Health Benefits of Paddle Boarding

Paddle boards are a great tools to get more exercise without making it fee like a chore. They provide a fun unique means of aerobic exercise attributed to longer lifespan, happier relationships, lower rates of depression, and sleeping better. It’s amazing how holistically such a simple device can change your health—which is why you won’t see these advertised on TV.

An Alternative Approach

There are unique ways to approach life—though none as unique as having a hacker’s mindset. Ketogenic diets to help ward off cancer, intermittent fasting to help release growth hormones, and alternative medicines to stave off pharmaceutical dependence are all excellent modern health hacks. Paddle boards don’t necessarily have the same categorical clout as anticancer diets, but they get much less acknowledgement than they deserve for potential health benefits. Consider what using a paddle board involves—exercise, commitment, outdoor activity, and investment. These are all principal factors that build the foundation of any great exercise program—though qualitatively there much more fun that one can describe with words!

Health Benefits

The health benefits of paddle boarding can be seen akin to those of nearly any aerobic program, as far as what one might be able to measure. You have sustained, physical exertion being enacted which tones muscles and burns calories. This offers benefits to nearly every aspect of our bodies inducing cardiovascular health, brain health, muscle health, and even mental health. Going one step beyond the gym here, paddle boarding is a great way to get some outdoor exposure too. This has been shown to offer a tremendous amount of benefit in lowering rates of all cause mortality—meaning any causes of death.

Paddle Board Yoga

Yoga certainly needs no introduction. Just reading the two terms together offers most all one needs to imagine what stand up paddle board yoga (SUP Yoga) involves. Taking your practice onto the water helps further isolate the dance with gravity and balance seen in the studio. You body sways all the time, and you isolate focus on small connective muscles much in the way free weights do. Another exciting part of SUP Yoga is the very friendly support water tends to have towards falling down. You can experiment time and time again on your headstands and other tricky moves that normally knock the wind from your lungs. 

Quality Paddle Boards

Amazon is great, and makes buying everything so much cheaper and more convenient. Paddle boards are no exception here, and you can save hundreds by shopping online. There are few key attributes to pay attention to, and you’ll be able to shop with confidence. Hull design, included gear, inflatable vs. solid body design, and detachable fins are a few of the key features that will come up. You’ll want to make sure you clarify a boards maximum weight capacity before ordering, and realize that transportation gear is sometimes expensive as well. Check out this article on the best paddle boards, which breaks all this down in much further detail.