Stress Buster: How kayaking benefits your health
If you have the chance kayaking should become a part of your weekly routine because of its incredibly positive effects on your health. The first obvious good things about kayaking are that it’s a super active outdoor sport that allows you stay close to Nature, breathe fresh air, and have lots of fun.
Although some parts of kayaking require extra preparation, you can learn the basics in a single day. Once you learn it, it will benefit your health for the rest of your life. Here’s a list of the most important things you gain from kayaking.
Stress reduction
The best place to reflect on your life is to get out and spend some time in the wild, preferably near water. Cutting the waters of some lake powered by your muscles is a perfect way to forget your problems. Watching the surrounding landscape passing by is calming and stress relieving.
Though it requires some muscle activity, kayaking is a relaxing sport that will drop your stress level if you practice it for few hours a week. Give it a try!
Weight loss
Kayaking is perfect for people who like to lose weight without too much effort. You can burn 400 calories per hour when paddling at approximately 5mph which means that an afternoon of kayaking can result in 1600 calories being burned. Of course, this rate is less than other more intense physical activities like running or swimming, but according to the amount of time kayakers spend in the water, this hourly rate is just fine.
Upper body workout
Paddling requires all your upper body muscle groups to move including, arms, back, and shoulders. On average, you’ll do about 500 strokes per mile, using every muscle from your upper body which will have a major effect on your look.
A bright and fresh mind
Besides reducing stress, kayaking, as well as hiking and cycling releases certain chemicals in your brain that make you happier. When you’re out there on a lake or a river your mind clears out from all the negative thoughts.
Hearth health
If you want to have a healthy heart then do all the exercise it requires. It’s the most important muscle in our body and the only one that works constantly. Kayaking increases the heart rate and strengthens the muscle by giving it all the exercise and oxygen needed.
Leg toning
Though you think the legs do no job in kayaking, they actually help you balance and maneuver the kayak all the time. As you tighten and loosen them during the whole time while kayaking your legs will get stronger and well shaped.
Better self-image
Kayaking, like any other outdoor sport, increases your self-confidence, builds you up with a competitive spirit, makes you conquer rapids, beats the fear of losing balance, and makes you feel better about yourself. Kayaking on a regular basis boosts your self-esteem and makes you more social person.
Core muscles strength
Your core muscles are a group of muscles that help your body stay straight, so exercising your abs is crucial. As you paddle you turn your chest from one side to the other, making kind of mini-crunches that are perfect for you core muscles. The repetitions of the strokes will make this part of your body lot stronger.
More Vitamin D
Nothing new! Everybody knows that spending time outside and receiving sun energy gives you the necessary Vitamin D amount that helps your bone health. Vitamin D is the one that we can get less through food than any other vitamin. In fact, we get 80% of it from the sun, so it’s important to stay out and use the what Nature gives us for free.
If you never tried kayaking, but you always wanted to, now’s the perfect time to do it. Enjoy and good luck!
If you have any comments then please drop us a message on our Outdoor Revival Facebook page
If you have a good story to tell or blog let us know about it on our FB page, we’re also happy for article or review submissions, we’d love to hear from you.
We live in a beautiful world, get out there and enjoy it. Outdoor Revival – Reconnecting us all with the Outdoors.