Month: April 2018

Why Climbing Is A Good Exercise

by Orson

There is a great possibility you will engage climbing when hiking, however, climbing itself is an exercise on its own that is worthy of engaging and it can as well be engage in the gym.

Whether gym climbing or the outdoor climbing one thing that is certain is, you will work out your muscles to a very great degree and also your body thereby improving your total well being which includes your body and brain.

However, a successful climbing entails having great strength, ability to endure, having agility and good mental control therefore, you have to imbibe the techniques of rock climbing before engaging as a newbie and if you are a pro in it or whichever, let me hit you with some of the reason why climbing is a good exercise

Reasons you should engage climbing

It strengthen your muscles: Several different muscles such as lats, quads, abs, deltoid, oblique, traps, calves and biceps are actively involved in rock climbing. climbing also exercises your forearm muscles thereby strengthens your grip.

In fact research has established that rock climbers have increased hand grip strength.

It makes you flexible: Rock climbing often demand climbers to reach out to a foot hold or hand hold, usually away from your comfort position thereby enhancing their range of motion, adaptability and flexibility.

It reduces stress: Reduction of stress is one of those things that exercise offers and rock climbing is not left out in this.

Climbing takes you away from yourself by making you so engross with the excitement that comes from having to reach, climb and leap the rock or rope.

In fact you will enjoy it most, when challenge yourself.  Study also established that climbing increases the level of nor-epinephrine – a neurotransmitter in the body that helps in reducing stress.

You will enjoy it better if you engage outdoor climbing because coupled with the aforementioned benefits; you will also be exposed to vitamin D.

And study has proved that engaging nature itself brings calmness to your well being and eradicate anxiety – I can relate with this.

It reduces fat: If you want to lose fat real fast then engage rock climbing. According to the research conducted by Harvard University- a engage rock climbing. According to the research conducted by Harvard University- a 155-pound person will burn about 818 calories per hour if the person engage ascent rock climbing and burns 596 calories if the person engage descent climbing. So there is a possibility of burning at least 1414 calories in a single day of rock climbing which means, you have to engage both ascent and rappelling climbing. Study further proved that burning of 500 calories equal losing 1-2 pounds in a week.

It helps eradicate fear: This reminds me of when I first engage climbing. Prior to my first climbing, I feel afraid most times but it stops when I faced my fear by engaging climbing.

Although, it took a little bit of courage and determination but at the end, I found out that have become bold at the same time more confident than ever before.

So if your heart gets prick easily do engage climbing either indoor or outdoor and fear will be past tense in your life.

Moreover, it will help you to stand on top of adversity and difficult situations and there is one thing about fear, once it is conquered, you become fearless.

It boosts your mood: There is feeling of joy, accomplishment and happiness that climbing creates.

For example when you take up the challenge to get to top of the summit-you feel on top of the world, accomplished and even excited. I can relate with this feeling well, is such a good feeling that makes you feel proud of yourself and even make you think and reason right also eradicate anxiousness and worry thereby reducing the risk of hypertension.

Prevention of chronic diseases: Study has established that climbing has a lot to do in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases.

And this is due to the fact that rock climbing is an intense and vigorous activity that improves your muscles and cardiovascular activity and in turn aids the prevention of these chronic diseases.

Climbing For Beginners

by Orson

Climbing can be intimidating and discouraging at first but it will eventually turns out to be an easy ride as you get more involves, so starting is the key.

Besides, climbing should not be an exercise one will want to stay away from, because of the great benefits that come with which include- prevention of chronic diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, boost of mood, improvement of your cognitive abilities and many more.

So if you don’t see any reason to engage climbing, engage it for the sake of aforementioned benefits. Not even with these prevalent cases of depression and suicide-engaging climbing gives you the opportunity to be free from depression and suicidal thoughts.

However outdoor climbing can be more stressful and demanding but there is an option of gym climbing, is possible you’ve not heard of it.

Gym climbing can really get you started with climbing, it is easy to access in respective of the weather and it allows you to do the climbing without owning climbing gear for there is a provision to rent climbing gear at the gym.

You will also receive training on how to climb and you will also be giving several precautionary measures as it concerns climbing, at the gym.

Tips on how to get started with climbing

Getting started to climbing requires both physical and psychological preparation

Be determined: Determination comes first before anything can be achieved including climbing. Do not be daunted at the face of climbing, make up your mind and tell yourself you can do it because immediately you start allowing fear or doubt, then it will be hard for you to engage climbing, so be determined and courageous to face it no matter what.

