Healthy Food Chart

One question that has come up is if there is a difference between hiking and walking in terms of burning calories.

Since I’ve previously written about the benefits of walking and how it’s a great way for beginners to get into an exercise program you’ll be happy to know that hiking provides all those same benefits plus more!

Although most people think of hiking as heading deep into the woods for a 3-4 hour trip you can still get in a great workout in just 60 minutes. All you have to do is find one of your local parks that has some trails (preferably with hills) and take off for an hour of breathing in some fresh air and burning some calories.

Typically, walking at a 20-minute mile pace will burn about 262 calories in an hour, but the good news is that hiking in just that same amount of time almost doubles your caloric expenditure at 477 calories (based on a 175 pound person).

So once you’ve gotten in better shape from walking you can take your exercise to the next level by enjoying some nice weather and getting outside for an invigorating hike!

Next week, I’ll follow this post up with how to find a hiking trail that is right for you and how to prepare for your first hike.