Hi bestie! Welcome back to A Hint of Life! Last year I went to the Dominican Republic for the holidays and it helped me change my perspective on having an active lifestyle. I never thought about walking on the beach as a workout option but after a week on the beach, things changed!
*Disclaimer* This post was originally posted a year ago but I wanted to give you guys a little update. At the time, I was starting my fitness journey (read about the start of my journey, here) and was starting to see the change in my body and mind.
So, here we go:
Typically, when I go on vacations, working out and caring about what I eat and drink, goes out the window but this time around it was different. As I told you guys about on my last post, I’ve been consistently working out for the past 6 weeks (week 7 started yesterday!) and it has changed my perspective about really having a healthy lifestyle.
Things I recommend for walking on the beach:
I was able to squeeze in the two workouts that I had scheduled – one fully body and one leg workout – the rest of the days are cardio days and being at the beach with no gym challenged me because I normally do cardio on the elliptical. With a herniated disc on my back, a water cyst on my knee and really weak ankles (all product of my volleyball years and poor self-care!) elliptical is the cardio that hurts me the least.
The beach was my partner! Normally (in my past life before working out for 6 weeks straight), I would have NEVER done this. I would have sipped on mojitos ALL day, laid out on the sun and then back to the room for a shower and a delicious dinner where I would have overeaten! But TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
Walking and jogging on the beach was my alternative for cardio days; ranging from 30-45 minutes. The first cardio day, I walked for half the time and jogged all the way back, without stopping. The second cardio day, I walked the entire time but for a WAY longer distance. I was walking with Luis (if you don’t know who he is, he’s my boyfriend!) and he kept pushing us to go further and further. By the time we were walking back, I couldn’t feel my legs.
Items you’ll need for walking on the beach:
Walking and jogging on the beach is great for calorie burning, resistance, ab work and strengthening the legs. I did a little research to really understand why walking on the beach is good for us. Turns out, walking on the beach requires 2.1 to 2.7 times more energy than walking on a hard surface at the same speed!
The 3 Health Benefits of Walking on The Beach:
- You can expect to burn up to 50 percent more calories than you would walking at the same pace on your regular surface. (YAY!! love burning calories.)
- Walking barefoot is also relaxing and energizing. Freeing your feet from restrictive shoes allows the sand to massage the bottoms of your feet, which increases circulation. The feeling of sand beneath your feet and between your toes also awakens your senses, which can be relaxing, soothing and rejuvenating. (Give me anything that relaxes me, please).
- Easy way to soak up natural Vitamin D from the sun as you walk. (This is really important for me! I always have Vitamin D deficiency)
Most importantly, I LOVE how it reconnects you with nature. It may sound cheesy but walking on the beach, lifts your mood instantly – even if you are sweating and can’t breathe, it’s the mood booster you need to kick-start or end your day.
Have you ever thought of walking on the beach as cardio?
Tell me about your experiences in the comments section below!
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