My first climbing came with lots of fear and discouragement but I summon the courage and determination and it helped me to scale through, I can do it again and again now without fear in fact my first attempt made me fearless.

Talk to others about it: No one is an island of knowledge in this sport, you have to seek for advice and also tell others about your proposed exercise.

Apart from the advice or tips they will give, their words can create a feeling of déjà vu that will make you act as if you’ve done it before.

However, don’t talk to a person that will discourage you but to someone that has scaled through it and has much experience to share with you.

Persevere: Climbing comes with different route, and their difficulty differs from each other. If one route seems not to be climbable don’t stop or give up, persevere until you gain mastery over that route.

Start with easy route: It pays to take one thing at a time. If you do not want climbing to be stressful and challenging for you, begin with the easy route, and gradually your feet and hand will get firm as well as your muscles. Moreover, your skills will improve over time and you will gain more experience and you will able to engage difficult route.

Let your feet be your guide: Most climbers are more interested in holding on to what is in front of them so to continue their journey than concentrating on the position of their feet.

Make your feet firm on the rock or wall first, before you make your move because the only thin line between ascension and falling off is your feet.

Let your Arms be straight: Do not keep your arms bent when climbing, keep it straight for easy navigation and convenience also try to keep your legs bent to make it easy for you to push yourself up with your lower body.

Employ a belayer: Get a belayer of the same body weight you can trust.

Climbing for the first time could be scary and fearful but getting a trusted belayer will make you feel safe, comfortable and also help you to move accurately.

You also have to learn the essential communication language so to go along with each other. The communication language is used in dialogue between the climber and belayer. The communication code used are “Lower”, “Lowering”, “belay off”, “off belay”, “climbing”, “climb on” and so on.

Also make sure you stay in tune with your belayer or whoever is climbing with you, and frequently establish communication with your partner-it makes you feel safe and comfortable

Essential climbing gears

You don’t get to climb without having the climbing gear. Here are the climbing gears to kick start climbing:

Climbing shoe: This is a well designed foot wear for climbing, it is packaged to provide support and also grant the climber to use small foothold effectively.

Climbing shoe are designed to meet various climbing need, from rock, rope to boulder climbing

Rope; your most important equipment is a rope.  Purchase a very good rope and when purchasing considers the thickness and the length, don’t buy thinner ropes or short rope.

You can as well purchase a rope bag alongside the rope to help keep your rope from dirt.

Belay device: A piece of mechanical device used to control a rope while belaying. It is designed to allow the belayer do their job with little or no physical effort thereby improving the safety of the belay for the climber.

Although there is a technique to the use of belay device which can be learn at the gym before heading outdoor.

Climbing Harness: climbing harness is an important safety equipment for a climber.

A climbing harness will secure you to a rope by attaching the rope to the harness through figure eight follow through knot and get protected with a stopper knot.

However, before putting on harness, it is imperative the utilizer urinate before using the harness because, once it is put on it cannot be removed.

Chalk: chalk will help keep your sweaty hand dry while climbing. Therefore it is good to go along with a chalk bag.

Others include, knee pad, first aid kit, quickdraw, food and water, and belay glove.

 

Why Hiking Alone Is Dangerous

by Orson

In as much as solo hiking is nice, at least, it gives you the opportunity to process, explore and to adopt the knowledge, ideas and skills you know but never have any real chance to internalize them it is also dangerous.

Hiking alone, free you from noise, people, civilization and make you one with nature.

It also brings so much calmness to you and at the same time it gives you the opportunity to thrive well in the face of adversity, grow stronger and make you dependent of no one even in difficult situations- all these are good but it doesn’t come on a platter of gold, it comes with pain, risk, regret, severe injury or death.

However, if you feel like engaging solo hiking, just to have a moment to yourself is fine but make sure is a very short distance hiking and you should inform someone of your location because hiking alone can be dangerous.

And this is not about fear or some old century social norm that needs to be broken; it is reality.

If you come in contact with a dangerous animal or person, who will you cry to? If you are lost in the wilderness with whom will you brainstorm to get back your bearing?

Two they say is better than one. Not just in life matters but also in hiking.

Reasons you should not solo hike

Security

Security is not guaranteed when you hike alone and when you are insecure, you are prone to attack. There have been cases of attack such as murder or rape on hikers and has made hiking alone to be dangerous.

Hiking is for fun and pleasure, not for death or rape; there is no tangible reason to risk one’s life because you want to do the impossible. It is safest to hike in groups.

