Longboarding Health and Fitness Benefits

Not everyone has the luxury of living by an ocean. And when you think about it, most of us live somewhere landlocked.

So if you’re living far from the coast and thinking you simply can’t have the beach perfect surfer body, then think again.

Street-surfing comes with a host of fitness benefits that are similar to sea surfing. In fact, as a sea surfer, I go and hit the turf with a longboard to get myself ready for the swells.

Yes, longboarding is super fun and almost anyone can do it regardless of age or experience level. But, that doesn't mean it's a walk in the park without tremendous health and fitness benefits.  

Many longboarders consider this recreational activity as a part of their workout routine because it has so many positive effects on the body. And the best part is, longboarding is an outdoor workout that you will love, which means you will want to stick with it even if you do get tight muscles afterwards.

 

5 Ways Longboarding Improves your Health and Fitness.

Cardio and Heart Health

Cardio is every exercise that makes your heart beat faster, and longboarding does just that. By moving your body, you are elevating your heart rate and making your cardiovascular system stronger. Ultimately, cardio exercise helps your body deliver more oxygen to your muscles and burn more fat during the workout.

Aside from strengthening your heart, longboarding also improves your lung capacity and builds your stamina.

If you want a solid cardio workout on your longboard, try making it a part of your work day. For example, you can try longboarding on your commute. Shorter models are ideal for this because they are light and easily portable; just like the Biscuit that fits inside a backpack.

You can boost your cardio intensity and get the blood pumping with a Skate Pole.

By kicking your feet and paddling at the same time, you are making your whole body work harder than usual, resulting in intense cardio core workout while having a bag of fun.

 

Workout and Lose Fat

Longboarding is possibly the most enjoyable way to lose those unwanted bits. Slam on your longboard and after only an hour of skating, you’ll burn 300 calories in a 125-pound person and 444 calories in an 185-pound person.

Skate every day and you’ll be burning between 2000 – 3000 calories a week. See why our Hamboards community looks so fit?

 

At this point, it’s important to remember that a healthy balanced diet will help you lose fat quicker and stay toned.

Strength

Longboarding also helps you strengthen the muscles of the whole body.

First of all, there's the legs which play the biggest role. You need to balance on the board with one leg, push yourself with the other, brake, pump and do the turns. You need your leg strength for all of these. And as soon as you start longboarding, you'll notice your gluteuses and quads tightening.

Once you slam on that board with your paddles, you start to fire your muscle fibers. This allows you to generate serious muscle power.

Longboarding is a complete physical sport/activity. When you paddle down the turf, several muscles kick into action –

triceps

biceps

deltoids

the trapezius

rectus abdominis

latissimus dorsi and

obliques.

Longboarding will also help you strengthen your core and maybe even wake up those sleepy abs.

Yes, your legs will be doing most of the work, but your core will help you keep the balance on the board and do all those maneuvers. Don't be surprised if you feel like you've been doing crunches after a longboarding session.

 

If you're not particularly active, you can also expect to feel a little stiffness in your arms. As you're balancing on the board and doing the stunts and turns, your arms are going to be spread out or moving along with your body. So, there may be some unexpected tightness in your biceps and triceps too.

 

Flexibility

Longboarding burns some 4 to 7 calories per minute, making it quite a solid aerobic activity. But aside from being a great cardio and strength exercise, longboarding also helps you increase your entire body's flexibility.

 

 

And, even though we mostly have weight-loss and muscle strength in mind as the goals when we start working out, flexibility should not be overlooked. A flexible body is more dynamic and it stays young longer.

This will also prevent injuries both on and off the longboard.

 

Balance

Improved balance is one of the best exercise benefits that longboarding brings.

If you're one of those people who have trouble standing on one leg, longboarding might help you with that.

This hobby is also great if you want to improve your coordination and overall body balance. And you'll notice that as soon as you step on the board and realize that switching your weight from one leg to two and vice versa isn't as easy as it seems.

 

Final Take

There are several other benefits of Longboarding like increased stamina, stress-relief, self-gratification and confidence, mental health, better sleep, stronger bones. The list goes on.

Whether you do longboarding as a casual pastime in the park, or you use it to travel to work every day, you are doing something positive for your body. And you don't have to break your back to become fitter and improve your shape.

That's the magic of longboarding. Just get out there, have fun and feel the good vibes take over your body. Soon, you'll notice that you're healthier and that you feel great in your skin.