7 Health Benefits of Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Since it was reported as the #1 sporting activity with the most first-time participants of any in North America in 2013, Stand Up Paddleboarding has continued to grow in popularity. It’s an easy sport to take part in and it comes with a number of built in health benefits. It’s fun to do alone or as a group or family activity and there are no age restrictions.

The McKinley Beach community encourages a healthy balanced lifestyle and aims to cater to its residents by offering easily accessible on-site amenities for all to enjoy. A storage area near the beach for your water toys (such as a SUP) is just one feature available to residents and we’ve already seen a number of people Stand Up Paddleboarding off our sun-drenched beach.

It’s easy to see why the activity is so popular. Here are 10 great health benefits that can be gained by Stand Up Paddleboarding:

1) Improved Balance – Constantly standing upright on the board requires balance and core and leg strength. The focus to maintain balance not only helps your own stability on the board but can encourage focus and balance in day-to-day activities.

2) Full Body Workout – Because of the nature of paddleboarding, you’ll be using every muscle in your body at some point during your time on the water. Legs and feet work to stabilize your balance along with your core, abdominal, and back muscles. Your shoulder, arms, and back muscles work together to propel you through the water. Don’t be surprised if you find some new aches and pains after your first SUP experience.

3) Low Impact – Worried about hurting yourself? Don’t be. While all activities come with an inherent amount of risk, Stand Up Paddleboarding is a low impact exercise. It’s highly unlikely to do any sort of damage to your tendons, ligaments, or joints. SUP is a great activity to do if you’re recovering from an injury and want to ease back into physical activity.

4) Stress Reduction – Water naturally soothes the body and exercise helps to reduce stress. Add to all of that the soothing sounds as you glide through the water, the sensation of actually walking on water, and the rhythm of your stroke, and the stress you feel starts to loosen its grip on you and melts away.

5) Good All-Round Cardio Workout – Like any sport, the longer you do it, the better the cardio benefit. After paddling around for an hour, you’re certain to work up a sweat. For more of a challenge, why not race a friend and really get the heartrate going?

6) Better Cardiovascular Health – According to iSupWorld.com, paddleboarding can help you avoid being a victim of heart attacks and strokes. Because paddleboarding provides a balanced workout, working your muscles in tandem with your heart and lungs, you’ll also experience improved cardiovascular health and less risk for related diseases.

7) Connect with Nature – Spending time on the water provides you with a sense of calm and a feeling of connectivity with nature. This can in turn have a positive effect on mental health and emotions. You’ll also gain all the benefits of the Okanagan Summer sun with healthy doses of vitamin ‘D’!
We invite you to take a drive out to McKinley Beach and take a paddle along our scenic shores, view the new marina, and drop in on our new showhome while you’re in the area!

Never tried Stand Up Paddleboarding and want to give it a shot? You can now rent both Stand Up Paddleboards and Kayaks at McKinley Beach. Rent by the hour or by the half day.

What are you waiting for? Grab your SUP and get out there!