In the age of social media and jobs that require long hours of cubical sitting most modern humans have forgotten the basic skill of walking. Except for in large cities where motor vehicle travel is unpractical the quick trip around the corner to get a gallon of milk is done in our cars. Many children in the Southern California area where I live don’t walk to school anymore and thought of and evening stroll is a terror inducing event for many teenagers. So, we are increasingly spending more and more time sitting on our posteriors plugged into a screen and watching others have adventures and live their lives. While it is not realistic to think that you can escape the modern day working environments entirely you should also be aware of the potential risks of all that sitting.

I have heard it described as “Sitting is this generation’s smoking.” Whereas, many new studies show that sitting may be causing you many unintended health complications both now and down the road. To start, sitting may be making you fat! While sitting you are burning 50 fewer calories an hour than doing the same task standing up. To make matters worse new studies have started to link prolonged sitting to rises in colon, endometrial, and lung cancers. Not to mention the back and neck pain that remaining motionless can cause.

According to a U.S. government study Americans spend 100 hours a year commuting to and from the cubical that they are confined to. That is about 87 minutes a day behind the wheel staring out a windshield. Maybe you live in the city and are lucky not to have to spend hours in a car moving slowly. That is better but not the best. City walking is too disjointed as there is little space to develop a rhythm. Streets and sidewalks hammer joints and cartilage. Here is a simple rule to work by if you can do it while typing on your phone and not taking in your surroundings you are not doing it right. I am not here to lecture you like your mom kicking you off you xBox to go play outside but the benefits of walking/hiking are countless.

The good news is that it is an easy problem to fix! In fact you already learned the skill correctly when you were young. Watch young kids when they are at paly. The run and bounce and paly to what seems to be an endless amounts of pleasure in fact sitting is the worst thing that you can do to them. “Time Out” is sitting still in a corner not moving around as a form of punishment. Want to start feeling like a kid again? Here is your prescription… Go for a hike!!!

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I want to here you backpacking stories! Do you have any tips or awesome pics you want to share? I would love to here from you! Post a comment or shoot me an email at Preparedidiot@gmail.com.

There are three essential pieces of equipment that any would-be outdoorsman must contemplate purchasing before heading out to the wide open spaces. We will give you a basic understanding of what to look for and how to maintain the most important parts of your kit. Fear not because at the Prepared Idiot, I have made all the mistakes for you so that you don’t have to look like an idiot when you are shopping, carrying, and maintaining your gear. So, let take a look at the big three of camping.

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