“Whose idea was it to go bush walking?” I said as I huffed and puffed my way up a steep incline…. oh yeah, mine!

My fiancee suggested we take a trip to the blue mountains, I said great let’s go walking. I thought I need to exercise and I have my expensive hiking boots that lay idle most of the year in my closet, lets do it!

We found what we thought would be a nice suitable chilled out walk, 3km, no challenge! Hang on, why did it say 2-3 hours next to it?? 3km doesn’t take that long??

The first part was great, being out in nature, appreciating the trees and atmosphere and trying to be confident in my foot

placement. Then we started to descend and I swear the people who built those stairs were munchkins from the wizard of Oz, trying to co-ordinate my feet down the tiny stairs (without handrails – where’s the safety people!!). I will strongly deny I threw a bit of a tanty when faced with a steep decent without handrail and demanded Mark come back up to give me his hand. Well, I got down. Without assistance. Minor victory 😉

Yes nature is lovely, it was fresh, pretty and was giving us a good workout. The worst part about reaching the pretty waterfall at the bottom is that you then had to make your way back up the mountain. FAR OUT! I thought, excellent, stairs, great way to work the legs, bum and core but when you face a zillion of them, the novelty of them wears out quickly. Just when you think you can’t possibly have any more stairs to climb, there’s another 20 flights! Surely you must be at the top, nope, have some more stairs the mountain says. So with a final push we make our way to the top, face beetroot-like, heart thumping and legs a little ouchie.  YAY we made it to the top!  Yes i’m a bit of a whinger, but I can appreciate a good workout when I have one and bush walking is definitely a good workout if you challenge yourself. (p.s it was more than 3km!! We tracked it on the FitBit!)

How does bush walking benefit you?

• Great workout for your legs, bum and core!
• Balance and strength, you must be careful of your foot placement, depending on the track you may be faced with potentially dangerous situations. Your core muscles work hard to balance and stabilise you.
• Leaning into hills and leaning back going downhill will work your muscles in different ways. Your muscles are being challenged and increasing in strength and tone with every stride.
• Your bones and joints are benefiting from your weight bearing exercise
• Great calorie burner, burning approx 500 kilojoules every 20 minutes depending on your speed, your build and the weight being carried in your backpack if using one.
• Due to the unpredictable layout of the bush your muscles have to work in very different ways and you use muscles that are not usually used when walking normally
• Being outdoors is good for both the body and the mind, BeyondBlue has promoted bush walking for managing mild depression.

Tips for bush walking:

• Always tell someone where you are going and keep to the track
• Do a gentle warm up and stretch prior to your walk, some of the moves required can be quite challenging (i.e high step ups, bends etc.)
• take plenty of water and food with you (don’t be those silly city people who go into the bush unprepared then get lost and need rescuing!)
• Choose an appropriate track, there are information boards and recommendations for a reason. if you are new to bush walking please choose a beginners track

What to wear:

• You must wear supportive shoes with good tread, light boots or runners are fine.
• Dress in layers, that way you can strip down and add back on when needed
• A lightweight backpack is a great idea, you should carry sufficient water and food.
• Wearing a hat and sunscreen is also a must, insect repellent is also a good idea.

 

We’re spoiled for choice in Australia for great bush walking opportunities. If you’re after a workout that works both your body and mind then bush walking is for you. You could join a club or just grab a friend and go on an adventure. If you don’t have access to nearby bushland than walking in any sort of park, bay or beach will still give you many benefits.

All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other 😉