Advantages of SUP (Stand Up Paddle) Boarding

OPEN TO EVERYONE 

– an activity for everyone

Stand Up Paddle Boarding is one of the few sports that can be as enjoyable for quiet people as for extreme sports junkies. You determine the intensity. Cruising on a paddleboard on a glassy lake, racing on a lake or a tough paddle trip against the current of a river or on the sea.

– easy to learn

SUPPING is something you learn quickly. You really don’t need much practice to master the technique. Once you learn to stand up straight and turn your board around, you’re off.

You control your own speed. So it’s not like surfing where the wind determines everything.

If you fall off your paddle, you can easily get back on.

– a social activity

SUP is one of the few social water sports. It’s easy to chat with a friend. If you have small children or even a pet, they can sit on the board with you. This makes this sport a lot more accessible than surfing or water skiing.

WORK-OUT

– full body workout

Although SUP is very easy to learn, it is a perfect workout for your body. Almost every muscle in the body is used during paddleboarding. The leg muscles are needed to maintain balance. The arms, back and shoulders are used to propel the paddleboard in the water. Your head and abdominal muscles are also constantly at work.

– low impact

On flat water, SUP offers a gentle strength training experience that is effective without being strenuous. You build a form of fitness with a low risk of injury and overexertion.

– cardio training

1 to 2 hours of SUP is a good cardio workout. If you want to increase your heart rate, you can increase the pace without doing any damage. It is very gentle on your muscles and joints. If you’re racing or chasing the waves, it’s a blood-pumping cardiovascular workout that increases lung capacity and endurance.

– endurance

Once you’ve mastered supping, you can continue to train your endurance. Once you notice your balance improving and your muscles not getting so tired, you’ll feel your endurance increasing.

– muscle strength

It is an ideal way to build muscle and strength in a gentle way.  It is further an incredibly effective way to stay slim. You can burn up to 400 or more calories per hour, creating muscle mass that consumes energy. By burning excess weight in this way, you reduce the strain on problem areas such as lower back and knees.

– Useful for rehabilitation

Because of the low impact of the sport, paddleboarding can be a useful tool for people who want to rebuild their strength in a gentle way during rehabilitation.

BALANCE & MINDFULNESS

– balance and equilibrium

To do stand-up paddleboarding, you have to stand upright on the board, which requires a lot of stability and leg strength to maintain balance. This not only helps you have good balance while paddleboarding, but also increases your focus and balance in other daily activities.

 – stress reduction

Water naturally calms you down and exercise helps to reduce your stress. Add to that the soothing sounds as you glide across the water, the feeling of actually walking on water and the rhythm of your stroke. Your stress loses its grip on you, melts away and you can let go.

– Ultimate zen and flow

During a session on your board, outside worries disappear because it’s just you and the water. You are completely absorbed in the experience, you are fully aware of every muscle in your body.

Psychologists call this state “flow,” where you are completely absorbed in something just difficult enough to demand your full attention. It’s the same feeling of mindfulness as during a Zen meditation or mindfulness. Did you know that mindfulness leads to better memory and more creativity and empathy?

MOVEMENT & BALANCE

– Any form of exercise causes your body to release endorphins.

– Standup paddleboarding lets you balance on the board. This balancing effect calms your brain and nervous system. To balance properly, the eyes also soften and the mind must focus. To do this, you send signals to the mind to relax. In this way you are present in the moment.

– You are completely absorbed in the experience, fully aware of every muscle in your body as you propel yourself forward. Psychologists call this state “flow,” where you are perfectly absorbed in something just difficult enough to demand your full attention. It is the same feeling of attentiveness, as in a Zen meditation or in mindfulness.

– The rhythm of the stroke, the movement on the water and the focus bring you into this flow.

 – Connection with nature

On the water everyone becomes calm, you connect with nature. This has a positive effect on your mental health and your attitude. The fact that you also get extra vitamin D from the sun is always a nice bonus.

Recent research has shown that both ‘Green space’ (trees, plants) and ‘blue space’ (sea, rivers, lakes) have a positive effect on well-being.  Combine the relaxing effect of water with the effect of exercise and you have a powerful natural way to relax.

WATER

– The color blue makes people feel calmer and helps relax the nervous system.

– The sounds of water and the rhythm of your paddle stroke have a calming effect. The simple sound asks the brain for a minimum of energy to process and thus turns off much of your senses.

– Water is our nature. Did you know that we are made up of about 60% water?

Are you looking for the best Stand Up Paddle Board? Read my complete guide on the best inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board.