This summer, why not do away with the rubber-floored, air-conditioned athletic club and head to the beach to get your sweat on? Now’s the time to take your workouts outside, enjoy the crisp ocean air and soak in that vitamin D. As you hear the steady rhythmic crash of waves against the shore, you’ll wish you’d have done these fun (but oh-so effective) sand workouts sooner! Next time you’re enjoying a beach day, try one of these routines and reward yourself with a dip.
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Looking for an all-over bodyweight training/toning workout you can do at the beach? Try this summer-blast routine that combines cardio and strength. We dare you to do these back to back!
1. Water Sprints
This workout is simple as walking out to the water so that you are knee-deep, and then running wind sprints — measured about 30 yards — four to six times through. Then, take a 30-second break and repeat it with high knees. After another 30-second break, do it with butt kicks. The natural resistance brought on by the water further challenges your leg muscles, and puts an added amount of exertion on your cardiovascular system. Just make sure you are wearing some waterproof clothing, and consider running barefoot if the beach itself isn’t too rocky.
2. Dune Runs
Keeping in theme with the first exercise, we’ll continue onwards with a sprint-focused move that employs the tougher elements brought on by a resistance-based workout. This time though, you’ll work yourself up a hill, time and time again. The ever-shifting surface of the sand requires you brace your core, and as result targets multiple muscles simultaneously to greatly increase the difficulty of this workout. I recommend beginners to start with 3-5 dune runs (1 run=up and down), and of course adjust the amount of runs by how steep the dune is.
3. Under Burners
Let’s take a break from the hills, and relentlessly agonizing grit of the shifting sands. With this exercise you run at 50% max speed out to the water, splash all the way in so that the water reaches your waist, and then sprint as fast as you can (don’t swim) back to shore — repeating the process 10 to 15 times. This exercise greatly resembles the land workout burpees, but in this case incorporates an added element of fun with the ocean. As you work your way to the end of the exercise, you’ll have many a chance to cool down by dunking your head!
4. Sand Skips
My favorite part about this workout is that from afar you’ll appear as nothing more than an enlivened, overtly cheerful beach-goer; but up close, your facial expression — the grimace, and rivulets of sweat forming at the brow —will show just how hard it is that you’re working. You’ll skip 30 yards out to a designated location, and then 30 yards back to the original position to complete one rep. Aim for 5 reps total before resting.
5. Push Planks
On the soft and giving surface of the sand, perform 10 push-ups, and then settle into a forward plank position. Keeping the position, with a straight backside for a 30 seconds hold. After 30 seconds are up, rest for 10 seconds, and then repeat again. Perform four sets through.