Summer is the perfect time to learn a water sport. The hot dry weather is a perfect excuse to dip into the water to refresh yourself.
Everyone is fascinated with water in some form or another. Some are enticed by the calmness of water brooks and lakes while others find the large waves of the ocean a challenge to overcome. Either way, there are a lot of water sports out there that you can learn.
Before trying out a water sport, remember that water is not our natural environment, hence we struggle more there. That’s why it’s important to use safety precautions, like a kiting harness, whenever necessary.
Here are the health benefits that one can gain from water sports:
- It exercises your whole body and engages your every muscle. Engaging in water sports requires more strength as opposed to exercising on land.
- It improves your body’s health. Water helps burn calories fast and increases the metabolism of the body. This, in turn, increases your fluid intake and improves your appetite.
Water sports keep your body fit and lessens the risk of binge eating. When you don’t binge eat, your calorie count is more stable and your health better.
- Playing water sports decreases the risk of chronic disease. When your whole body is active, your immune system is stronger and can fight against chronic diseases better.
- Water sports improves bone density. Especially for older people, water sports like canoeing, paddling, and the use of water bikes helps the bones healthy and strong
- Lastly, water sports can enhance mental health. As with any form of exercise, physical activity can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Swimming is one example of a therapeutic sport that helps improve the feelings of sadness.
4 Famous Water Sports That You Can Learn This Summer
Now that we have tackled the benefits, let us now dive into the different water sports. Here are four famous water sports you can learn:
Swimming
Swimming is a popular water sport that almost everyone is familiar with. This sport engages your whole body to move, which enables you to lose weight, and is good for the heart.
It’s also an important life skill that you should know so that you’ll survive if ever find yourself in dangerous waters. Additionally, swimming holds many competitions, both local and abroad, that you can participate in.
One of the great things about learning swimming is that you can learn it anywhere. You don’t need to be in a specific body of water. You can learn to swim in a lake, in a pool, or on the beach. Just make sure that you are not attempting this on your own and there is somebody present who will teach or supervise you.
Surfing
Surfing is a very popular ocean sport that a lot of people look forward to during the summer. Riding the waves on your favorite surfboard produces an exciting thrill that you’ll truly remember.
To put things more intense, you can also try kite-surfing. This is the combination of surfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, and even sailing. The kiteboarded uses the strength of the wind through a controllable power kite, propelling the person forward.
Kayaking
Kayaking can both be extreme and calm. The small boat that you ride is called the kayak. Depending on your preference, you can use the kayak to smoothly glide into calm lakes and also to paddle through rapids and whitewater. The latter one needs years of practice in order for you to be successful in it.
On the other hand, using your kayak on a lake can be a calming experience for you. Gilding along the water and admiring the view of nature is a perfect way to spend your summer as well.
Jet Skiing
Another popular water sport is jet skiing, which is a high-speed water sport. The words Jet Ski is actually a brand name of personal watercraft from a Japanese company. However, today, it’s used to refer to any type of personal watercraft.
One of the benefits of learning jet ski is that it develops your balance as well as your coordination skills. It also strengthens your leg muscles as well.
Conclusion
Summer is a wonderful time to learn water sports that you’ve never tried before or improve on the ones you already know. There are many benefits to water sports that you should take advantage of.
Famous water sports that you can learn are swimming, surfing, and kayaking. All three are different in their own way but equally enjoyable.
Make sure you’re well prepared for these adventures. Our friends at Globo Surf have some great guides and articles for every water ports lover.
