How Paddle Board Activity Boost Mental and Physical Health

Paddleboarding is a great way to get out on the water and enjoy the weekend while simultaneously boosting your mental and physical health. 

Plus, it’s a fun activity for all age groups and skill levels. You can go SUPing on your own or with friends, and it’s perfect for exercising while relishing the beautiful outdoors!

With that in mind, let’s take an in-depth look to understand how paddleboard activity boosts mental and physical health.

How Does Paddle Board Activity Improve Physical Health?

Paddleboarders experience increased flexibility and balance, muscle strengthening, and cardiovascular health. We will go over these, step by step.

Paddling A SUP Enhances Flexibility And Balance

To efficiently paddle a SUP, you need a combination of constant motion and balance. These will help you become more flexible and balance better.

We may view the process,

• For balancing on top of a SUP, you need to lower your core. This way, your knees will become a bit more limber.
• When you paddle, you are moving your shoulders with each stroke. Soon, you will be able to turn your shoulders a bit more without any pain.
• If you are an expert SUPer, you most likely keep your back straight while paddling. So, the backbone and the muscle groups learn to adapt better.
• Moreover, during the paddle strokes, you may need to adjust your footing to keep standing. This muscle memory will improve your overall stability.

Besides just paddling, SUP yoga is another excellent way to stretch and loosen up the stiff muscles and strengthen the connective tissues.

Take note that hyper flexibility can cause issues as well. So, it’s better to focus on casual paddleboarding rather than an intense workout activity for boosting flexibility and balance.

SUP Racing And Recreational Paddling Increases Muscle Strength

Unlike recreational paddleboarding, SUP racing requires you to engage your core and use your muscles more. In essence, it will make your muscles stronger.

For instance,

• Racing requires the proper paddle grip, which will take power from the arm muscles, making them stronger.
• In addition, powerful paddle strokes will use the upper body, core, and leg muscles while racing. This way, it will be a full-body workout.

With SUP racing, you won’t have to worry about training your body parts separately. 

However, keep an eye out for dehydration and exhaustion as they can cause severe harm out in the water.

Touring Or Extended Paddleboarding Trips Benefits The Heart

Extended paddleboarding tours, trips will effectively improve your heart health as long as you know what to do.

When you go on a SUP trip,

• Take in deep breaths. The extra oxygen will help your heart to pump more blood and oxygenate your body efficiently.
• Paddle in rhythm. This way, the heart will pump blood efficiently and reduce stress on nearby arteries, ultimately improving the blood flow.
• The improved blood flow will, in turn, strengthen metabolism and burn more calories, thus providing more energy.

Moreover, if you use an iSUP, inflating it with a manual pump will also be a light workout. It’s perfect for getting the heartbeat up before paddling out.

How Does Paddle Board Activity Boost Mental Health?

Besides improving physical health, paddleboarding also boosts mental health by reducing stress, immersing the rider in nature, and increasing focus.

Paddling A Board Reduces Stress

Managing mental stress can be pretty challenging for the modern man. Fortunately, SUPing can help reduce stress for the whole family.

Here’s how it works, 

• Paddling a board releases endorphin, otherwise known as the brain’s neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy.
• By improving metabolism and cardiovascular efficiency, paddleboarding will influence your sleep quality and decrease stress.
• While you are paddling, you will need to keep up your balance and track straight. As such, your mind will have no time for worrying.

A big part of why paddleboarding is so popular is that it is a relaxing holiday activity, and it’s a lot of fun!

Paddleboarding Brings The Rider Close To Nature And Calms The Mind

Nature has a unique way of calming the mind and soothing the soul, and there’s nothing quite like paddling your board to immerse yourself in nature.

While you are on a SUP,

• You can feel like standing in the water, hear the waves’ soothing sounds, and embrace nature.
• It’s also possible to just lay down on the board and enjoy the clouds, winds, and waves to relax the mind.
• With the help of an anchor, you can meditate on your SUP. After all, there is a natural serenity to vast expanses of water.

In general, paddleboarders appreciate the beautiful sights around them or just the sound of water hitting their board as they float along peacefully.

SUP Fishing Improves Focus

SUP fishing is a new and exciting way to catch fish while on your board. However, the best part of SUP fishing is improving your level of awareness or focus while you catch fish.

Let’s take a look,

• You will need to balance on top of your board and spot fish simultaneously for a successful fishing trip. 
• This way, you can train up your multitasking capabilities and have better control over your focus intensity.
• If you find and hook a large one, you will have to maneuver your board to reel in the fish. You will become more focused as a result.

Fishing usually helps you concentrate better, and it becomes even more effective when you fish from a SUP.

A Few Tips & Tricks To Boost Physical And Mental Health Through Paddle Board Activity

Paddleboarding can be a great way for anyone to get in shape, relax, and have fun! To benefit from it, you need to understand how to use it properly.

First of all, choose a board that is suitable for you. You won’t have any physical or mental benefits if you paddle an unstable board in choppy waters.

Afterward, practice the paddleboarding basics in calm, safe waters before you head out to the ocean.

Remember, the water is unpredictable. So, don’t be the person who forgets to wear a PFD and safety leash.

Last but not least, pack enough supplies, drinking water to combat fatigue and dehydration when you go SUPing.

However, we have only scratched the surface. As you continue SUPing, you will learn and understand more about the health benefits of this watersport.

Summing Up

If you’re looking for a way to improve your mental and physical health, paddleboarding is an excellent option.

For those looking for ways to improve their fitness level, paddle boarding provides benefits like increased muscle strength or flexibility and cardiovascular improvements.

In addition, if you’re someone with anxiety and want something that’ll help you relax, this may be just what you need!

We, therefore, wish you a fun and healthy paddleboarding experience!