It’s no secret that exercise and activity are crucial elements to any successful health regimen, and while joining the gym or watching fitness DVD’s at home are popular go to’s they are not for everyone. These days there are many outdoors activities which you can indulge in to increase your cardiovascular stamina and improve your overall health. Stand-up paddle boarding is one of the outdoor activities which has really gained popularity in recent years, and why not? It requires you to be somewhere near water, generally in the sunshine (for comfort), and is relaxing despite providing a good workout… what more could anyone want? Here are five benefits of paddle boarding;
1. Tone Muscle and Lose Unwanted Pounds
Stand up paddle boarding makes burning calories and shedding unwanted pounds easier and more entertaining than ever before; for those who indulge in this activity getting a good workout in is both exhilarating and energizing. In fact, you’ll be surprised at just how effortless it all feels to stand atop this floating paddle board. The key to how this activity helps you to tone is the way it engages your core muscle groups from head to toe in order to allow you to stay atop the board. After a few sessions of pushing yourself across the water, working your legs to catch a good wave, and utilizing your stomach muscles to keep balance you’ll feel more powerful than ever. SUP offers an incredible chance to tone nearly all of your muscles at once, and is a fun activity to get involved in.
2. Improve your Cardiovascular Health One Stroke at a Time
Much like other cardio workouts, paddle boarding really does get your heart pumping and your lungs working. Over time this exercise will improve your cardiovascular health and endurance due to the intense overall workout it provides; this has been verified by scientific study. In fact, the way it makes your body work will reduce risk of heart disease one stroke at a time!
3. Relieve Stress in an Entertaining Way
Exercise, believe it or not, reduces stress! All the better if it gets you out in the sunshine and fresh air while you workout! Paddle boarding is one of the best ways to relieve stress as it’s fairly gentle, but works your muscles hard, and it does so while getting you out into the sunshine and fresh air.
4. Competitive or Not, It’s a Social Affair
Whether you’re engaging in a competitive race with friends, or you just want to have a leisurely cruise about stand up paddle boarding can be a great way to get some social therapy. Humans need to connect, this we know, and the chilled out opportunity to chat to your companions that paddle boarding provides is the perfect way to find that connection.
5.You’ll Develop a Greater Sense of Consciousness
As you work on keeping your balance, manoeuvring the board, and regulating your breathing, you will find that your awareness of your body and its connections to itself increases. Paddle boarding requires balance, most obviously, but also an acute awareness of your own body. The pinnacle of this is SUP Yoga where the skills of paddle boarding are combined with the discipline and techniques of yoga; the blissful consciousness that follows a session is hard to beat.