Immediate help

Sometimes when hiking along the trail an immediate help may arise and failure to get that help could lead to severe injury or death.

For instance, consider a situation whereby your leg mistakenly slips of the cliff and you got lucky to get your hand on the cliff but no one to lift you up in a place where no one will easily hear your voice even when you use all of your strength to shout. Think about it.

If you get lost

There have been cases of

Anything can happen, you might forget to bring along your compass or map, you might even find it hard to read your location but when you go in

You can come in contact with dangerous animal

This is possible when you hike along the forest and at this juncture, you will need protectors even though you are gallant enough to protect yourself.

When you sustain injuries

You can get injured along the trail and you will need a second hand to help you with the injury. Although, you are with your first-aid kit

In conclusion, hiking alone has some good benefits, no doubt, but is not a risk worth taking, sticks to group hiking and still gets the same benefits that come with solo hiking.

However ensure you hike with competent people because is still not safe if you hike with incompetent people.

 

When Hiking How Much Water To Bring

by Orson

Bringing water along when hiking should not be an argument and neither is it an option.

The importance of drinking water cannot be overemphasized; the body needs water to function properly well. Moreover, studies establish that that it is imperative to drink at least 15 cups of water (about 3.7 liters) a day because staying hydrated every time is the key to a healthy lifestyle.

However, when hiking you cannot stick to the normal volume of water intake per day because, your body loses too much fluid that must be refuel and refueling it demands taking along enough water.

Although, bringing along water will add extra weight to your bag but you do not really have an iota of choice unless you want to damage your health because dehydration can lead to high cholesterol, digestive disorders, high blood pressure and possibly heat stroke.

So consider taking enough amount of water as you prepare to hit the trail.

How much water to take when hiking

The volume of water to carry along is dependent on how long you plan to hike and the season in which you set out to hike.

How long you plan to hike: Before you hit the trail at all, intake of enough water during your daily activities will put your body in a proper shape. Nevertheless it cannot be sufficient to take you through the hiking, so you have to go with at least a bottle of water if you will be hiking for about 2hrs.

  • Hiking for about 3 -4hours: A person should go along with about 2.2 liters (9 cups) of water, however, it can be more for a person that drinks water a lot nevertheless, that is the ideal measurement for hiking for about 3-4 hrs
  • Hiking for about 6 hours: With this kind of hiking, you are already nearing the extreme and extreme hiking goes with extreme water preparation- The ideal measurement is six cups, which is about three liters of water.
  • Hiking for half a day: Depending on how much you get thirsty, the ideal water to bring along is 6 litres (24 cups).
  • Hiking for a day (24 hours): You can’t be lenient any more at this level, you have to overlook the stress or challenge that comes with adding extra weight to your bag because you have to add 12 liters of water (48 cups)
  • For more than a day hiking: At this level I presume you will need to engage camping at one point however, you can go with at least 24 liters to cater for extra one day and 36 liters to cater for extra 2 days.

Season in which you set out to hike:  The summer is characterized by a hot or sunny day- in this scenario; your intake of water will increase. So, the ideal water to bring along in hot weather for 6 hours hiking is 6 liters (12 hours hiking of a normal weather).

Hiking How To Start For Beginner

by Orson

You are missing a lot if you’ve never hit the trail before- you are missing the fun, pleasure and the health benefits such as improvement of endurance and stamina, aid the prevention of diabetes, boosting your mood, improving your cognitive abilities, reduction of cholesterol and aids prevention of cardiovascular disease.

In fact if you won’t do it for the fun do it for the health benefits that with it and hiking is good for everyone including the ones that are usually restricted to the confinement of their office, common! You got to stretch your legs, your body one of these days, you do need it.fact if you won’t do it for the fun do it for the health benefits that with it and hiking is good for everyone including the ones that are usually restricted to the confinement of their office, common! You got to stretch your legs, your body one of these days, you do need it.

Well you may be viewing hiking as an activity that is stressful, challenging thereby decreasing your enthusiasm to engage, perhaps, you are looking for a possible way in which it can be made easy for you as a starter then your curiosity has landed you on the right page.

Because on this page you will be given vital information that will help you kick start hiking with great enthusiasm.kick start hiking with great enthusiasm.

Tips to start hiking

Start with shorter distance: Hiking encourages challenge especially when you just start, there is this impulse to go longer distance or compete with people that have been hiking for awhile.longer distance or compete with people that have been hiking for awhile.longer distance or compete with people that have been hiking for awhile.

