If you live close enough to the beach that you can easily visit it each day, you can begin to use this space in more ways than you may have thought possible. You can hold parties and events here, meet there with your friends, or even use it as a free place to exercise. However, before you start using the beach as your gym, there are a few things you should know about working out here first, especially if you’re older and visiting the beach from your assisted living facility nearby.
To help you see what you can do to make the most of this space, here are three tips for using the beach as your gym.
Skip Your Shoes
Almost everyone knows that walking through the sand on the beach can be a bit of a workout in and of itself. But what you might not realize is that when you are on the sand barefoot, you’re going to be able to get an even better workout.
Not only does wearing shoes on the beach become uncomfortable if you get sand in your shoes, but not wearing shoes will allow your feet to work harder and be stronger by the time your workout is done. This happens because your feet and toes really have to grab onto the sand in order to keep you stable.
Choose Lower Impact Exercises
While the resistance of the sand is good for exercising your feet, the unstable surface of sand can be harder for you to workout on and stay safe. Especially for older people or people who have had injuries to their joints in the past, you’ll want to be very careful about the exercise that you choose to do on the sand.
Ideally, you should try to do lower impact exercises so that you can best protect your joints from injuries that can easily happen on unstable surfaces, so try taking things slow and not pushing yourself too hard when exercising on the sand.
Set A Swim Schedule
If the sand isn’t your ideal place to workout, the beach also has water to help you get in some good exercise.
When it comes to swimming, setting and sticking to a schedule is going to be the best way for you to see some results from your efforts. Even if you don’t go very far or swim for very long, getting into the water and swimming consistently will help you to get a great workout and build up a lot of strength in your body.
If you’re wanting to get a good workout next time you go to the beach, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you know how to safely exercise.
