordinary expertise, and undeniable compassion invited me to a world of freedom from digestive discomfort that I didn’t know was possible. The whirlwind of bloating, constipation, brain fog, and digestive upheaval was consuming my life. Exhaustion and frustration were becoming my very existence. And then I met my health goddess! Christine’s astute listening and meticulously tailored guidance, transformed my thinking and whirlwind of digestive discomfort. She helped me achieve a state of equilibrium. The balance I now experience is the center of my wellness existence—the core of my life with digestive happiness.   Christine instilled in me the power to embrace the grace and strength of my very own body! She has taught me to internalize the boundless evidence of my body’s functionality to heal digestively. While working with Christine, my exhaustion, pain, and bloating were overshadowed with energy, digestive comfort, glowing skin, and knowledge. Her coaching raised my awareness of food sensitivities, and promoted better food choices, which led to better sleep, a stronger link to overall wellness, clarity in my thinking, and ultimately, more joy in my life.  Christine’s remarkable spirit of wellness will forever echo in my digestive wellness journey. I bestow upon Christine the well-deserved exceptional title, “my wellness goddess.”