Longboarding is a great form of recreation and commuting, but fitness enthusiasts often wonder: is longboarding good exercise? Well, yes! Like any other aerobic activity, longboarding is an excellent workout that helps strengthen your muscles, improve cardiovascular health, and burn calories.
If you’re determined to work on your fitness but find the thought of hitting the gym intimidating, longboarding is the way to go! It is not only a low-impact exercise but also a fun way to stay active compared to other activities, like running.
In this guide, we will discuss the various benefits (not necessarily health-related) of longboarding and how you can incorporate it into your workout routine.
Key Takeaways:
- Longboarding offers a full-body workout that helps improve cardiovascular health, burn calories, and strengthen muscles.
- You can burn anywhere from 300 to 500 calories per hour depending on factors like weight, intensity, and terrain.
- Regular longboarding can help with weight loss, especially when combined with a healthy diet.
- It engages several muscles, including your core, legs, and even arms.
- Safety precautions are essential to avoid longboarding-related injuries.
What is Longboarding?
Before we move further along, let’s delve into the world of longboarding a little, especially for newbies and those who are considering longboarding as a form of exercise.
A longboard is a type of skateboard that is longer in size. While skateboards are usually between 28 and 33 inches long, longboards can range from 30 to 60 inches, providing better stability and balance for riders. Longboarding is done for several purposes, including cruising, commuting, racing, and freestyle riding.
Longboard riding has become more popular over the years. People particularly enjoy the thrill and versatility that come with it. It is an activity that is not reserved for certain age groups—young or adult, everyone can try longboarding, and it is easy to learn as well.
Is Longboarding Good Exercise and Workout?
Yes, longboarding is a great exercise. It improves balance, strengthens muscles, and provides a full-body workout.
Longboarding is also an excellent workout. Regular longboarding sessions can be highly beneficial for your overall health. The dynamic nature of longboarding engages your core and leg muscles, making them stronger. Additionally, longboarding elevates your heart rate, which helps keep your heart happy and healthy.
It also involves your upper body, including your shoulders and arms, which are essential for healthy movement and better balance. If that’s not enough, longboarding is low-impact, making it gentler on the joints compared to other forms of exercise.
Can Longboarding Help You Lose Weight?
Longboarding is a fantastic way to shed some extra pounds. Since it’s an aerobic activity that burns calories, it can contribute significantly to weight loss when paired with a healthy diet. Longboarding is great because it doesn’t feel like a workout, letting you have fun while staying active.
Studies show that consistency is important for weight loss. Longboarding is more fun, making it easier to stick with than boring activities like running or cycling on a stationary bike. The more frequently and intensely you longboard, the more calories you burn, leading to more effective weight loss over time.
Health and Fitness Benefits of Longboarding
Longboarding is not only fun, it also offers several health and fitness benefits that can improve your overall well-being. Let’s break these benefits into three categories for a clearer understanding:
Physical Health Benefits
1. Cardiovascular Health
Let’s face it, longboarding gets your heart pumping and improves blood circulation, leading to better cardiovascular fitness. A steady longboarding session can lower your risk of developing heart disease.
According to studies, a 30-minute aerobic exercise session each day, like longboarding, not only reduces the chances of heart disease but can also significantly lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Unlike high-intensity workouts such as running, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, longboarding offers a less intense option for keeping your heart healthy.
2. Calorie Burning
Aerobic activities like longboarding can raise your metabolic rate, which in turn aids in calorie burning. So, if you’re aiming for weight loss, longboarding paired with a healthy diet can be a great option. Depending on intensity, terrain, and body weight, you can burn between 300 and 500 calories per hour.
For instance, a more intense ride that involves faster speeds and varied terrains will result in a higher calorie burn. Let’s also take a look at the breakdown of calorie burning relative to body weight:
| Weight (lbs) | Calories Burned per hour |
| 125 | 300 |
| 155 | 372 |
| 185 | 444 |
3. Muscle Strengthening
Longboarding strengthens multiple muscle groups, especially in the lower body and core. The constant pushing and balancing on the board engage your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, as well as your core muscles, including your abs and obliques. These muscles work together to keep you stable while you ride.
A strong core supports your whole body, improving posture, reducing the risk of injuries, and increasing sports performance. Longboarding also builds endurance in your leg muscles.
Since longboarding helps strengthen your leg and core muscles, regular longboarding can lead to a well-toned and strong body.
