Being in the outdoors hiking is great exercise for mind and body. Solvitur ambulando is how it goes in latin, simply: It is solved by walking.

That’s a bit enigmatic, so let’s start with 10 clear-cut ways hiking can beat going to the gym:

I reckon hiking is far better than hitting the gym. Photo: Dave Bremers

1. Vitamin D

You get lots of this when you go hiking. More like a hormone than a vitamin per se, this little guy plays a direct role in over 2000 functions in the body. Pretty good to have around.

2. Long aerobic exercise

Low-level exercise gets the blood flowing, which in turn provides oxygen and nutrients to your cells, aiding in their repair and helping them grow stronger. Also, for those “calendar types”, muscles working at a consistent but low-level pace burn fat, which helps you “shred up”. That’s a good thing I’m led to believe, despite how it sounds.

3. Fresh air

Whether or not you believe the “negative ions” theory of fresh air (the negative ones are the good ones) there’s no doubt that it’s way better to be breathing fresh air than recycled gym air.

4. Good company

And plenty of it. So much that you might even be sick of it by the time the hike finishes! But hiking also caters for you there – you can go solo if you need a bit of time to yourself.

5. Mental exercise

Forget running mindlessly or stretching your mental capacity by counting to twelve (?), hiking often involves triangulating your position, calculating hours to next campsite based on average pace, following a bearing through forest, estimating required water and food, predicting the weather, and even calculating the time using the sun (if you’re keen).

Not only is hiking beneficial for your body, it also helps clear your head. Photo: Dave Bremers

6. Functional exercise

When you hike, you train your body to work as it’s designed; lots of muscles, all working in synergy, adapting to the situation as required. Gyms often lack this by exercising muscles in only one direction (take the classic bicep curl, for example). Hiking also helps teach your mind to control your body more effectively by providing varying challenges – think rocks, tree stumps, tussock grass, steep uphill/downhill etc.

7. Low impact

Hiking is a safe exercise for your joints if you let your body ease into it. In fact, as hinted at above in point two, it can actually be good for your joints in the right circumstances.

8. Circadian rhythm alignment

Organising your day around the sun has many benefits to the body, including lowered stress levels and better sleep. (This is due to the influence of light – especially blue – on your suprachiasmatic nucleus, aka body clock, and pineal gland).

9. Mental detox

Life becomes simple. No email bings, phone ringing, texts, tweets, Snapchats, Facebook notifications. Just let your mind relax. Just remember, your phone is for an emergency, not for checking emails on that peak where you get two bars reception!

10. It’s fun!

For some people, gyms simply aren’t. So don’t pay for another gym membership, speak to the staff at Snowys about equipping yourself for hiking instead.

Have you got any suggestions for aligning your “Circadian Rythm”, or do you have any thoughts on the “negative ions” theory of fresh air. If so, tell us your opinions in the comments section below. I am not sure how much truth there is to it, but Dave also claims to be able to translate this article into latin upon request.