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Exercise & Fitness
Ready, set, hike!
- By Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
Hiking in nature moves your body and refreshes your mind.
In 2020, when everyone was stuck in COVID lockdown, hiking enjoyed a popularity boom. A report found that the number of hikes logged in 2020 was up 171% compared with 2019. The number of individual hikers rose 135%.
"This makes sense, since hiking continues to be one of the safest activities during COVID, because it is done outside and away from confined group settings," says Dr. Edward Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. "Plus, what’s a better antidote for being cooped up than getting outside for some therapeutic time with nature?"
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Walking for Health
The simple activity of walking has so many powerful health benefits. Done correctly, it can be the key to losing weight, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and boosting your memory, as well as reducing your risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. Walking for Health, created by the experts at Harvard Medical School, takes you step-by-step from why walking may be the most perfect exercise, to how to get started on a walking program, to specific walking workouts. It even has a special section on walking for weight loss.
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