Belly Fat is definitely a deal breaker for pretty much everyone and a major inspiration behind many people’s decisions to put on their exercise shoes. Almost nobody likes belly fat, and many will try to cut it off with any exercise form possible. Some people have even tried hiking to see if it can work on belly fat. Apparently, that is why you are here reading this guide./
A simple answer to your question is; yes, hiking can burn belly fat. It is also a cardiovascular exercise like running and jogging, and the good thing is that it is much more tolerable compared to the other two intense methods. However, just like every other healthy exercise in the world, hiking does not offer selective fat burning, and you will need to be patient to see the result.
Anyone can hike and won’t have to deal with the fear and anxiety common with more intense exercises like running or heavy jogging. Therefore, this guide will be handy for most people interested in knowing how to burn belly fat through hiking.
Does Hiking Burn Belly Fat?
To answer this question, you need to understand how fat-burning works. The truth is that hiking can burn belly fat, but it will take time, just like most exercises. If you think about whether it will burn only belly fat quickly, then that is not possible. Exercises are not designed for spot burning, which means there is no way hiking or any exercise can just burn off the extra fat in your gut while leaving other areas of your body. That is only possible via surgical methods, which are expensive and riskier.
While hiking is designed for fun and endurance build-up, it is a proven way to burn fat. For some reason, many people underestimate how effective hiking is because it isn’t one of the most intense cardiovascular activities. Most people only picture running, jogging, cycling, swimming, resistance training, and climbing as the only real exercises for weight loss.
However, this is a fallacy. Hiking as an exercise is just as effective as more intense cardiovascular activities. While it is slower cardio, and will not sweat you out compared to more rigorous exercises, its consistency and extended mile coverage makes it very effective. Hiking is categorized as a moderate exercise, and its strength is in its long-distance coverage compared to faster cardio.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, performing 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly can aid weight loss. Clearly, focused hiking can see you cover up to 600 minutes weekly, and doing that will see you lose a significant number of pounds weekly. So you see. Hiking is very effective for losing weight and for burning belly fat.
The Big Benefits of Hiking as Fat Burning Activity
It’s Easier to Be Consistant
Hiking has many advantages to burning fat and losing your extra gut flesh. Since the activity is moderate, you can enjoy better consistency doing it. You can wake up every single morning and look forward to hiking a considerable distance within a few hours. This is not the case with other intense activities like running and jogging, which take physical and psychological tolls on fitness enthusiasts.
Intense activities easily stress people out, and it is why they often give up after putting in the effort for some days or weeks. Consistency is a problem with intense exercises and it is apparent that without it, there won’t be any remarkable weight loss. This reason is why many people barely lose weight via running and jogging. Fortunately, hiking encourages consistency, which is one reason why most hikers look trimmed and boast a healthy physique. You may be more likely to lose weight and your extra belly flesh by adopting this exercise against the more intense ones.
It’s Healthy and Boosts Your Immunity
Another significant advantage is that hiking is very healthy and good for your immune system. It is a nice choice of activity to get your heart rate up in a healthy way, increase oxygen flow and improve blood flow to your muscles.
Research suggests that moderate exercise enthusiasts are poised to enjoy the biggest benefits of exercise medically compared to intense runners and those with almost zero exercise life. Almost all hikers fall in the moderate fitness category, which gives them the advantage of a much better immune system and a better metabolism rate.
Gaining medically from exercise is finding the right balance, and hiking provides that balance. While the activity pushes you out of your comfort zone of resting and relaxing, it also gives you better control to stick to your limit than other exercises.
It Builds Leg Muscles
Finally, hiking can be beneficial in building leg muscles. While it is not the perfect muscle-building exercise and will not give you a ripped, muscular body, it does strengthen your leg and hand muscles. As a leg-focused exercise, most muscle development happens around your legs, and you will see the transformation quickly. It also develops your hand muscles when you use a hiking pole. Hiking with a pole transfers some of your weight towards your hand and hiking pole, strengthening your arms over time.
Will Hiking Help Me Lose All My Belly Fat in A Week?
This question is relatively common. Yes, hiking can help you lose belly fat in a week, but it won’t be so much. Also, you will need to walk for all 7 days of the week and spend at least 300 minutes for each hiking session. Now, how healthy is that? It doesn’t sound like fun, especially if you are a beginner. Therefore, you have to be careful when it comes to trying to lose belly fat through hiking or any other exercise.
Do not have unrealistic expectations and subject your body to unnatural activities just because you want the extra fat in your gut gone. Forget about losing all your belly fat in a week and focus on losing it by taking healthy steps. If it takes a month, a few months, or even a year, just work with your body and take care of it. Exercise within your limit and ensure you are hiking in safe terrain. That is the best way and healthiest way to lose belly fat with hiking.
Forget about all the bogus and extremely rare testimonies of people claiming to lose their belly fat through hiking in one week. Just hike for fun and with determination, and it will eventually pay off.
Final Thoughts
Hiking is a good way to burn fat. However, like any other healthy natural exercise, it does not spot-burn fat. Hence, you cannot have your belly fat disappear all at once. The exercise ensures that you lose weight all over your body while giving you a slimmer figure over time.
The process of losing belly fat and overall chubbiness through hiking has been duly outlined in this guide, and it is important to use the references for more realistic limitations. The problem many people have is that they expect extremely fast results, which is why they abandon the benefit of hiking to lose weight. With this piece, you already know what to expect and your respective contribution to ensuring you lose weight via hiking.
