8 Ways Paddling Can Improve Your Health

Paddling is one of the most amazing fun activities. As you paddle, the beautiful horizon and gentle sound of water can instantly boost your mood.  And if you go with your family or friends, their smiles and laughter will brighten up your day. 

Like many sports, however, paddling canoes comes with lots of health benefits. 

Now, if you are not sure how paddling is beneficial to your health, here is a look at 8 ways paddling can improve your health.

Enhanced Cardiovascular Health

Paddling is one of the best exercises that can help enhance your cardiovascular health. As you paddle a canoe or kayak, the muscles became strengthened, and you get increased heart rate causing your blood to circulate more. Doing this regularly makes your heart stronger hence reducing your blood pressure and heart rate when in a resting state. 

Reduced Stress 

When you go out in the open for canoeing or kayaking, the paddling exercise helps to reduce stress and depression symptoms. Exercise causes your body to produce endorphins, which are stress reliever hormones. This is even enhanced more by being out in the open, surrounded by nature when paddling. The sounds of birds and the calm waters drive your mind away from thinking about your problems.  

Losing Weight

Regardless of where you canoe, whether it’s on a river, a calm lake, or in the sea, frequent paddling will help you to lose weight and improve your body stamina. Working the canoe paddle, particularly against the current requires energy, which is acquired by burning those excess calories. Regular paddling can burn approximately four hundred calories per hour, which illustrates how a few hours of paddling can be beneficial in burning excess fat.

Strengthens your Core Muscles

Going for a regular paddling section is one of the exercises that can help you to strengthen your muscles, especially the core muscles. Paddling encompasses sitting on the canoe and revolving your upper body from side to the other. It includes lifting the paddle from the water, putting it back, and drawing the water backwards, which needs the engrossment of various muscles on your upper body. Doing this is similar to doing mini-crunches that exercise your lower back and abdominal muscles. Repeating this over and over again in a paddling session equals to an abs workout section that will strengthen your upper body, arms, and shoulders. 

Improves your Social Relationships

Social relationships and interactions have significant benefits for your emotional and mental wellbeing. Like most sports, going out for canoeing or kayaking allows you to interact and mingle with other people, be it family members, friends, or strangers that you just met at the dock. In whichever case, going out for paddling provides a great way of strengthening your relationships while establishing new ones that can have a positive effect on your emotional and mental health.  

Tones Your Legs

Most people think about paddling as an upper-body workout. This is understandable as they only see arms moving while the legs are entirely hidden from the view. Legs are useful in turning and balancing in which the leg muscles become tightened and loosened countless times. This is hence a form of exercise that strengthens and tones the leg muscles.

Provides Low Impact Exercise

Canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding are easy on the body and offers low impact exercise that helps to protect your joints. This is useful in building your muscle strength without the wear and tear on your joints. Paddling involves genital motion, which promotes injury recovery without reoccurring or worsening. You can get in a perfect workout without causing harm to your joints. Unlike vigorous activities like running, people with medical conditions or the elderly can paddle comfortably without risking their health.

Advances Your Self-Image

Whether canoeing or kayaking, paddling is a great way to build your confidence and enhance your self -esteem. As you achieve a milestone after another such as tackling rougher waters upriver, paddling a longer distance, or emerging victorious over your mates, your self-esteem grows. Even little things such as getting into a canoe for the first time and overcoming your fear of water will make you feel better about yourself.

Conclusion

Paddling is an enjoyable sport that comes with some fantastic health benefits. With a variety of relatively affordable canoes available in the market, get one for yourself and paddle your way to a healthier and happier lifestyle as you enjoy the fun, the weather, and scenery too. Once you get going, you will not need any motivation to go to the water.