4. Low-Impact Exercise
Longboarding, unlike most forms of cardio such as running or high-intensity interval training, is a low-impact exercise. This means it puts less stress on your knees and ankles. You can enjoy the cardiovascular and muscular benefits without the risk of joint strain that often comes with high-impact workouts.
5. Better Balance
It helps improve your balancing skills since longboarding involves you constantly adjusting your body. Improved balance and coordination help in daily activities for example you are less likely to trip while walking, you have better stride control when running, and perform better in sports in general.
6. Upper and lower body engagement
Longboarding engages your upper body, especially your shoulders and arms to balance and steer, which makes them stronger and helps improve balance.
On the other hand, your lower back does most of the heavy lifting during longboarding. This can vastly build up your leg muscles and inner thighs while keeping your knees and ankles active, which improves joint flexibility.
Mental Health Benefits
1. Stress Relief
Outdoorsy activities like longboarding can be great for clearing your mind. Fresh air and natural scenery that nature provides certainly have a calming effect. Besides, and more importantly, activities like this can release endorphins – your brain’s natural happy chemicals, which fight anxiety and depression and keep you stress-free and happy!
Also, mastering new tricks and improving your skills on the board can give you a sense of accomplishment and boost your self-confidence, which, we do not need to tell you is another happiness inducer!
2. Improved Focus
It is no surprise that longboarding requires concentration. You must stay alert to your surroundings, which helps improve your mental focus. Over time, this can enhance your ability to concentrate on other tasks. This can also help develop attention skills in children.
Longboarding also improves your decision-making skills. Planning your route and movements while on the go is not an easy task and this multi-tasking sharpens your brain.
Social and Community Benefits
1. Building Connections
Longboarding communities are vibrant around the globe, and they frequently organize meet-and-greet events. These communities allow you to connect with other riders who share your passion, share experiences, learn new skills, and, of course, make lasting friendships. This is especially helpful for beginners, as it provides a supportive environment for getting into longboarding.
You’ll find many longboarding groups on social media platforms, which are great places to stay updated about local events and meetups.
2. Group Activities
Another fun and popular aspect of longboarding is group riding. This allows you to enjoy longboarding with others, explore new routes and locations, and participate in competitions where you can showcase your skills and learn from fellow riders. Participating in group events, like weekly rides, longboarding festivals, and skill-building workshops, can significantly boost your motivation.
Safety Tips for Longboarding as Exercise
- Choose the right board – You should pick a board that is suited to your skill set. Typically, broader and longer boards are appropriate for beginners since they provide better stability.
- Choose safe routes – It is better to avoid rough or uneven terrains with heavy traffic, especially if you are still learning.
- Warm-up and Cool-Down – A simple warm-up like stretching before longboarding can get blood flowing in your body, prepare you for aerobic activity, and also help prevent injuries. Stretching afterward can help relax your muscles, which can aid in muscle recovery.
- Stay Alert – Look out for other riders and obstacles to prevent injuries.
- Stay Hydrated – Longboarding can be strenuous, so make sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after the activity.
- Wear Safety Gears – Always wear a helmet, elbow pads, kneepads, wrist guards, and gloves to protect yourself from serious injuries.
FAQs
Is longboarding good for losing weight?
Yes, longboarding is a calorie-burning activity that can aid in weight loss, especially when combined with a balanced diet.
How many calories does longboarding burn?
Longboarding is a great way to burn calories. Depending on the intensity and duration of your session, calories burned on longboarding can be between 300 and 500 calories per hour.
Is longboarding a good workout?
Yes, longboarding is a great workout. It engages your core and legs and improves balance.
How can longboarding keep you fit?
Longboarding works various muscle groups, including the legs, core, and upper body, while also providing a cardio workout, making it an excellent full-body exercise.
Is longboarding a good cardio exercise?
Yes, longboarding is a great cardiovascular exercise that raises your heart rate and improves heart health.
What Muscles does Longboarding work?
Longboarding engages various muscles, primarily targeting your core, legs, and glutes. It also strengthens your lower back and enhances stability. Additionally, longboarding utilizes your shoulders and arms, making it a holistic workout for both the upper and lower body.
In Closing
Longboarding is a fun and versatile exercise that works your whole body. It helps you burn calories and boosts your strength and heart health. With proper training and protective measures, there’s no reason you shouldn’t longboard your way to fitness! So, what are you waiting for? Grab your longboard and start exploring! Grab your longboard and start exploring!