My advice is keeping your urge till when you gain mastery over hiking and start with shorter distance and less rugged areas.shorter distance and less rugged areas.

You can start by going 1 to 2 hours along a flat terrain, don’t begin to engage the rough terrain at first although, the rough terrain comes with greater health benefits but then you have to start with short distance and even terrain.but then you have to start with short distance and even terrain.short distance and even terrain.

Also engage with observation, observe your body, your water consuming rate and how often you get tired, all these information will aid your improvement next time.

And as you begin to occasionally engage the shorter distance and making observations, you will begin to engage longer distances and rough terrains sooner, because, your body is getting adjusted to the new activity you are subjecting it to.

Engage work out before hiking: Don’t just start hiking without first strengthen your muscles, and your legs.

Your muscles and legs are more actively involved in hiking compare to walking so engaging exercises that can enhance your muscles and put your legs in good shape will relieve you of any pain that occurs in the legs during hiking.

And is not necessarily you hit the gym house, you can do some light jogging around your garden or engage some light exercise at home.

Make use of the pole: Fatigue occurs during hiking, so the road poles at which you’re trailing on is your friend.

Any time you are feeling fatigue grab the nearest pole to you for support and rest a while then continue, they are your very good friends when it comes to refueling your energy to continue your journey.

Bring along hiking pole:  Even professional hikers do use hiking poles.

It is very good to bring along hiking poles because it helps you move faster and it provides extra support thereby, helping you to do more by reducing the amount of force you exert on the ground.

In fact it makes hiking through the rough terrain easier by the increased support and stability it provides. However, it may turn out to be a disadvantage if not properly used.fact it makes hiking through the rough terrain easier by the increased support and stability it provides. However, it may turn out to be a disadvantage if not properly used.

Try holding the pole with loosed hands and better still, make use of the strap to your hand size. Also when holding the poles, ensure you keep your arm on a fairly free position with your shoulder moving you forward.on a fairly free position with your shoulder moving you forward.

Ask for double balanced poles when purchasing, because it offers more stability and support.

Bring along water: You will get dehydrated for sure especially if you will be engaging hiking during the summer, therefore going along with at least one bottle of water will be great and that is if you will be hiking for about 1-2 hours, for a start though. But has you improve and you begin to engage longer distances, you will need to be taking along at least 6 liters of water.

The benefit of intake of water cannot be overemphasis and dehydration is not an option because it can lead to health issues like- dizziness, headache, cholesterol, digestive disorders, high blood pressure and possibly heat stroke.

Also before hitting the trail drink enough water however, that does not stop you from bringing water along with you.

You can as well bring along snacks or sandwich, so to replenish your body and wired it with some energy to carry on.

However, do not drink and eat too much, a bite will do and a little intake of water will do too as you hike. Too much consumption will make you get tired easily thereby ruining your hiking.

Listen to your body: don’t do far more than your body can do. Although it is good to challenge and give yourself a target however, if your body is giving you a red signal then stop and go back in order to avoid unnecessary break down. And do not feel discourage when this happen, you are only trying to save the action till your body is ready to engage.

Often take deep breadth: Hiking tends to keep your breath on random level however, taking a deep breath often will help reduce fatigue and get wired with the will to carry on.

Hike with a partner: This is a good way to start hiking, my friend and I can walk on a long distance without even feeling anything because is always fun and apart from the fun that arises from hiking with a partner, it is also advisable for security reasons, in case of emergency, for safety and comfortability.

Ensure you both are moving at the same pace.

Get a map of your hiking location: It is good to have in hand the map of the location you would be hiking for easy navigation and also for easy tracking of one’s location when getting lost. Going with a GPS too is not a bad idea.

Essential gears for hiking

There are gears associated with hiking that makes hiking comfortable and safe. And the only thing that stands between hiking and you is these gears, so get these gears and hit the trail.

Hiking boot: hiking boots are designed to protect your feet and ankle when hiking and it also provide support and comfort to walk longer distance of rough terrains. They are divided into three:

  • Trail shoes: design to take you through less rough terrain
  • Trail hikers: They are suitable for muddy paths because they are water tight and sturdy
  • Hiking boot: this is designed to take you through mountaineering, hill walking and back packing

Sun glasses: sun glasses serves as protection for your eyes against sun light

Sun screen: sun screen will protect from sun burns

First aid kit: Injuries or any emergency situation can arise on trail so is imperative you go with first aid kit to counter any exigencies and understand how to use it.

Flashlight: It is good to go with flashlight in case you got caught up in the night.