I re-discovered a fondness for hiking during preparations for last year’s UVP/AMP Hike Day. And I realized that, although I’ll find a million excuses to avoid the gym, I’m always up for a hike. Here’s why:
1. 40 minutes of walking actually gets you somewhere.
2. Mountain air is better than gym air.
3. Hiking is open to variety.
Trails vary in many ways–terrain, width, incline, length of time needed to complete, etc. You can work on completing increasingly difficult trails and/or hike at different locations–It’s easy to keep hiking interesting.
4. Hiking is a buddy activity…
…and a good family activity. Contrary to what my mother used to think, hiking does not mean you will have to machete-hack your path through foliage. Trails can be wide, flat, and open, and an easy hike can be a great way to start a monthly hike day tradition with your family. Pack some sandwiches and fruit to eat and prayer rugs to pray on together at your trail midpoint. To keep younger kids interested, try playing “I spy” or other games as you hike and choose trails with landmarks like creeks or lookout points. Make sure to take varying skill levels into consideration when choosing a trail. Try it with a group of friends too!
5. It’s good for the soul.
Have you ever looked straight up to the sky on a clear night? I like seeing the stars and thinking about the expanse of the universe. It reminds me of how small I am and reinforces my dependence on Allah. In the day, I can get a hint of this feeling when I’m hiking and surrounded by nature. Taking the small effort to notice the intricacies and variety of Allah’s creation is, personally, very humbling.
Something I want to do someday is go on a night hike and pray in a clearing. If you have guide who knows what he/she is doing, and it’s safe to do so, try it!
6. Hiking is cheap (and environmentally friendly)!
You can start hiking with as little as a sturdy pair of athletic shoes and a backpack with a water bottle and first aid kit. Note: If you want to hike at a national park, you might have to pay a small fee per vehicle entering.
7. It’s quiet, peaceful, and usually seclusive.
Except for your trusted hiking buddy and the occasional passerby/forest creature, nobody has to watch you struggling to catch your breath.
Remember to check the weather, pack the essentials, start early in the day, and tell someone where you’re going and who you’re going with. After you come back from your hike, you can call the gym to cancel your membership.
Subhan’Allah, very nice reminder. Definitely would prefer nature over the gym any day!
MashAllah this is so awesome! Haha I totally agree with you Koutaiba! Even my mom and all her friend’s for the past 2 years go hiking every Tuesday and she always seems so much more relaxed when she’s done with the hike.
Great article! Now I want to go on a hike again 🙂
I prefer walking in the outdoors as well. When I’m walking on a treadmill time passes by so slowly…
Biased article. There are many benefits to using a treadmill.
1) Less chance of injury
2) Less chance of getting attacked by an animal
3) If you keep the treadmill outside you can still breathe the mountain air
4) Less pollution. You have to drive your car to get to the hiking trail
5) Less time wasted in preparing for the hike
6) More calories burned
7) Possibility of getting lost
LOL Abdallah…
#1: Not necessarily – see below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxyssmLwMvs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXh9qr9FhOY
#2: Gyms are full of 300 lb animals on Testosterone
#3: No electricity on mountain tops
#4: You claim less pollution. However, the treadmill too is using electricity to power itself. That energy had to be produced at some plant hundreds of miles away and transported to you. The production and transportation of the energy itself maybe enough to offset the carbon footprint of the vehicle transporting you to the hike. And if you carpool, you would probably use less energy then a combination of having to use 5 treadmills.
#5: Preparing to go to the gym is just as time wasting 😛
#6 is baseless, what’s your evidence?
#7….GPS 🙂
I disagree with some of your points Abdallah.
a.) its really difficult to put a treadmill outside to begin with, and even then, you won’t be getting the same air as you would if you were to go on a hike.
b) it doesn’t take much preparation for the hike, you can even hike outside anywhere
c) you can burn the same amount of calories easily
d) take a trail where you don’t get lost-its as easy as that.
I love this article! One of my fav events last year was the umma hike! Lets do it again! 🙂
Great article. I love hiking so much (so if anyone is down to go, let me know :]).
Abdallah, let me refute your points one by one:
1. Injury is very possible on a treadmill. Injury happens by chance and there is know way of knowing when or how one will get hurt. If you lose focus for a second, you can easily be flung off the end of the moving belt on the treadmill just as you could fall down on a hiking trail. If you choose wisely, however, you could have a pretty good chance of accidently falling into a bed of flowers, if hiking. Treadmill injuries will always involve belt burn, contact with sweat-laden surfaces, and hard floors.
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivmNN1tiC7E&feature=related
Animal attacks can happen anywhere.
3. Good luck getting your treadmill into the mountains. Oh and finding an outlet. What redundancy.
4. You can ride a bike to a trail. Also, filtered gym air may have pollutants. Just sayin’.
5. It is worth the preparation.
6. Hiking almost always burns more calories than a treadmill does because of the uneven ground (more use of stabilizing muscles) and the motivation to work harder to get to the destination results in a net of more time spent moving.
7. Getting lost on a trail is possible, however if you carry a compass and stay on the path the chance of getting lost is very low. Disclaimer: The chance of getting lost increases with the percentage of dumb and/or stupidly reckless people in the group. (i.e. don’t take Abdallah).
=]
Abdallah: as the author mentioned, hiking gives you the opportunity to surround yourself with creations we are normally disconnected from in LA/UCLA. Also, take into account the energy for production of a treadmill, the miles it is shipped to reach your home (and the pollution that goes with it) and the electricity it consumes every time you use it.
Abdallah’s ludicrous comments highlight why America is having an obesity epidemic.
Salaam Alaikum,
What a BEAUTIFUL reminder. Last summer our family spent soooo many weekends hiking in Griffith Park. We’d pack up sandwhiches, oranges and water and walk until we were tired. In fact my biggest complaint about living in LA is there is too much of human creation (concrete, buildings, etc) and not enough of Allah’s creation (trees, rivers, etc).
For those who have kids can attest that even babies start to become very cranky without an outing into fresh air. Children are still in their fitrah and want to spend every moment outside discovering bugs, watching the sky change colors, feeling the wind etc. That is better entertainment than a TV or computer any day!!!!!!!!! InshAllah we can learn from our children.
But I will say that I do prefer the treadmill for my daily workouts. Mainly because I will burn more calories on it than hiking. Also because I find that being in a gym where everyone is working our around you, it pushes you to run faster, keep going, etc. I used to just go jogging in my neighborhood and I didn’t like it because when I would get tired I would just stop and also there is no way to track progress. Now that I’ve joined a gym, I truely enjoy my workouts so much better. Also the cold air in the morning outside is hard on my lungs sometimes, so I get shortness of breath easier than I do in the gym.
Fee aman Allah
Sumaya
JazaakumAllahu Khairan for the article UVP admin, and jazaakumAllahu khairan for looking out for your ummah.
I agree with Jadallah because hes my mentor!