Kayaking is a word most of us have heard at one point of another but few have actually ventured further to try and understand and experience it. Kayaking is an excellent way of experiencing this vast world of water we live on. The experience of kayaking is really immersive brings you much close to nature compared to some of the other methods used to traverse the liquid pathways.
Kayaking is an excellent way of exploring rivers, streams, rapids, and lakes. More recently a relatively high octane version of the activity sea kayaking has become a popular sport in Australia. However, on a placid lake or a stream kayaking can be a highly peaceful activity that provides endless benefits. In addition to being incredibly soul-fulfilling and beneficial to the mental health of a person, kayaking bares a ton of physical benefits as well.
Kayaking is a highly effective exercise for improving your aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility. With its other factors such as being close to nature and in a tranquil state taken in to account kayaking is an excellent exercise if you are looking to shed some of that extra weight and don’t really want to hit the gym or anything like that. Here is everything you need to know about the physical benefits of kayaking.
Muscle groups activated
Before we get to the caloric counter of this amazing exercise let us talk about all the muscles that are activated during kayaking. We will be mentioning the general muscle groups as well as the very specific, difficult to pronounce muscle names as well.
- Back
A strong muscular back is just as important as the front of your torso so kayaking is excellent if you are looking to build that muscular back for yourself. The muscles in the back that will be activated during this activity include:
• Lats
• Rhomboids
• Latissimus Dorisi
The constant stretching and contracting of both arms in one by one manner makes kayaking the equivalent of doing something like a single-arm dumbbell exercise in the gym and every stroke provides your lats with a great workout.
- Core
Next up we have your core that is something most people will know as the abs. However, what most people don’t know that the abs or abdomen is just a part of your core and the core has other parts too. But whether you know the detail or not everybody longs to form that flat look around their waist with the lowest percentage of fat possible and this exercise will help you achieve that. Here are all the core muscles that become activated during kayaking:
• Rectus abdominis
• Obliques (Transverse, Internal absominal, External abdominal)
• Latissimus Dorsi (Lower Back)
• Abdomen
The core is constantly activated during kayaking. The twisting motion of your body in every stroke provides a very strong workout to your abdomen and obliques. The stability of the kayak in itself is dependent on your core to some extent.
- Chest
A nicely toned chest is the mark of an in-shape person and is something every boy has dreamed of having at one point or another and that is why working out your chest is something that needs to be done often. The muscles in the chest that are activated during kayaking include:
• Pectorals
The chest muscles aren’t exactly as strongly activated as in something like a complete bench press but every time you perform a stroke during kayaking the chest muscles flex to stabilize the shoulder and are activated and over time you will notice a difference in the chest.
- Arms/shoulder
Arms and shoulders are two body parts that are most frequently used, most easily noticed and most of us dreaming of having a nice big toned version of. A decently sized and toned arms and shoulders are necessary to all other exercises as well. Arm and shoulder strength is something that will be useful in a wide range of areas in everyday life. Here are all the muscles in your arms and shoulders that are activated during kayaking:
• Biceps
• Brachialis
• Triceps
• Deltoids
• Trapezius
• Forearms
It goes without saying that arms are the most vigorously used body parts during kayaking with each motion of rowing both of your arms are being worked on an individual basis. As one arm rows and moves backward to work its bicep, the other provides extra force through torque and works its triceps and it goes on vice versa.
Hence your bicep and triceps are getting more out of this exercise than any other muscle group in your entire body. If you’ll notice Olympic kayakers they all have massive strong arms because that’s what this exercise demands most of. However, while you are not Olympic kayakers even a casual kayaker can get a decent amount of workout to their arms.
- Legs and hips
Strong toned legs are a key element if you wish to possess a relatively athletic body. While most people have a tendency to avoid leg day, kayaking is a full-body workout. You may not have previously thought of it but the legs and hips are also activated during kayaking. The muscles which are activated include:
• Gluteus Maximus
• Gluteus Medius
The legs are an important part of balancing the kayaking. They are used to balance and brace the kayak and if you learn the more advanced rowing techniques you will learn that rotating the hips with every row helps provide more strength per paddle.
How many calories are burned during kayaking?
All of those strong movements bringing all of those muscle groups into play make kayaking quite an exercise. With all the movements involved moving a kayak at the speed of 5 mph for an hour will help the average person 400 calories. For reference, you can see that running at 6 mph for an hour burns 540 calories and swimming burns 594. So kayaking is quite in line with some quick fat burners out there.
Kayaking has the added benefit over the rest of these calorie burners that is isn’t exactly a rigorous exercise but is actually more of leisure activity and quite a beautiful one so you can get all that healthy workout in while having a great refreshing time mentally.
Kayaking options
There are various options available if you are looking to purchase a kayak which ranges from simple ones to the more complex one but if you are looking for one that provides the maximum facilities a popular choice is the Lifetime Tamarack Angler 100 Fishing Kayak.
Lifetime Tamarack Angler 100 Fishing Kayak Review
Wherever you might find this kayak to purchase it every Lifetime Tamarack Angler 100 Fishing Kayak Review states that this kayak provides a wide range of abilities perfect to provide you maximum comfort and functionality in terms of kayaking, fishing and anything else that you plan to do while out on the water.
With its comfortable padded seat and its multiple hatches for extra storage, it’s the ideal kayak for anyone looking to have a memorable and comfortable kayaking trip.
