Health and Kayaking

Most people believe that staying healthy and fit is a challenge that is quite difficult to undertake. You have to be conscious about everything that you do—starting from the foods that you intake to the physically strenuous activities you do at the gym. Fret no more, because there is a newfound recreational sport that keeps you fit and healthy while having fun at the same time—kayaking.

Kayaking is an activity in which a person sits inside a floating, enclosed vessel called “kayak” while using a doubled-bladed paddle to move. Good health and kayaking may be perceived by people as two separate things that cannot be related to each other. But recent research studies show that kayaking produces a number of health benefits to those who love to do this sport. Some of these are:

Stress Reduction

Health and kayaking’s connection with each other can be seen as to how this activity can relieve you of your stress. The worries and burdens that you carry are being swept away as you glide across the water, and enjoy the beauty Mother Nature has bestowed on earth—like the changes in the color of the sky as it turns from blue to red-orange and the slow, ripple-moving effect of the water around you. The water itself has a soothing and relaxing effect that makes you feel at ease and comfortable. The quietness of the place, as well as the surreal nature of kayaking, provides you a temporary refuge from the noisy, busy life in the city and gives time for you to reflect on things that you want to think about.

Weight Loss

Paddling across the water to move your kayak requires a significant amount of energy. In fact, research studies show that a 60 kilogram person can burn an average of 300 calories per hour. Comparing this fun social activity to other physically strenuous activities you typically do at the gym, the relaxing effect that kayaking produces keeps you on doing this activity for long hours without feeling any kind of stress or pressure. This is an effective weight loss training because although it burns a lot of calories, kayaking doesn’t tire you out compared to other forms of exercise. Talk about having fun while getting fit and sexy!

Fitness Training

Many people today are becoming more conscious of their health and kayaking increasingly becomes one of their activities of choice during their fitness training. How does kayaking help them? In this activity, you use most of your muscles in your upper body as well as some in your lower extremities when you use the double-sided paddle to stroke in the water. The muscles in your arms, limbs, and legs are being worked out as you apply pressure to drive your kayak to move forward. In addition to this, it also helps you strengthen your cardiovascular system and decrease the risk of you having heart disease as kayaking exercises your heart muscle by increasing its heart rate for an extended period of time.

Good health and kayaking are interconnected with each other. Kayaking is not only a form of relaxation but can also be a way of achieving your goal to be healthy and fit. If you are interested in trying this fun recreational activity, there are a lot of kayaking clubs and communities that can assist you in doing this sport.