Just as the beach can give you great beach hair, you can also get a great body using the water as your fitness buddy.
Sydney Personal Trainer Rachel Livingstone shows us how:
Stand up paddle boarding is the fastest growing sport in Australia. It is fun and anyone can get the hang of it. SUP gives you a total body workout. Standing in slight flexion tones your legs and bum. Pulling the paddle through the water works your back, shoulders and arms, creating strength and shape. Best of all, it is a core work like no other. Simply balancing on the board requires your deep abdominals to activate. Plus, with every stroke you take the muscles of your torso engage trimming your waistline even further.
Cruise flat water as a cool alternative to a walk or jog. Or try paddle yoga. The meditative effect and stability challenge are both heightened on water. For more action, venture out when it’s windier, the water looks choppy or there’s a swell and you will get a workout that equals any gym session. You can even ride some small waves. If you do fall off it’s a soft, water landing and you probably needed to cool off anyway.
Sand walking: For a workout that requires no equipment, just your body and nature, try sand walking or jogging. Start in firmer, wet sand and move to softer sand as your fitness increases. The movement of the sand under foot provides a much more intense workout for your heart, lungs and legs, than if you were on a treadmill or in a park.
To step it up and add some upper body work, dress minimally and go bare foot. Pick 2 markers on the beach. Jog along the sand from A to B. Then, swim back from B to A. You can control the intensity of your workout by adjusting the distance between your markers, how fast you jog and swim and how many times you repeat the drill.
The sneaky beach workout: Even if you are out with family or friends for a fun day at the beach, you can squeeze in a sneaky workout. Run from the beach into the surf lifting your knees as high as possible above the water, until you fall into the waves. Watch for the next good wave, catch it just before it breaks and body surf back to the shore. Repeat as desired for a good workout and a good laugh. Race your family or friends into the water and link arms to catch a wave in together for double the fun.
By Rachel Livingstone Personal Trainer & Owner of The Health Hub