If you’re reading this, one can only assume that either you’re a skateboarder who wants to lose some weight or you’ve been thinking about weight loss and are looking for new ways to do it. There are many health benefits to skateboarding that most people don’t acknowledge when looking at the sport as a potential weight loss solution.
Most people are probably aware that skateboarding is a good source of cardio. You constantly push and kick your legs to propel the board, using a similar motion as running or pedaling a bicycle. You’re engaged in a swift movement that elevates your heart rate, so skateboarding covers the basics of a cardio workout. So, can skateboarding help lose weight? You bet.
Sticking with the kicking and pushing, it’s also a given that skateboarding strengthens your legs. Any constant movement of the legs is going to build muscle in the area, and most skateboarders sport defined leg muscles.
Beyond this, most people aren’t aware of the additional benefits skateboarding has when it comes to weight loss and fitness. The list is much longer than you could probably imagine.
Skateboarding strengthens your core, arms, shoulders, back and is also mentally beneficial. The sport also substantially increases your balance, awareness, coordination, and flexibility.
All of the above activities can directly contribute to losing weight. If you’re looking to shed some pounds or become a fitness guru, are you ready to jump on the skateboard train yet?
If you’re not convinced, we’ve put together a short guide going into detail about all the specific benefits and parts of your anatomy skateboarding can get in shape. Let’s start with some of the more basic areas.
Can Skateboarding Help Lose Weight
The basic idea of losing weight is to burn more calories than you take in. Normally the most efficient way to achieve this balance of calorie burning is by performing a cardio workout.
A cardio workout is defined as any activity that involves brisk physical movement that increases the heart rate for an extended period. Exactly how long do you have to skateboard for a good cardio workout, and how many calories will you burn?
Figuring Out Burning Calories
This portion is going to take a little math. According to studies, there are 3,500 calories in each pound of body fat. Basically, in order to drop one pound, we need to burn 3,500 calories. How do we determine how many calories we burn during skateboarding?
The thing with calories is that people who weigh more burn more calories during the same pace of workout as people who weigh less. The following calculations will take a little estimating and adjusting depending on your body weight.
A person who weighs 115 pounds will burn 260 calories during a moderate workout. A moderate workout is described as a 10-minute-mile. It’s fair to assume that skateboarding at a normal pace would fall into this same category.
However, a person performing the same workout routine who weighs 175 pounds would burn 400 calories. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn. It’s easier to lose weight when you have more body weight. The thinner you get, the harder it becomes to lose weight. Also, if you plan on working out at a more intense pace, you’ll have to adjust the calculations to compensate for both of these dynamics.
Now that we’re aware of these figures, we can do some simple math to figure out how much weight you can lose while skateboarding. We’ll stick with the 175-pound weight just to keep things uniform.
By these calculations, it would take three hours of skateboarding to burn one pound. However, you also have to factor in the amount of food you eat. It might be unrealistic, but just to keep things simple, we’ll assume you were able to skateboard for three hours per day.
The normal person takes in an average of 2,000 calories per day. Subtract this from the 3,500 calories burned during the three hours of skateboarding, and you’d drop to 1,500 calories burned per day. Compensating for the amount of food you take in, it would take two days of skateboarding at three hours per day to burn 3,000 calories.
You can add in other calorie-burning activities you perform throughout the day, such as normal walking, climbing stairs, or activity at your job. Using these examples and measurements, it would take two days to burn one pound using skateboarding as your preferred exercise method.
If you could manage to skateboard for three hours per day, it’s very realistic that you could lose weight at a steady pace. You would be losing weight at a rate of about three or four pounds per week. That’s not a bad figure.
Everybody can’t skateboard for three hours per day, so you’ll have to adjust your calculations based on the time you’re able to dedicate to skateboarding. Regardless of how much time you can dedicate, it’s clear to see that you can easily lose weight skateboarding.
Let’s examine some of the other health benefits and fitness elements besides burning calories.
What Muscles Do You Workout When You Skateboard?
Muscle toning goes along with weight loss. If your goal is to lose weight eventually, you’ll need to address muscle definition. You need to fill your body with something where the fat is lost! What specific muscles does skateboarding work out?
Related: 5 Core Exercises for Skating
Core Muscles/Ab Muscles
When you skateboard, you’re required to bend your knees and assume a squatting position. This position helps maintain balance and makes it easier to shift your weight for turning.
Many people don’t realize that this position also substantially works out your core. Ab muscles are tightened when you move in and out of this position, so it’s not a far-fetched idea that enough skateboarding could eventually lose belly fat and achieve six-pack abs.
Glutes, Hamstrings, and Calves
These three are the major muscles of the legs. Your glutes are the muscles in your butt, and the hamstrings are located directly below these on the back of your thighs. Your hamstring is the muscle that stretches when you do the splits.
Your calf muscles are located on, well, your calves. These are the lower leg muscles above the ankles and below the knees.
When you kick and push the skateboard, these muscles receive a strenuous workout. Flexing these muscles when you turn and carve also helps keep them in shape too.
Arms and Shoulders
Most people wouldn’t assume that skateboarding works out your arms and shoulders. Surprisingly, these areas of your body benefit substantially from skateboarding.
When you use your arms to help balance, you keep them at your sides normally. Manually raising your arms and keeping them at a steady level requires a good amount of muscle strength. Keeping the muscles engaged in a position like this is a great way to strengthen them.
Your shoulders are worked out slightly when you perform this motion, but they also receive attention when you shift your body to turn. You use your shoulders initially to engage in a turn when you’re skateboarding. Using this motion flexes the shoulder muscles, working them out in the process.
Another way the arms are worked out is if you perform air-tricks where you grab the board. Performing plants with your arms and hands is another way to work these muscles.
Besides the muscles, skateboarding greatly increases your motor functions. This helps keep your mind and body in tune with each other, allowing you to stay sharp.
Additional Motor Benefits
When you skateboard, you exercise your balancing ability every second. It takes extreme coordination to use your legs and arms in conjunction with the rest of your body to stay planted on the skateboard.
Turning also helps maintain these physical skills. When you turn, you exercise quick judgment, and last-second reactions help you stay focused and sharp.
Finally, weight loss and physical condition work closely with mental conditions. A positive mental attitude can help promote a much higher level of physical condition.
Mental Benefits
When you skateboard, you’re partaking in a hobby that you enjoy. You’re also achieving a thrill and adrenaline rush.
Both of these activities release chemicals in your brain that contribute to a better level of physical wellbeing. Some people also consider skateboarding relaxing.
Any activity that relaxes you and helps relieve stress is beneficial to our mind and body. Skateboarding can reduce stress and anxiety levels, which in turn leads to physical benefits for our hearts. These activities can have a direct impact on blood pressure and other vital physical functions.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking to shed a few pounds or stay in peak physical condition, skateboarding can be a great option that is beneficial on many levels. It’s not easy to find activities that positively impact so many muscles and body functions at one time.
The great part is anybody can go out and buy a skateboard and begin reaping the benefits of this hobby at any time. If you’re thinking about getting serious about weight loss and your health, you should include skateboarding on your list of solutions when you’re hunting for a workout routine.