Blast Calories At The Beach
It only takes a couple steps through the sand to quickly realize it requires more exertion than walking on a hard surface. As a matter of fact, it's said that the body has to work 1.6 times harder while running on sand then it would on pavement and/or the treadmill. The harder the body has to work the more calories burned! Therefore, your weight loss journey can be accomplished at a quicker pace in the sand, then doing the exact same thing on a flat surface.
What Makes Your Muscles Work Harder??
When we walk or run through the sand our muscles are forced to do more mechanical work in order to stabilize the foot. Due to the sand your heel does not come down and hit the hard surface resulting in the activation of small muscles around the ankle that are used for stabilizing the foot. This simple process alone requires a bit more effort on our part meaning we have to work a little harder to travel the same distance. Again, the more work we put forth the more calories we tend to burn. The sand forces our calves to "wake up" and start working, also challenging the other muscles in our legs like the hamstrings and quads.
Have You Ever Visited The Beach And Had Sore Legs The Very Next Day??
During the process of performing beach fitness activities/running we have to lift our foot off of the ground in order to take another step forward. Taking these steps on the beach often results in sand getting on top of your muscle making rising your foot a bit more difficult, combine this with the un-even surface of the sand, and it creates more of a challenge for the muscles. Our calves also assist in the raising and stabilizing of our foot to complete our journey, and are responsible for the pushing off motion mandatory for furthering your run along the beach. The sand may also have an effect similar to wearing ankle weights and anyone who has ever worn those can attest to the burn in your calves during and after doing so. It comes back to the simple fact that the more muscles we use, in this case it is now our calves, the more calories we burn assisting in weight loss.
Beach Fitness=Weight Loss!
While running along the beach may result in minor aches and pains for those who are'nt used to it, these side effects are not a bad thing and will vanish quickly. The sand allows us to better our body, while enjoying some of the beautiful scenery the beach has to offer, especially Clearwater Beach! By walking along the beach you are strengthening many smaller stabilizer muscles that one you may not even know you had and are crucial to a strong and supportive foot/ankle. Hence one reason why athletes and individuals rehablilitating foot/ankle injures are constantly doing their fitness routines in the sand. No matter what your goals are, 1Team Fitness can help you conquer them along with perfecting your sand trot! Check out www.1teamfitness.com to experience your beach fitness retreat today!