Bodyboarding is often thought of as an easier alternative to surfing. The actual reality is it's far from it! Once past the beginner skills, bodyboarding every bit as tough as surfing and takes real coordination and strength. Bodyboarding involves a lot more trickery than surfing, it's all about riding the lip of the wave at super fast speeds and launching into the air to perform tricks.

Bodyboarding is a great way to improve your body's muscular strength whilst having a great time out in the water. Take a look below at some of the great benefits of bodyboarding...

1. Improves muscular strength throughout the body.

Bodyboarding is a great way to improve muscle strength throughout the body. Using your arms to paddle out and kicking with fins builds lean muscle in the arms and legs. The paddling motion is a strenuous workout for the legs and glutes.
The ride itself works out another group of muscles, the core. Strengthening these muscles helps with maintaining balance on the board and will help with tricks and manoeuvres. Body conditioning and yoga are two great forms of exercise for bodyboarders. Conditioning helps to maintain strength, whilst yoga is great for maintaining and improving flexibility.

2. It's a great cardiovascular workout.

Much like swimming, bodyboarding is an excellent form of cardiovascular workout. Your heart rate will go up and the lungs will work super hard to provide oxygen-rich blood to your muscles.
Bodyboarding provides the same cardio benefits as running and similar exercises, but with less stress on your joints due to the water alleviating the impact. One hour of bodyboarding can burn around 400 calories, depending on how intense your workout is.

3. It improves coordination.

One of the basics of bodyboarding is keeping yourself centred and balanced while on your board. Staying on the board and performing tricks requires serious concentration and balance and knowledge of how to distribute the body weight while riding is learnt over time. Much like surfing, bodyboarding requires you to pay close attention to movements in the water and react quickly when required. A great exercise for improving hand-eye coordination.

4. It refreshes the mind.

Being in the great outdoors is good for the mind and soul! Bodyboarding allows you to make the most of the sea during some of the best times of the day. Nothing beats being out on the water at sunrise or catching that fiery sunset at the end of the day. Add to that the rush of cold water and you've got the perfect way to clear your mind!
As we exercise, happy hormones such as serotonin are released into our brain, regulating our mood and mental wellbeing. If you haven't hit the waves for a while, you'll be surprised at how much it can do for you after a good session!

These are just some of our favourite bodyboarding perks! There are so many more reasons to head out on the waves and there's up to 35% off boards right now, so what are you waiting for!

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