Is hiking cardio?

[PaleoRob]

I was talking with my wife about how I am trying to get in better shape by hiking more and doing sit ups, etc.
She said that those things basically don't matter - you have to do "cardio" on an elliptical machine to burn fat. I left it at that because I was on my way out the door to work, but I am curious for both facts and opinions: Does hiking help you lose weight and get in shape? Is it "cardio"?

[RickVincent]

My hike up to Flatiron this morning DEFINITELY felt like cardio.

[SUN_HIKER]

Depends on the trail. When doing a 14er it's definitely cardio

[Trishness]

It's considered cardio as long as you are maintaining 60-85% of your maximum (or target) heart rate for 20 mins or more. There are all these formulas for figuring RHR (resting heart rate) and THR or MHR (target or maximum heart rate). The AHA uses a general formula for your THR/MHR which is 220 - <your age> but there are also other factors to consider such as if you take medication for hypertension and other CV diseases. My target heart rate is about 166 so as long as I maintain a pulse of about 85-145 for 20 mins or more, this is considered cardio. I have hypertension and take meds for it but know my body and know when I need to stop, even if it just for a 2 min rest to let my heart rate come down.

Here's a great link from the AHA:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHe ... 4TlqdmcWaQ



Trish