Did I say, whike? I meant walk, no hike. Oh well, nothing cures, like a good long ‘whike.’
‘Whike’ – walk and hike, half brothers but very different and the difference between the two is location, location, location. I’m please to introduce the Whike Brothers.
Hiking is the outdoor, jean wearing, granola eating, nature filled, ruggedly handsome brother.
While walking is the slick, suit wearing, latte sipping, let’s do lunch, sub-urban, skyscraper surrounded other brother.
See, told you, it’s all location. Hence, ‘whiking’ is actually the same thing just in different locations. Both locations if done regularly, meaning on a daily basis, will provide you with the control weight and the fitness you seek. Garrison Keillor of NPR’s Prairie Home Companion, has the perfect words which are plucked straight from the mouth of common sense, nothing cures, like a good long walk.
“Walk out the door and find good health. There is no fever that a 10-mile hike can’t cure,” suggests Garrison Keillor, the wry host of National Public Radio’s Prairie Home Companion.
John McKinney of Miller- McCune writes in “For Good Health – Take a Hike,” how funny and thoughtful, the article caught my attention immediately and ‘made’ me read. In it, John weaves a thought filled look at the art and benefits of the hiking, our pastoral brother of walking. Be careful there’s research and science involved so they might not have a conclusion.
Millions of Americans who like to hike believe that hiking contributes to good physical and mental health. And yet, until recently, nearly all evidence offered for the benefits of taking a hike was anecdotal, and very little hiking-specific scientific research supported that belief.
Here are the two sides to the family and the semi-sticky research:
1. Hiking specifically is good exercise but where you do it seems to matter.
A study commissioned by Mind, a leading British mental health charity, suggests hiking contributes to improved mental and emotional health. Focusing on people affected by depression, researchers from the University of Essex compared the benefits of hiking a trail through the woods and around a lake in a nature park to walking in an indoor shopping center. The researchers found that the hikers realized far greater benefits than the mall walkers.
In fact, they found that taking a hike in the countryside reduces depression, whereas walking in a shopping center increases depression. Results from the 2007 study showed that 71 percent reported decreased levels of depression after hiking, while 22 percent of the participants felt their depression increased after walking through an indoor shopping center. Ninety percent reported their self-esteem increased after the nature hike, while 44 percent reported decreased self-esteem after walking around the shopping center. Eighty-eight percent of people reported improved mood after hiking, while 44.5 percent reported feeling in a worse mood after the shopping-center walk.
2. Hiking research is sparse as a comparative between the two forms of walking. Walking in an urban environment and hiking outdoors in nature.
The American Hiking Society, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes hiking, produces a widely circulated fact sheet, “Health Benefits of Hiking,” that relies on studies, mostly of walking, made by the American Diabetes, American Heart and American Lung associations to make the case. Hiking-specific research is likely to be of more value in linking hiking and good health than the general “Exercise is Good for You” studies long used by AHS and other advocacy groups.
“Hiking for health is what we’re all about, so we’re glad the benefits are getting quantified,” declared Tracy Roseboom, senior national campaign manager for Hike For Discovery, a program of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that offers its supporters in chapters nationwide an opportunity to take a hike while raising money for cancer research.
Here we are at the end of the trail and it seems that as usual the scientific community can’t make a decision. I love walking in my neighborhood , on a trail in the mountains and just about anywhere. My conclusion, get out and whike or whalk, no matter how it’s spelled, is very, very good for you will help you reach your fitness goals and control weight. I’m living proof.
MikeZ_’whiking’ – walking and hiking morphed into a new super descriptive word.
Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program. Your physician is your very best resource.
