While you are probably not going to break bones or create stress fractures, it is possible to get shin splints or blisters. These are two of the most common injuries. Shin splints, or pain in your shins, are typically caused by poor footwear and improper walking techniques. Another factor, of course, is the type of terrain that you walk on. By working on a heel-to-toe walking technique and getting proper walking shoes, you can try to overcome them, but if you can’t, ice and ibuprofen will be helpful.

Blisters can form due to improper footwear, but your socks can also cause them. If your socks do not absorb moisture correctly, blisters can form.

You may also feel pain in your calf, your thigh, or your knee after a long hike. This is because the angle at which you walk causes you to grip by placing pressure on your forefoot.  This forces your heel to drop low, and there is an increase in pressure on your thigh and knee muscles.  Practice will help prevent this from occurring.

As you may have noticed, most of these injuries are caused by improper footwear or walking techniques. Whenever setting out for a walk, be prepared. Know your limits and don’t overdo it—even if you feel great. Most importantly, make sure that you buy the right pair of shoes for your foot. Don’t pick out the shoe based on the pattern! You may have to get a shoe that is a half size bigger than you normally get; this is because your foot tends to swell when hiking or going for an intense walk. In addition to walking techniques and proper footwear, be sure to stretch before and after you exercise. Last, but not least, it is also very important to keep hydrated and eat nutritious food.

The walk was great, but while we were on our way up, something scary happened: one of the girls in our group fainted. She was unconscious for over a minute and would not respond to us; not even a hand squeeze. We knew that she had not been feeling well and I stayed behind with her while the other two walked at their pace (which was not too much faster). We stopped whenever she wanted to, but apparently she had been pushing herself too hard. When I stopped to take a picture of something, she walked ahead and all of a sudden I heard the sound of someone falling into the bushes. Luckily she fell there and not on rocks or in the mud.

What this brings me to is to emphasize how important it is to be prepared when you exercise. We had made stops to take a drink because we could tell that she needed to stop, but we should have made more. Every time we stopped we offered a banana or an apple or something so that she could get some sugar in her, but she refused and said that she would get a stomachache. It does not help that she has a really sensitive stomach.

In the end, she had not had enough food to eat that day and we finally got her to eat an apple and biscuits after she fainted.

Please be prepared when you exercise. Drink water, eat plenty of food so that you have energy, and know what you are getting yourself into. Don’t test your body’s limits. Stop when you need to. Don’t push yourself to the point where you’re hurting yourself.

It is important to have the right equipment for your hike, as well. Choose the right footwear for the surface you will be walking on. If you aren’t sure what you need, it would be a good idea consult you local sporting goods retailer. As for clothing, you always want to check the weather forecast for the area that you plan to hike and dress accordingly. Layering is a good idea, especially at times of year or in areas where changes in the weather can occur without warning. You want to be able to add or shed layers as needed.

Provisions are often the most difficult necessities for the beginning hiker to gauge. Eating is very important whether on a short day hike or a days-long trip. Trail mix or energy bars are good supplemental snacks to take, as well as something salty, along with meals enough to replenish about 300-500 calories per hour hiked. Water is the single most important item to carry, but also the heaviest. Try not to carry so much that you are encumbered, but carrying too little is a hazard. As a rule of thumb, and especially if you are not sure about the available water supply where you are hiking, you should carry and consume about 3-4 quarts per hiking day.

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On Saturday I drove a minivan worth of people to Rumney, New Hampshire. There I met up with my friend who is an insane rock climber. She has won so many competitions and has been first in the nation, but she cannot join the professional USA team because she is not a US citizen. In any matter, I met her at a local Hannfords in Rumney while my sisters and my fellow Orientation Leaders continued the drive up to Franconia State Park.

I sent them up there because my rock climbing friend had told me that there is not a lot to do at Rumney. Well, maybe she thought that, but if I had the chance to do it again, I would not have had my sisters drive for an extra 30-40 minutes to see gorgeous mountains rather than stay with me or hike the trails in Rumney. I personally think that there is so much to do– even if you just want to go on a hike.

I had never been to Rumney before. I was expecting to drive up to a parking lot, park, get our gear on, and start climbing. I do not know what I was thinking, but in reality, we started off the day with a thirty minute hike. My friend then brought me to Darth Vader, and she had me climb Yoda. While I was used to doing 5.6 and 5.7 level routes on the indoor rock climbing gyms, my friend threw me on this route that was a 5.9! I looked at her and told her she was crazy, but she convinced me to try.

I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to give up, but somehow, with the encouragement of my friend, I made it up! Outdoor climbing is so different from indoor climbing– I love them both.

Yesterday we shared some ideas for warming up and cooling down during summer workouts.  Today we have some suggestions from Trent Nessler, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine in Tennessee, for exercising when it is hot outside.

The first thing that Mr. Nessler noted was that workouts need to be planned according to the weather, “Depending on the heat index, your workouts should be tailored accordingly.  This may mean exercising early in the AM or in the evening when the heat index is much lower.  Or, it may mean that you need to exercise indoors that day.”

