Many of us practice paddleboarding to find the freedom and relaxation that comes from spending some time on the water and exploring the surroundings. If you’ve got access to a paddle and would like to have a perfect stretch to de-stress, you should combine paddleboarding with yoga.
The craze of stand-up paddleboarding yoga (SUP yoga) has been around for several years, and in more recent years, we’ve witnessed it grow in popularity. When you blend the natural and physical benefits of paddleboarding with yoga’s mental and spiritual advantages, your body and soul will react positively.
In this article, we’re going to help you understand as much as possible about paddleboarding and SUP yoga. We’ll discuss a variety of topics, including:
- Reasons why paddleboarding is a great workout
- Reasons why you should give SUP yoga a try
- Simple SUP yoga poses to try
Reasons Why Paddleboarding Is a Great Workout
Paddleboarding or stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is one of the most popular water sports proven to be excellent workouts. This activity provides an extensive range of visible benefits from upper body training, leg work, to core strength building. Additionally, SUPing is also a low-intensity and fun beach activity to engage in.
Below are three main reasons why paddleboarding is such an ultimate workout you can’t afford to miss in your fitness lifestyle:
1. It Burns a Stack of Calories
The amount of calories you burn from stand-up paddleboarding depends on what you put in; the more you hit the water, the more calories you burn. The great thing about SUPing is that even a casual pootle is capable of churning through 430 calories in just an hour. This is about double the amount of calories you’d burn on a quick-paced walk over the same period.
A SUP touring (moderate-paced paddling) will burn more than 700 calories. That’s the amount you’d burn on actual surfing in the sea. If you combine your stand-up paddleboarding session with a yoga workout, you’ll burn 540 calories in an hour.
2. It Builds All-Body Strength
Besides calorie burning, stand-up paddleboarding is also an excellent all-body workout. SUP is a strength and endurance exercise that requires almost every element of your body to cooperate, balance, and pull its weight. When paddling, your shoulders, quadriceps, arms, back, and knees cooperate to propel you forward. On the other hand, your leg muscles play their part to help the core in maintaining your balance.
With stand-up paddleboarding, you don’t feel the ache as you could in the gym because you’re distracted by the nature and motion of riding across the water. SUP is quite a perfect cross-trainer offering a combination of aerobic and strength-based training.
3. It’s Beneficial to Your Core
If you want to get your core in operation with less or no pain of a plank, then stand-up paddleboarding is the way to go. It’s a perfect way to set your core through its paces because when paddling, your abdominal muscles will steadily be working to help you sustain your balance. SUP is a pretty gentle and fun core exercise, and yet you’ll experience the outcome in action.
The tougher the water, the harder you’ll need to work to stay upright and balanced, which is beneficial to your core. It’s also great for the flat tummy—even if you’ve never had a six-pack before, you’ll eventually see it coming!
Reasons Why You Should Give SUP Yoga a Try
Some people think stand-up paddleboarding yoga is a fad, some say it’s difficult, and some think it’s silly. Well, guess what? SUP yoga it’s fun and effortless than you can imagine, and regardless of your age or fitness level, this sport is worth trying. Its psychological and physical benefits are endless. Just think of a combination of paddleboarding and yoga benefits. That’s what you get from SUP yoga!
If you’re interested in SUP yoga or you might be on the fence, here are intriguing reasons you should try yoga on your paddleboard:
1. It Improves Mindfulness
SUP yoga requires you to pay attention to your body movements as well as your breath. This is vitally essential to help you keep a well-balanced posture on your floating board. A focus on your overall body movements, breath, and balance develops a deeper level of self-awareness and mindfulness.
2. It Improves Your Strength and Balance
As mentioned above, practicing yoga on a floating paddleboard is all about balance. SUP yoga helps you understand where your balance is weak and where the strength is.
SUP yoga helps you develop your core strength by challenging your body to a new level, forcing it to work extra harder to help you maintain your balance. The more you engage your muscles to keep your balance, the more strength and stability you get to stay afloat.
3. It’s a Great Way to De-Stress
If you’ve ever engaged in any water sport, you can attest that there’s something so magical and peaceful about being out on the water. Practicing SUP yoga is an excellent way to find your zen and put your mind at ease. Having masses of water beneath you while switching yoga moves helps you to destress and find deep-rooted peace.
4. It’s Fun and Challenging
SUP yoga not only improves your balance and mental health but also’s fun and demanding work to do. This activity gives you the freedom to make your desired yoga moves and challenges you mentally and physically to keep your balance on the water.
When practicing SUP yoga, you leave your ego behind and let the experience take you wherever it’s going to take you. It might take you overboard, sometimes you might fall, and you just have to laugh it off and get back on your board!
Simple SUP Yoga Poses To Try
If you’re interested in trying out SUP yoga, below are the top 10 simple poses that’ll make your session more fun and beneficial. Perform several cycles of these SUP yoga poses until you feel complete:
- Warrior 2
- Boat pose
- Full wheel
- Savasana
- Headstand
- Crow pose
- Chair pose
- Thread the needle
- Downward facing dog
- Modified crescent lunge
Bottom Line
Stand-up paddleboarding and yoga (a.k.a SUP yoga) is the most fun, challenging, and beneficial soul exercise to do on the beach. If you’re looking for the best and rewarding workout to do on your next beach visit, you should definitely give SUP yoga a try.
Source:
Paddleboards.com
