8 Benefits of Paddleboarding
Stand-up paddleboarding is fast attracting a solid fan base for a relatively new watersport, and it’s easy to see why. As well as being an amazingly fun activity, there are plenty of benefits of paddleboarding, from increasing your physical fitness to improving your mental wellbeing.
There are plenty of water sports out there to choose from, but paddleboarding is one of the easiest to learn, cheapest to start and has plenty of mind, mood and body-boosting benefits to boot.
If you’re debating whether to start paddleboarding, read through our top benefits of paddleboarding and find out how this fast-growing outdoor sport could improve your lifestyle.
Table of Contents:
- Is paddleboarding good exercise?
- Paddleboarding is low impact workout
- Paddleboarding can improve balance
- Benefits of paddleboarding for your mental health
- Paddleboarding is easy to learn
- Cost benefits of paddleboarding
- Paddleboarding can be sociable or solitary
- Take in vitamins, minerals, and good quality air
Is paddleboarding good exercise?
One of the main benefits of paddleboarding is its exercise and health benefits. An incredibly fun way to work out, you’ll get in shape without even realising it.
But what are the main health benefits, and what muscles do paddleboarding work?
Paddleboarding improves muscle tone
Paddleboarding is an ideal activity for improving muscle tone due to the stance you adopt when you move on the board. When paddleboarding, you use your legs and abs to balance and stay upright whilst your arms push you forward with the paddle.
Keeping yourself balanced over moving waters engages your core muscles, limbs and shoulders to improve your muscle tone with no dumbbell, fitness studio or full-length mirror in sight. It really is a full-body workout that challenges all muscle groups to transform your figure.
Losing weight is a great benefit paddleboarding
As well as being a fun activity, paddleboarding is an effective way to lower your body fat. One hour of paddleboarding burns about 400 calories – and that’s for people who take it slow!
If you’re a speedy paddleboarder chasing waves, you can really get your heart rate up, burn even more calories and see a more dramatic weight loss. As you will gradually build muscle, you’ll also continue to burn fat even after you’ve come ashore.
Reducing your body fat percentage is great for your overall health. It lowers the risk of a heart attack or a stroke and reduces pressure on your joints.
Paddleboarding is a low-impact workout
One of the great benefits of paddleboarding is that it is a low-impact sport, ideal for people recovering from injuries. Choose to paddle board on calmer waters, and you’ll experience minimal strain. This means less chance of damaging joints, tendons and ligaments.
SUP is so low-impact that you don’t even realise you’re building muscle. This means your “workout session” lasts much longer than it would if you were lifting weights or using a treadmill in the gym.
Paddleboarding can improve balance
Improved balance is another great benefit of stand-up paddleboarding. You might not feel the undercurrent as you paddle, but it’s certainly there. Paddleboarding engages your core muscles to keep you upright on the board. The gentle wobble of the undercurrent means your body will work hard to stabilise your centre of gravity and maintain your balance as you drift across the water.
Benefits of paddleboarding for your mental health
As well as the physical benefits of paddleboarding, there are plenty of other advantages for your mental wellbeing. These include helping you to relax and meditate to create a positive frame of mind.
Relaxation benefits of paddleboarding
Nature and exercise have been shown to reduce stress and, in turn, keep your mind more peaceful. Exercise releases endorphins and serotonin, boosting your mood, improving sleeping patterns, and alleviating stress.
Paddle over calm waters, take in the stunning scenery of coastlines and listen to the soothing sounds of water to help you unwind. Feel like you’re walking on water and really take in the calming movement of the tides.
Mental health benefits of paddleboarding
A major benefit of paddleboarding is improving your mental health. Your mind becomes aware of every move you make on the paddleboard, which is deemed to be a ‘flow’ state of mind. This state of mind is ideal for meditation.
Offering improved focus, cognitive function, memory and creativity, you can be stress-free and meditative when you choose to take up paddleboarding.
Paddleboarding is easy to learn
Paddleboarding is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-control sport. Once you’ve got your balance standing up and honed the right stance and motion to propel yourself along, you’ll find it plain sailing.
You can also start off by sitting on the board until you get your confidence. Once you’re up, board speed and movement are easy to control due to the typical paddleboard design structure.
It’s also relatively easy to pull yourself back onto your paddle board if you fall off, so you won’t spend time floundering in the water.
Cost benefits of paddleboarding
Paddleboarding is a relatively low-cost activity as you need less kit than other watersports.
Unlike kayaking, where you might need extra equipment like spray decks, stand-up paddleboarding kits are minimal and therefore cheaper.
Once you have purchased your board, paddles and accessories, you’re all set to go without any additional kit.
Paddleboarding can be sociable or solitary
One of the great benefits of paddleboarding is that you can choose to socialise with friends and enjoy the activity as part of a team. Or, go it alone and use the opportunity for some precious alone time to clear your mind.
This versatility makes it a lot more exciting and opens up a host of different SUP-related experiences.
If you’re interested in the social side, many watersport venues host paddleboarding races during summer. Meet other paddleboarding enthusiasts and take to the waves together.
Take in vitamins, minerals and good quality air
The benefits of paddleboarding extend beyond physical fitness and mental wellbeing in terms of being a health booster.
Being surrounded by seawater means you are exposed to saltwater which is believed to be a major body purifier that can ease dermatitis and dry skin.
Meanwhile, the salt in sea air has been shown to help clear your airways, making it easier to breathe. Even better, the time you spend in the sunshine means your body takes in extra vitamin D, which boosts your bone, skin and heart health.
Time to hop on the paddle board
Paddleboarding is not only fun but also offers a whole range of health benefits. From improving muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness to improving your state of mind and helping you to relax.
With plenty of benefits of paddleboarding, what are you waiting for? Hop on your board and get paddleboarding with help from NorthShore Watersports.
For quality SUP equipment to get you into the sport, browse our stand-up paddleboarding range for everything from paddles to boards and accessories.
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