Q&A With Kirk: How Mountain Trek Evolved to Offer Flow Hiking
In this Q&A article series, Mountain Trek’s program creator and director, Kirkland Shave, answers health and hiking-related questions from previous retreat guests.
Q: A friend of mine returned from Mountain Trek this fall and said you are no longer Nordic Fitness Trekking. I’m wondering why that changed and what is Flow Hiking?
A: After 20+ years of dividing our 16 guests into four, guide-led groups each hiking fast enough to be in their cardiovascular “fat flush” zone (65-85% of their max heart rate), we realized we were doing it wrong! We were under the illusion that the harder one worked, the more fat they would burn, the fitter they would get, and the more efficiently their body composition would change. What we didn’t realize, though, is that many of our guests were over-striving to trek in that zone, causing a cortisol response. At first, we did away with the wearing of heart rate monitors and switched to having guests qualitatively monitor their rate of perceived exertion (RPE) with a talk test. We educated about and encouraged medium-high cardio output, but were still very much “Nordic Fitness Trekking” (hiking at an elevated intensity level with trekking poles).
Three years ago when we introduced Forest Bathing to the program, we had our first real illuminating moment. Return guests began sharing they were feeling a deep sense of enrichment as they moved through the forest savoring what their senses were bringing into awareness. They told us that in their many years of Nordic Fitness Trekking they had not been able to see anything beyond the heels of their guide, hear anything over the sound of their own wheezing breath, or feel anything other than their heart pounding in their chest! Sure, they were exercising in the most pristine gym, aka Mother Nature, but they hadn’t consciously experienced her beauty. Their heads had been low, effort levels high, and a sense of presence was nowhere to be found.
Mountain Trek’s General Manager and Fitness Director, Katya Campbell, and I were shocked. In response to this guest feedback, we set up an experiment for the 2023 season to have all four guides slow their groups down by 15% (putting the cardio output at a Zone 2 level of 60-70% max exertion). This speed would allow guests to keep their head up, chest open, core stabilizers engaged, and stride shorter. At the same time, they could notice their breathing and sense of exertion while being fully immersed in nature’s beauty through each of their senses. We analyzed that season’s body composition stats and were positively surprised that, on average across all 300+ guests who chose to record their incoming and outgoing health metrics, guests were 12% more efficient at burning fat.
We realized that by bringing the 2.5-4 hour hikes into a slightly lower cardio range, the body’s conversion and utilization of stored fatty acids improved and that guests were enjoying their hikes much more! We believe that the enjoyment came from them being in a state of “flow” rather than a state of striving or performance. In fact, research shows that the state of striving is facilitated and supported by cortisol, the stress hormone, combined with the activation of the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system. Adding to this, higher levels of cardiovascular exercise also releases an even greater level of cortisol. While cortisol release during exercise is completely natural, its elevated, chronic, and sustained release makes it difficult to lose belly fat. This became the birth of Flow Hiking at Mountain Trek. 2024 marks the end of our second season centered around Flow Hiking, and we are thrilled to say that it has become our new, primary functional movement activity.
Curious to learn more about Flow Hiking? Learn about it in our latest article, How Hiking Helps Your Mental Health.
What is Mountain Trek?
Rated one of the best wellness retreats in the world and located in the healing forest of British Columbia, Canada, Mountain Trek is a week-long immersive health reset program proven to dramatically transform your body, mind, and spirit. Whether you feel overworked, overweight, or just in need of time to unplug, slow down, and recharge, Mountain Trek is for you.
To learn how our award-winning health retreat can help you melt stress away, restore energy levels, burn fat, purge toxins, and return home revitalized, recharged, and years younger than when you arrived, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:
