As part of our Active Summer Fun series, we are bringing you great outdoor activities to enjoy this summer! Windsurfing is a popular water sport that is done by amateurs and professionals alike. To do it, you sail a surf board over the water by using your body weight to push or pull a sail, and setting your course to catch both waves and wind
Here are our favorite benefits associated with windsurfing:
- Mental Benefits: There’s nothing quite like being on the water beneath the sun on a beautiful, warm day! As mentioned in an article we wrote before here, people benefit greatly from exercising outdoors versus a gym. If you’re out on a sunny day, you’ll also soak up some Vitamin D, which is known to combat depression. Just make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen.
- Strengthen Core: Windsurfing works your core muscles as you balance on the board. You use your entire body to maneuver the sail rigging and steer, so you work your arms, back and legs as you sail. The constant adjustment of balance to your core ensures that it’s constantly engaged and working!
- Cardiovascular: The body consists of many muscle groups, and in order to use them they need to be provided with a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients via the bood stream. For this reason, large muscle groups likethe back and legs require the heart to pump faster when they are being used more extensively. Windsurfing is an amazing cardiovascular exercise because it requires the use of several of your bodies major muscle groups.
- Increased Cardiovascular Endurance: The more you windsurf, the better your cardio endurance becomes because of how steadily active you are when you partake in this sport. Because your heart is providing blood to all of these muscle groups, it’s a serious workout for your heart. The best part about this is that as your cardiovascular fitness increases, you will be able to windsurf for a longer period of time!
- Even Beginners get a Great Workout: As a beginner, you’ll probably spend most of your time learning how to stand on the board of the windsurf. This involves using your leg muscles to balance on the board while employing your shoulders, forearms and lower back to control the force of the sail. Novices might spend half their time in the water, but this is all part of a workout. Falling off the board means you are constantly pulling yourself out of the water which works your arms and increases your calorie output.
- Burn ALOT of Calories: Expert windsurfers burn up to 1000 calories per hour, and recreational windsurfers burn around 500 calories an hour.
- Doesn’t Feel Like Exercise: Travelling up to 20 miles per hour on your windsurf is so exhilarating you hardly know you’re exercising.This means you’re likely to stick at it for longer and burn up more calories than in the gym.
(According to the Royal Yachting Association the average windsurfer spends up to six hours each day exercising without even realising it!)
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