Kayaking is an outdoor activity that can help you in many ways. First and foremost, Kayaking is a sport that has been around for many years now. You will get to enjoy the fun that comes with propelling your Kayak along the stream and feel the thrill that it brings. However, behind the fun and the thrill, kayaking has more to offer to your health than you can imagine. If your doctor recommends that you get outdoors more or get in physical activities, then Kayaking is a good starting point. We have compiled for you five awesome health benefit of Kayaking. The fifth one will definitely blow your mind.
1. It Improves Your Mental Health
Kayaking is an activity that requires the efforts of both your body and mind. Most people who suffer from mental illness are stressed out due to overthinking about the past or the future. There are many benefits of exercising to your mental health. According to the HuffingtonPost on mental health, Kayaking will help you focus your mind on the single particular activity that you are undertaking. This act of being mindful of what you are doing has been used alongside other meditation techniques to control mental illnesses such as Depression, Anxiety and ADHD.
The magic behind the power of kayaking is as simple as the desire to want to accomplish a task successfully. When one is able to concentrate on propelling the Kayak and do it successfully, they feel good about themselves. After such a refreshing activity, most individuals find it easy to focus on their work, studies and business. Mental health is highly related to how active your body is and kayaking is an activity that keeps the entire body in motion.
2. Prevents Cardiovascular Diseases
It is recommended that every individual should undertake at least 20 to 30 minutes of aerobics session each day. However, Kayaking offers you more than just a 20-minute aerobic session. Kayaking for one hour will not be as tiring as an aerobic workout; however, it will be more beneficial. If you can propel your Kayak at a speed of between 3 and 5mph, you will burn calories equivalent to what you burn in 30 minutes of aerobic workout in just 1 hour.
This workout is an activity that increases your cardiovascular activity. You experienced increased breathing, the heart pumps blood at a high rate and you start sweating. All these aspects work to the good of your overall body and heart health. Increased heart rate increases metabolic activities in the body. Increased metabolism increases body temperatures that help in clearing cholesterol from blood veins and arteries. Cholesterol accumulation in the arteries is the main cause for cardiovascular diseases.
Increased blood flow also helps in supplying the blood to all parts of the body, especially the brain. When the brain gets sufficient supply of blood and oxygen, it functions properly and keeps the entire body healthy.
3. Increases Muscle Strengths
All human muscles will automatically grow weak without regular exercise. Kayaking is an exercise that will help you improve your muscle strength in various parts of your body. When paddling, you use your upper body to make strokes and balance the Kayak In the water. You also use your feet to help in balancing the Kayak.
When propelling the Kayak, you make continuous strokes that tighten and strengthen the back and arm muscles. The entire upper body is subject thousands of repeated motion when stroking the Kayak. This leads to the strengthening of the core and the stomach muscles.
Strengthening of muscles also leads to the growth of abs for men. If you desire lean muscles and a healthy body, Kayaking is definitely one way to attain that. You will also attain more muscle benefits for your feet and the chest. All these benefits of propelling the Kayak using your energy will make you stronger and give you a good body shape.
4. Helps You Lose Weight
Kayaking is the answer to weight workouts. If you are trying to lose weight, hitting the gym every morning can be tiresome and discouraging. When you work out for long without seeing results, you will give up. However, kayaking can deliver weight loss results much faster and easier than any other form of workout.
According to American Council on Exercise, an average person may burn up to 454 calories per hour. If you can Kayak daily for 2 hours a day, you will burn about 900 calories per day. Burning such large amounts of calories may be a mountain to climb by working out in the gym. If you want to gain lean muscles or burn fats to reduce your weight, kayaking is a good option. You will have fun, and at the same time reduce fats. Burning fats in the body does more than just giving you a good shape. You get to improve blood flow and the overall health of the body.
5. Helps Your Body Gain Vitamin D
While most people underestimate the importance of vitamin D, it is important for the body and the bones. These vitamins cannot be obtained from foods and drinks. The vitamin D substance can only be obtained through exposure to the sunlight. The process of Kayaking gives you an opportunity to dwell in the outdoor environment and hence giving you the chance to obtain vitamin D from the sun. If you are used to an in-house environment, you deny your body vital nutrients. We have carried out research and found out that, those individuals who stay indoors throughout the year are more likely to have weaker bones. According to Webmd publication, you need vitamin D to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. People who lack vitamin D have weak bones that may fracture easily.
Bonus: Helps Increase Body Stamina
Just like any other workout procedure, Kayaking increases your body stamina and stability. You get the strength to take on many heavy loads and feel energetic. The overall energy levels of the body are at an all-time high when you participate in regular Kayaking. This is due to the improved blood flow and overall metabolism. Foods are processed quickly into energy which is distributed throughout the body. However, some people end up eating more.
Conclusion
People use Kayaks for fishing, exploring, sporting and touring. Whichever the reason you have to use a Kayak, you should remember that it comes with more benefits. These 5 awesome benefits of kayaking can be attained by anyone who does regular kayaking activities. For instance, if you do kayaking for leisure or sporting, you can make it a daily routine. Once you get adapted to the process of kayaking each day, you will experience more health benefits.
The main health benefit of kayaking is improved physical well-being as well as mental health. Your body will get in shape and as a result your heart and blood system. Most important is the fact that kayaking changes your mental health for the best. You will start making sound decisions, get less stressed and solve issues with a sound mind. Kayaking is beneficial to those who do it on a regular basis as opposed to one time.
Bio
Tim Fox is Co-founder and writer at The Elite a blog that thrive to help you enjoy your life on the outdoor.
