Beach workouts have many advantages, but the sand is where the real magic happens. The environment is unstable due to the changing grains, therefore, your nervous system activates additional muscles in your legs, ankles, hips, and core to keep you stable. Additionally, the soft landing surface that the sand offers help to prevent joint damage when engaging in higher-impact activities.
The 30-minute beach workout that is provided below uses no equipment and works every muscle in your body.
Begin with these warmup exercises to get your body ready to move and accustomed to the instability of the sand.
Instructions: Perform 30 seconds of each move, with a minimum of 30 seconds of rest between movements.
1) BEAR CRAWL
Move like a Navy Seal right off the bat with this core-engaging functional move.
The Move: Begin on your hands and knees. Elevate your knees about 2 inches off the sand. Move your right hand and left foot forward in a crawling motion, keeping your hips lower than your shoulders. Then, move your left hand and right foot forward, and repeat this sequence in a slow and controlled manner.
2) SINGLE-LEG HIP HINGE
Feel your stabilizing muscles tensing up as you balance and move at the hips as you plant one foot in the sand.
The Move: Raise your left foot off the ground behind you while you stand on your right foot. As you tilt forward, maintaining your hips parallel to the ground, keep your spine neutral and bend your right leg just a little bit. When your left hand is as close to the ground as possible, turn the movement around and return to the beginning position. Change legs and repeat on the opposite side after 30 seconds.
3) HIGH-KNEE JOG
It’s time to feel how quickly the sand can elevate your heart rate!
The Move: While keeping your back straight, lift one leg toward your chest, then the other. The motion becomes more challenging the faster you switch legs. If moving quickly has an excessive impact if stability is an issue, slow down and switch to a high-knee march.
4) RUNNER’S STRETCH WITH ROTATION
This inclusive stretch works your core as well.
The Move: Step your right foot to the outside of your right hand while starting in a firm, high plank position. As you turn your upper body and shoulders to the right, raise your right arm straight up to the ceiling. Your spine should rotate in the same direction as your head and neck. Hold this position for a short while. Repetition on the other side after returning to the plank.
5) TOE WALKS
Use the sand for this workout to strengthen your calf muscles and stabilize your ankle joints.
The Move: Lift your heels off the ground while standing on your toes. Walk forward for 30 seconds with your legs straight.
6) BACKWARD HEEL WALKS
The anterior tibialis muscle can be strengthened by reversing direction while walking on your heels. Additionally, enhancing ankle stability also lessens the risk of developing shin splints.
The Move: For 30 seconds, elevate both of your front feet off the floor while maintaining an upright posture
