20 Ways Paddle Boarding Will Improve Health

Are you looking for an exciting activity that is also great for your health? Paddle boarding may be the hobby you’ve be looking for. I’ve had a blast getting into paddle boarding. If you love being around the water like I do, you need to check SUP out. I wanted to show you another major pro for SUP, which is that paddle boarding will improve health.

Can paddle boarding improve health? Absolutely! SUP or Stand Up Paddle Boarding, is a physical activity that engrosses many different muscles in the body. There are different types of paddle boards that create different workouts for varying degrees of calorie burn. Paddle boarding also has benefits of mental well-being for better health. Let’s take a look at 20 ways that paddle boarding improves health.

Low Impact workout

One of the awesome things about paddle boarding is that it can be as intense of a workout as you want to make it.

If you’re just leisurely paddling along the water, it still creates a calorie burn, but doesn’t have the impact on the knees like some common high-impact types of exercise.

Cardio

The paddling movements and physical activity that occurs while SUP riding can increase heart rate. As we are involved in movement activities that can sustain an increased heart rate for a duration of time, it helps to improve heart health.

We all know how critical a healthy heart is for our overall physical well-being. Having proper blood flow and circulation decreases our risks for disease.

Meditation

There is something about being around water that creates an environment for self-reflection.

Spending time out on the water on your paddle board, can give you an opportunity to embrace meditation. Traditional meditation is usually done by sitting

Balance

Standing on a paddle board for long periods of time will help improve your balance, since you well be using your legs to stand while balancing on water.

Core

By balancing on your paddle board standing up, you use those muscles around your waistline. Stand up paddle boarding will help to tone those muscles that help improve posture and keep your spine aligned.

Bonding with Pets

There aren’t a ton of recreational activities that allow you to incorporate your dog into the activity, but SUP can provide that experience.

Dogs tend to love being around water, just as much as us humans. Dogs can sit next to their owners and enjoy the paddle board experience strengthening a bond and providing companionship with their owner.

Bonding with Family

Wholesome recreational activities, like SUP, can be an activity that the family enjoys together. Spending time together can enrich relationships and a sense of belonging within a family unit.

Building those family relationships will help build healthy social skills for development.

Lose Weight

Being involved in a physical activity like SUP, helps burn calories. From what I discovered, about an hour of paddling at a normal pace, burns from 300-450 calories.

That number will increase if paddling in more strenuous conditions like waves or aiming for more of a speed workout. Burning calories leads to weight loss, depending on your diet regimen.

Stress Relief

Being out on the water can take us away from the daily demands of our lives. Just being part of an activity that you enjoy, which is healthy, will help you cope better with the challenges going on in your life.

Connecting with Others

When we are involved in a hobby, we tend to network with others involved in that hobby, like a community.

I know I tend to research everything I can about hobbies I’m interested in, find others to share the experience with, and just talk to others to learn more.

Strengthen Bones

Research suggests that sunlight exposure helps with vitamin D production. Vitamin D has been linked to overall bone health, by helping our bones absorb calcium.

Being out on the water on your SUP, allows optimal time for catching some sun.

Breathing Oxygen

Being out on the water away from the pollutants of the city, tends to bring some cleaner air to breathe. Our oxygen intake is crucial for a healthy brain and proper circulation.

Some of the meditation techniques or just physical fitness activities of paddle boarding help us to improve our oxygen intake.

Sleep Better

 An interesting study by sleep.org, demonstrated how getting a certain amount of hours of physical activity per week helped with getting to sleep and a better quality of sleep.

This study suggested that physical activity could be a better alternative to improve sleep, than taking medications/supplements.

SUP can be one of those physical activities to do throughout the week to help improve one’s sleep routine.

Improve Flexibility

Yoga on a paddle board is becoming hugely popular. Performing different yoga poses on a SUP allows us to build flexibility.

Just performing the regular paddle movements for paddle boarding helps to get the muscles loose and away from the lethargy of a sedentary lifestyle.

Create Flow

I’m a big fan of the book Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, he discusses how certain experience called “flow experiences,” allow us to create optimal experiences, which leads to increased happiness.

These types of flow experiences tend to come when we are engaged in activities, like paddle boarding, that we truly enjoy. When we are fully immersed in an activity, time seems to disappear, there is a sense of being completely engaged, and things just seem effortless.

Be Happier

Any type of cardio activity, like paddle boarding, increases the production of endorphins. Endorphins are that feel good chemical in our brain, which leads to a happier state of being.

Reduce Depression

Often times when someone is depressed, they isolate themselves, and don’t leave the house. Just the act of being involved in something, can help to improve mood.

Paddle boarding gets individuals out of their homes and engaged in something, but can also be done alone while still providing health benefits.

Increase Energy

When we are living an active lifestyle through physical activities like SUP, it gives us more energy throughout the day.

Studies have shown that through regular physical activity, regulates metabolism to generate more energy.

Boosts Self-Esteem

Learning a new skill, like paddle boarding can give us a boost to our self-esteem. Anytime we can master something it helps us to feel good about ourselves.

Taking a risk to try something that we normally wouldn’t do can help elevate our self-esteem.

Have a Hobby

Having a hobby is an awesome way to relieve stress. Hobbies are great at helping us develop new talents and discover new passions.

Hobbies help you engage more and they create enjoyment in our lives.

There are so many awesome benefits to SUP riding. I hope that you get out there, try paddle boarding, and reap the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

Please comment below anything you enjoyed about this post.