11 Aug '16
Beach Exercises to Boost Your Workout
Life gets crisper, cleaner, and freer with each passing day in summer and as your hair gets lighter, your skin gets darker and your body gets leaner it’s easy to see the coming cool as a dark cloud over your workout routine. But the summer isn’t the only time to be switching up your workout venue and hitting the beach.
As beach days seem to be waning and fall is just around the corner, don’t get bogged down by the cooler days up ahead. Instead, give your workout a little boost with these great beach exercises that can be done all year round. Taking your workout to the beach will not only help you lose twice as many calories, but it will also motivate you, introduce you to new friends and even give you that extra shot of Vitamin D your body needs.
Beyoncé Hip Raises
No workout is complete without a little Queen B inspiration. The singer is known for her curvaceous hips and it’s no wonder we call this thigh routine the Beyoncé hip raiser. While sitting on the sand Indian style, place your hands behind you and lean back into your palms. Lift your left knee up and move your left leg out in front of you while sliding your right foot into the triangle that your left leg makes.
From this position, push back on your hands and swing your right leg out straight up, toes pointing to the sky.
Repeat. Remember to do three sets on each leg.
Surfer Get Up
The Surfer Get Up is reminiscent of an everyday movement for surfing lovers. Lay flat on the sand, place your hands next to your chest, elbows up, toes curled under.
Simultaneously push your body up with your hands and feet, tucking your legs under you so that you can plant them on the ground and bring your upper torso up.
As you plant your feet underneath you, your stance should resemble the position below:
Press your feet down and lift your torso up to a seated position.
Surfers practice this motion hundreds of times a day as they catch a wave and “stand” up on the board. If you’ve ever tried it before, you know that sometimes it’s tempting to “jump” to your knees then stand up. If you need to do this at first that’s fine, but try to jump straight to your feet. You’ll be surprised with how strong your legs will get.
Brazilian Crunch
This exercise is a killer for your abs. Begin in a planking position. Bring your left knee forward to your chest.
Then turn it in and under your stomach, pivoting your right foot just slightly. Hold for a couple seconds, then release.
You can switch back and forth between each leg doing a full set for each, or do a full set on one leg and then switch.
Lateral Sand Skaters
A true killer, especially in the sand, lateral sand skaters are a great exercise for your full body. Start with your feet about shoulder-width apart, put all your weight onto your right leg and lift your left leg into a running stance.
Lower your left leg and hop your weight onto it as you lift your right leg.
As your left leg hits the sand, immediately push up from it and jump up into the air.
As you come back down, land back onto your left leg with your right leg being raised into the running stance.
The overall motion should feel similar to roller skating, hence why they’re called skaters!
Plank Pike Drag
A quick and easy one, the plank pike drag is perfect on the warm sand. Start in a plank position, your body doesn’t need to be parallel to the ground but should form a triangle.
From here, push your weight into your palms and drag your toes toward your hands as far your can, lifting your glutes and hips up toward the sky.
Lower Body Jacks
Because of the instability of the sand, this exercise gets an extra boost at the beach. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, hands on your hips, and bend your knees.
Press down into the stand and jump up.
Be careful to land and bend your knees at the same time, really relying on your thighs and glutes to take most of the weight.