by Chris Anders, Contributing Writer
So it’s that time of year for resolutions and foreseeable failures of will and determination. Everyone knows that losing weight is the #1 resolution and everyone knows that they will most likely fail. For some reason, we hold on to hope that this will be the year and make that valiant attempt to fulfill our resolution and join a gym. I owned health clubs for 20 years and will tell you that 60% of the people that join in January quit the gym within 60 days because they dread gym life or didn’t get results immediately. Not to mention—it’s not that fun. So in the spirit of Auld Lang Syne, I won’t judge you for making that same old tired “Lose Weight” resolution that you’ve been making since probably puberty because I have the solution—Stand Up Paddle Boarding.
Out of the top 10 resolutions, STAND UP PADDLE BOARDING can be used for 5 of them.
#1 Lose Weight #5 Staying Fit& Healthy #6 Learn Something Exciting #9 Fall in Love #10 Spend More Time With Family.
#1 Lose Weight
- Leisure Paddling: 305-430 calories burned leisurely paddling in an hour.
- SUP Yoga: With an energetic yoga flow 416-540 calories burned in an hour. SUP Yoga out performs land Yoga.
- SUP Touring: paddling for a long distance at a moderate pace without stopping in-between. We do an hour of touring around Peanut Island with an average speed of 3 mph and burn approx. 615-708 calories.
- SUP Racing: SUP Racing is the highest calorie expenditure in all SUP categories. When racing, your heart rate is constantly elevated for an extended period of time. For example, if the average person was covering 5 miles in about 1 hour, they will expend about 700 – 1,100 calories in that hour. If you add crosswinds and current that total calorie burn could be even higher.
#5 Staying Fit and Healthy – SUP is a full body work out: toning your abs, firming buttocks, keeping your legs lean while soaking up Vitamin D and the cleansing effect of salt water.
#9 Fall in Love – Studies show that couples that paddle together stay together, plus she looks good in a bikini
#6 Learn Something exciting – This one speaks for itself
#10 Spend More Time with Family
Life can get busy; family time IS important and we all could probably use more of it. SUP is an awesome way to spend fun quality time with your loved ones. And for those of you whose families are dysfunctional, at least you’ll have the gentle sound of the waves to tune out your [insert nagging relative].