Walking / hiking is a good and pleasant way to get places and burn calories, but not a good way to build cardiovascular endurance (except for people who are in such bad shape that even walking raises their heart rate significantly from its resting level). I made some (admittedly slow) progress on that front with treadmill jogging intervals (quick walk for a minute, jog for a minute, repeat for half-an-hour, preferably at a slight incline; as you make progress, you can increase the length or speed of the jogging portion).
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Walking / hiking is a good and pleasant way to get places and burn calories, but not a good way to build cardiovascular endurance (except for people who are in such bad shape that even walking raises their heart rate significantly from its resting level). I made some (admittedly slow) progress on that front with treadmill jogging intervals (quick walk for a minute, jog for a minute, repeat for half-an-hour, preferably at a slight incline; as you make progress, you can increase the length or speed of the jogging portion).