If you have a day where outdoor exercise is appropriate, Mr. Nesslers offers the following suggestions, “Some great summer activities include hiking, biking, and jogging.  Summer also leads to a lot more interest in water related activities and exercises.  These can include anything from swimming to kayaking.”

What should be noted is that as the temperature increases, so does the intensity of the workout.  “In the warmer weather, your workouts definitely become more challenging,” Mr. Nessler stated. “Workouts in the summer results in the body burning more calories than they would with a workout of the same exact intensity during the winter.”

So, head outside when the weather allows, and get fit this summer!

Check out other articles from our summer fitness series– learn more about staying hydrated, kids and exercise, warm-ups & cool-downs, and using your smartphone for a workout.

When we workout with another that person is there to push us, and we have a sense of peer pressure not to whine or try to avoid a certain exercise.  We also don’t have the tendency to lift lighter weights or not do the total reps.

By ourselves, there is a different story.  If we don’t feel like doing all ten reps, we do only eight.  “I really hate that exercise, I will do this one instead.”  Some of us even lift lighter weights because we don’t have a spotter there and hate asking others to stop their workout to come to us.  We allow our minds to take over.

There is a solution.  It involves pushing ourselves.  Now, I honestly believe that no matter how self-driven you are, you will never get the best results on your own.  However, we need to focus our minds on smaller pieces of the pie.

When it is our goal to run 3.2 miles, we often decide to take it easy or stop and walk when we are alone because our minds tell us our body is tired.  A trick I use is to focus on landmarks like the quarter-mile mark.  I race to that point, and once I get close I move the line to the next point.  When my mind says, “THIS SUCKS,” I reason that I am almost there.  Doing reps while lifting is the same thing.  I want 10 and am “done” at 6.  “OK, just get to eight” and so on till I hit my mark.

It takes a lot of patience and discipline to re-train our minds.  I do this in everything.  My goal is to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day.  I have a 32 ounce water bottle.  Even though I would rather have something else, I force myself to drink every drop.

What are some suggestions?

…Anyone?…Anybody know this one?

Although I’m sure there is an audience rolling their eyes at me for talking about such an obvious pastime, there’s another audience among us still reading this to learn what it is.

Skiing without skis or slopes is basically what we’re dealing with here. Not only do you not need slopes, but Nordic walking can be done anywhere and in any climate. A ski pole-sporting walker may be hard to come by where you live, but if you ask a northern European, he or she will tell you all about it.

Years ago, Nordic skiers needed ways of exercising off-season. It was called “ski walking”, “hill bounding”, or “ski striding” and it helped them year-round to maintain the right workout schedule. During the summer, ski coaches began to notice athletes using ski poles while walking in places where walking empty-handed would have been fine. Then the coaches began to draw conclusions between world class cross country skiers and those that chose to walk with poles every day.

Well, in 1988, the first brand of “Nordic walking” poles began being manufactured. The only difference between these and their downhill counterparts were the rubber tips at the end to help with friction while working out. Nordic walking began being embraced by the masses of northern Europe. Eventually it spread to other parts of the continent.

Today, this type of workout is reaching the U.S. shores, and at a great time. While your average walker is only using 70% of his or her muscle mass, your ski-pole walker is using 90%. This comes from the fact that it utilizes most of one’s upper body muscles due to resistance with each stride.

Not to mention that these Nordic walkers are saving impact stress on their hip, ankle, and knee joints.

The leisurely 1.5 hour drive to Mt. Monadnock from our house gave us a chance to chat before we started doing the 3,100 feet ascent. After getting a trail map from the park service ranger, we began our climb.

We chose the most direct path up the mountain (the White Dot Trail). A fairly steep, rugged climb ensued which took us about 2 hours to complete. The cardio work was intense at times and had our hearts racing and lungs taking in air.

Once on the summit, we sat and rested while we took in the amazing panoramic views. After a 15 minute rest, we began the descent. Choosing a slightly easier descent path (the White Cross Path), we were able to complete the return trip in a little over 1.5 hours.

According to my calorie calculator, it was a tremendously wonderful cardio workout, incorporating great views and great company, that burned a little over 2,200 calories for my 225 pound frame.

There are some definite safety measures that you should follow if you decide to go hiking. Before you ever hit a trail, you should learn about your local flora and fauna. Do some research and make sure that the places where you might be hiking aren’t fraught with dangers such as bears, mountain cats, coyotes, poisonous snakes, or poisonous plants. Now if you have stuff of that nature in your area, it doesn’t mean you can’t hike, it just means you need to learn about what to do in case you run across any of them.

The next thing you need to do before you actually take the hike is to make sure you have the right shoes. Hiking boots are best because they have thick non-skid soles as well as go above your ankles — that helps to support them, as well as give protection while you’re out walking. A word of caution, if you buy new boots, make sure you break them in beforehand. Otherwise you’ll get blisters.

Never, never, ever, hike alone, and always take a backpack.

Backpack checklist:

1.) water bottles (several depending on length of hike)

2.) first aid kit with antiseptics, bandages, ointments, plus cures for indigenous plant and animal life

3.) snacks

4.) dry socks

5.) sunscreen