Life's a beach!
Summer’s here!! Yippee! Time to throw out all the daily worries and head to the beach!! This is the time of the year where everybody starts to feel alive again and with the fair weather, why not head to the great outdoors for your exercise.
Where better in Jersey than to one of our amazing beaches and the sea. Lots and lots of fantastic activities await here to help you forget about the dreary days of winter.
You can take your fitness training to the water and relax and enjoy life at the same time.
In the last couple of years there has been a boom in watersport activities and being more readily available to the general public to try out, from kayaking, surfing, sailing and, my favourite, stand up paddling boarding.
If hitting the water isn't your idea of chilling out, then take a nice long walk on the beach, play ball games with friends or just sit, read and take time out.
Here are few facts about the benefits of my personal favourite carefree living time on the water standup paddleboarding;
Improves balance: Balance is important in everyday life. We don't realise how much we rely on it until it starts to fail us. Paddleboarding will help strengthen those muscles that help keep us upright.
Full body workout: All your muscles are constantly working to ensure you stay upright. Legs and bum for standing and engaging your core muscles for stability. Arms, back and shoulders for the paddling action. Your abdominals and back constantly working to maintain balance. Great for toning all the muscles.
Low impact: Standup paddling is a very low impact exercise. Paddle boarding is particularly useful for runners that are experiencing shin splints or knee and hip pain, yet still need a good exercise to do while healing and because it is low impact you can do this as rehab for many injuries while improving your muscular strength and moving the joints safely.
Reduces stress: If you enjoy being out on the water and especially when it’s calm it can be very soothing as you glide through it. Take your time to look around you. Enjoy the peace and the feeling of being out in the open. Focus on the rhythm of your paddle strokes and you’ll soon forget about any other worries. Mentally and physically you’ll feel on top of the world. Also you’ll get your daily dose of vitamin D from the sun. All good for you but don’t forget the sunscreen!!
Cardio workout: If you spend enough time out on the water paddle boarding, you can get a good cardio workout. You can also race your friends while paddling to make it a bit more motivating and challenging, which is a good way to get the heart rate up.
According to iSupWorld.com, paddleboarding will help you avoid being a victim of heart attacks and strokes. Because engaging in paddle boarding is similar to running, aerobics, or even cross-training, you’ll have improved cardiovascular health and less risk for related diseases.
Improves endurance: Once you learn how to stand up paddleboard, you begin to master it and therefore develop your endurance from the constant paddling.
You will get some of the same benefits from most watersports so go out there and find what gets you down onto the sea. If paddleboarding doesn’t float your boat maybe try a couple of surf lessons or kayaking if you feel you’d be safer sitting down. We have some amazing coastlines to be explored.
Remember safety first when going out on the water. Always check the wind and tides. I would recommend to go out in groups and if you are new to paddleboarding, go out with an experienced instructor and\or guide.
Sun, Sea, fun fitness and getting your daily dose of vitamin D.
What more could you ask for for carefree living summer?