Is Skateboarding Good Exercise And Does it Help you Lose Weight?

If you are trying to lose weight, then you might have considered skateboarding as an option or be wondering if it is good exercise.

Well, in this article we will cover all the health benefits to skateboarding and also determine if it is a good way to lose weight. Continue reading to find out all the positives that come with riding the skateboard besides the fact that it is a cheap and convenient way to get around town or a way to have some fun doing tricks.

Is Skateboarding Good Exercise

How is Skateboarding good exercise?

So you may be wondering how skateboarding is good exercise. To those that don’t do it often it might just seem like you are kicking the ground every so often and then standing still on the board as the board does all the work moving you around, but that is not the case. Skateboarding is actually a full body thing. It works your arm muscles, leg muscles, core muscles, and even your heart.

It may not be a surprise to most that skateboarding can provide a good cardio workout. This may be especially obvious to you if you are trying to ride up a hill. You will have to do a lot of kicking and pushing off the ground to get up the hill. This can defiantly cause you to work up a sweat and get your heart going. Outside of the cardio part the rest of the workout might not seem as obvious to someone new.

The leg workout is the next most obvious part because you are using your legs to kick off the ground. This repetitive motion can help build up your calves and shape your butt. You may be thinking that you are only working one leg though. This is true if you stay standing the same way, but if you are riding for the exercise, then you can switch what way you stand and then kick with the other foot.

On a long trip this will help you be able to ride farther without your legs getting tired as well. Also, another way to ride farther and not have your legs get tired is by pumping your arms. This is where the arm workout comes in. You can use your body’s momentum to help keep the board going. Using your body’s momentum to power the board is called pumping and there are all kinds of different pumps you can learn. If you are interested in that, then we have an article here for you about how to do it properly.

So now we have covered where the leg and arm workout come in, but where does the workout for your core muscles, such as your abs come in. Well, that comes in just by standing on the board and keeping your balance. Your abs and core muscles have to help keep you stable while riding. This is especially true when you are going around curves. When doing curves you have to lean and that causes your core muscles to twist and stretch building them. If you don’t have a strong core, then you will struggle with keeping balance, but your core will build up really fast after a little bit of riding. So you can choose the best longboard for beginners to start learning skateboarding.

Is Skateboarding good for weight loses?

So now we can see that skateboarding exercises your whole body, but is it good for losing weight? To answer this question we have to look at how many calories are typically burned from riding and how many calories is in a pound of fat. For our simple equation we will look at how many calories are burned with an hour of riding. This means that if you ride a different interval you will have to change the math.

How To Choose The Right Type Of Longboard Of Perfect Shape And Style

For a person that is 125 pounds though, then burn 300 calories in 60 minutes of riding. If that person weighs 185 pounds, then they burn 444 calories. If you weight more than that, then you will burn more, but will have to do the math on your own. That means that depending on your weight you would burn around 2100-3100 calories in a weeks’ worth of riding for one hour a day. Now one pound of fat consists of 3500 calories. That means that most people will burn between one half and one pound a week from just skateboarding.

Is one pound a week good weight loses? Well, the answer to that is yes because most doctors say to only use one to two pounds a week. Also, this is by just adding in an hour a day of skateboarding. If you are going to and from work, then you might do more than an hour a day depending on where you live. Also, if you change your diet along with picking up skateboarding, then you could lose more weight.

Who can Skateboard?

So now you might be wondering if this is good exercise for you. Well, the great thing about skateboarding is that anyone can do it.

It is a fairly low impact activity and the impact on your ankles and legs can be minimized by wearing proper shoes. The key to being successful with skateboarding is to just take it slow and stay in your comfort zone.

You should learn to balance, ride, and turn well before trying ticks. Also, if you wear proper safety equipment such as helmets and pads, then that will help reduce injury. Skateboarding doesn’t just have to be for kids and teenagers, adults can do it too, and there are all kinds of boards to fit your own style. You just have to find what works for you.

Conclusion

Skateboarding can provide a full body workout for anyone. It is an excellent source of cardio to help your heart be stronger, but can also be used to build your leg, arm, and core muscles. Skateboarding can be done on any road and is a great fun way to exercise. On top of that, skateboarding is also an excellent way to lose weight. If someone just adds in an hour of skateboarding a day into their routine and doesn’t change anything else, then they can lose almost a pound a week of fat. That is healthy and good results. So don’t be afraid and give skateboarding a try if you are wanting to change up your exercise routine or start one.