Take A Hike!

Whether you’re just getting into hiking or are already an avid trekker, implementing some key exercises can keep you exploring for years!

Hiking is an incredible way to strengthen your body and your mind! Hiking is both a weight-bearing and cardiovascular exercise which can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and can help you manage your weight and prevent osteoporosis.

Unlike regular walking, hiking forces us to navigate uneven terrain and awkward angles, which allows us to burn calories faster and engage and strengthen muscles we might not otherwise use.

In addition, hiking offers psychological benefits. Getting out in nature and taking in the sights and smells encourages feelings of enhanced well-being. Studies show that exercising in nature can also lead to better creativity, attention span, and memory.

While hiking offers variety and interest we may not get from the gym, it also presents challenges. Treading on rocks and tree roots, weaving around obstacles, and moving our bodies up and down steep terrain requires strong leg and core muscles and astute balance in order to help prevent injury.

These challenges are why it’s important to do strength training outside of your hike.! Try our these 5 exercise to help you avoid injury and have more enjoyable hikes!

5 Exercises To Support Your Hiking Habit

What You’ll Need:
SMART Medicine Ball
SMART Stability Ball

Russian Twist with a SMART Medicine Ball

Sit with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lean back, holding the medicine ball to your chest, until you’re at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Keeping the ball near your chest, twist your upper body to the right, return to start, and then twist to the left. Do two sets of 10-15 reps per side.

Wood Chopper with a SMART Medicine Ball

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Holding the medicine ball with both hands, lift it up and to the left, on a diagonal, until your arms are extended. Then bring the ball down and across your body to the right, allowing your waist to rotate. Keep your knees bent and pivot your feet as you bring the ball down. Repeat by bringing the ball up and across your body on the same diagonal. Do two sets of ten reps on each side.

Lunges with a Twist with a SMART Medicine Ball

Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart and hold the medicine ball in front of you. Step forward with your right foot into a basic lunge position. Keep your knee over your right foot. From your torso, twist your upper body to the right, engaging your core muscles and squeezing your glutes. Bring your arms back to the center. Step the right foot back up and return to standing. Repeat on the opposite side. Do two sets of ten reps on each side.

SMART Medicine Ball Plank Leg Lift

This exercise will help strengthen your core and glutes, and promotes better balance. Begin in a high plank with your hands on the medicine ball, directly under your chest. Engage your core. Keeping your feet wide, slowly lift your right leg up, hold at the top for a few seconds, and lower back down. Repeat with the left leg. Do two sets of ten reps on each side.

Improve Balance with a SMART Stability Ball

Incorporate SMART Stability Ball exercises into your weekly routine to help improve your balance. The SMART Stability Ball features 13 exercises—printed right on the ball!

The evidence is in! Most people, even those suffering from mild to moderate arthritis, can benefit from regular strength training. One of the greatest benefits of strength training is stronger joints, which allow us to move freely and enjoy life to the fullest!

Joints occur where two bones come together and are connected by muscles and ligaments. Joints also contain cartilage which helps distribute force and allow for smooth gliding when we move. Some joints, like our knees and elbows, operate like a hinge. Others, like our hips and shoulders, allow for more complicated movement and rotation.

We may not think about our joints until there is a problem. Arthritis, repetitive stress injuries, and tendonitis are just some of the conditions that might cause us to pay attention. Building and maintaining healthy joints now can help you stay active and prevent problems in the future.

One of the most effective ways to support your joints is to increase the strength of the muscles that surround them. Stronger muscles help absorb the forces that impact joints and cause strain. Muscles that work well may protect joints from excess wear. There is also evidence to support that strength training can relieve symptoms like joint swelling, pain, and stiffness, improving the function of joints with mild to moderate arthritis.

Exercises that include body weight, resistance fitness cables, or weight lifting will all serve to strengthen your muscles. To get the most benefit, aim to complete your strengthening routine two to three times a week for 30 minutes each time. Make sure exercises are done with correct form, reducing resistance or weight if needed. Finally, include a warm-up and cool down and don’t forget to stretch all major muscle groups.

Strengthening Routine – No Gym Needed

What You’ll Need:
Fitness Cables
Smart Straps Body Weight Training System

Squats – 3 sets, 10 repetitions
– Stand on the Fitness Cable with both feet and hold the handles near your ears.
– Lower yourself down, as if you’re sitting in a chair. Do not let your knees pass over your feet.
– Hold for 15-30 seconds if desired.
– Rise up to a standing position.

Lunges – 3 sets, 10 repetitions on each leg
– Stand on the center of the Fitness Cable with your front foot and hold the handles near your ears. Drop into a lunge position, keeping your trunk upright.
– Raise your arms above your head as you lunge for added shoulder and arm strengthening.
– Using your front leg, push yourself back up.

Push Up – 3 sets, 10 repetitions
– Position the Fitness Cable behind your back as you hold the handles and get into push up position.
– A modification to a traditional push up is to rest on your knees or do the push up standing up, with arms placed against a wall.
– With a straight back, lower your chest toward the floor and push back up.

For a full strength training workout, check out Prism’s Smart Straps Body Weight Training System which has 12 self-guided exercises printed directly on the straps for easy reference!

After a hard workout, we often experience satisfaction and a boost in mood thanks to the release of endorphins. But another type of boost is happening as well. EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, relates to the increased oxygen your body consumes and calories it burns as you return to a resting state following a workout. This metabolism boost means the effects of your workout can last long after your cool down.

When you exercise, the fuel used by your muscles can be produced using aerobic pathways (with oxygen) or anaerobic pathways (without oxygen). Workouts that rely on anerobic pathways can increase the body’s need for oxygen afterward, thereby increasing the EPOC effect.

Studies show that HIIT, or high intensity interval training, is the most effective way to spark the EPOC effect. HIIT involves alternating extremely intense periods of activity with periods of rest. When you push your body to its limits, your muscles will rely on anaerobic pathways for energy. This energy will be immediate, but in very limited quantities—you won’t be able to sustain maximum effort for long periods of time. The rest or low intensity period is just as important. Forcing your body to repeatedly shift between high intensity and rest provides excellent cardiovascular conditioning and can lead to increased endurance and speed.

There is a direct relationship between the amount of energy used during a workout and the effects of EPOC. A 20-minute HIIT workout will require more EPOC than a long, slow run, for example. You may also increase the EPOC effect by employing more major muscle groups during your workout. The key is focusing on intensity rather than duration.

Good To Know
– HIIT is a convenient form of exercise when your time is limited.
– HIIT workouts that involve bodyweight or added weight, like medicine balls, can increase the EPOC effect.
– Choose exercises that allow you to be explosive and keep your heartrate at or above 80% maximum for the greatest EPOC effect.
– Because you’re working out at high intensity, technique is very important. Make sure you can do an exercise with proper form at lower intensity before going all-out.
– Allow 48 hours of recovery between HIIT workouts.

HIIT Workout (Utilizing Only 2 Pieces of Equipment!)

What You’ll Need:
SMART Medicine Ball
Agility Ladder

Time:  18 minutes

3 Rounds

• SMART Medicine Ball:  Lunges – 60 seconds
• Rest – 30 seconds
• Agility Ladder:  Jumping Jack Feet – 60 seconds
• Rest – 30 seconds
• SMART Medicine Ball:  Mountain Climbers – 60 seconds
• Rest – 30 seconds
• Agility Ladder:  High knees, two-feet per rung – 60 seconds
• Rest – 30 seconds

*Agility Ladder exercises may also be done with the SMART Medicine Ball to increase intensity.

Watch our Cardio SMART Medicine Ball Circuit Video on YouTube!