Is Longboarding a Good Workout (Can You Lose Weight and Build Muscle)

Longboarding is an amazing workout that works your cardio and your whole body while also helping you in strengthening your balance, flexibility, and focus. It can also help you lose several pounds while also helping you build that body.
Is Longboarding a Good Workout

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Longboarding is not only fun; it is actually good for you. Not only does it take you from one place to another, but it also helps you achieve the healthiest and fittest body that you have always wanted.

Is Longboarding a Sport?

Longboarding is considered to be a skateboarding sport. Longboarding athletes compete in different kinds of races with downhill racing as the most popular one. In this race, only four athletes are allowed to compete in one round.

Some of the major downhill racing competitions are the Bo Peep Crash and Burn, an annual racing event in the United Kingdom, and Almabtrieb which is being held in Germany.

The International Gravity Sports Association or IGSA, the international body responsible for the proper conduct of skateboard sports, hosts various competitions including the downhill longboarding category.

Is Longboarding an Extreme Sport?

Longboarding is indeed a kind of extreme sport. It is one sport that puts speed front and center.

Longboarders ride their boards at very high speeds that sometimes reach 50 to 65 miles per hour (mph). Competitive longboarders have even reached record speeds of over 80 mph. Going at these fast speeds is extremely dangerous and can potentially be life-threatening.

Is Longboarding a Good Form of Exercise?

Longboarding is a great form of exercise and it has many health benefits. While people don’t usually enter the sport as a form of exercise, they can clearly see the benefits that longboarding offers including:

  • Balance skills: In longboarding, you are literally balancing your whole body on a moving platform. It helps you in maintaining and controlling your balance while changing positions and stabilizing your center of gravity.
  • Strength training: Longboarding is a whole-body workout. Engaging in the sport means you are going to work both your core muscles and lower body muscles.
  • Joint reinforcement and mobility: Riding your longboard involves movement in many joints, not just in your lower extremities but in your whole body. The sport engages your spinal muscles as well as your lower back and ankles, among many others.
  • Flexibility: Longboarding also helps increase your body’s flexibility. While riding you would learn how to position your body on the platform so that you are well-balanced. Flexibility also helps you in successfully doing those tricks.

Is Longboarding Good Cardio?

Longboarding is a fantastic cardio workout. It is one sport that needs you to move continuously in order for you to move from point A to point B.

Your movements while longboarding strengthens your heart. It also elevates your heart rate and increases your lung capacity, facilitating the flow of oxygen in your blood to your muscles and your vital organs.

Can You Lose Weight Longboarding?

If you want to lose weight, longboarding is not a bad idea. Since this activity pushes your body to move, you are sure to burn fat and calories which will help you shed some weight.

Studies have suggested that if you ride your board every day you can lose around 1/2 to 1 pound per week depending on the calories that you intake. You can even lose more if you religiously ride your body and maintain a healthy diet.

How Many Calories Do You Burn When Longboarding?

A Harvard Medical School study found out that when you ride your board, you can burn around 300 to 450 calories per hour. This still depends of course on how much you weigh. You can even burn 2000 to 3000 calories a week if you ride every day.

Longboarding is one sport that can make you sweat, literally and figuratively. The more you sweat and the more you ride, the more calories that you can burn in the process.

Does Longboarding Build Muscle?

Longboard can not only help you shed some weight, but it can also help you build and strengthen the muscles in your body.

Longboarding makes you work your legs which tightens your gluteuses and quads. Other muscles that longboarding affects include your triceps, biceps, the trapezius, obliques, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, and rectus abdominis.

Can You Get Abs from Longboarding?

Longboarding may work your leg muscles more, but it also helps you in strengthening your core muscles. While riding, your core muscles help you a lot in balancing on your board while you do your ollies and your other insane longboarding tricks.

As you engage your core muscles more, the abs are sure to follow.

Is Longboarding Tiring?

There is no sugarcoating it, longboarding is absolutely tiring. Sure, it may feel like you are flying when you are on your way down, but the longboarding journey uphill is nothing short of rigorous.

Just because you’re pushing a board with wheels doesn’t mean everything comes easy. Longboarding is a physical activity that engages every muscle in your body.

Why Do My Feet Hurt When I Longboard?

Since you push your board and your body with your feet, it takes the brunt of the activity. It continuously makes forceful contact and impact with the ground which, of course, can hurt you in the process.

One common riding injury is called plantar fasciitis which is caused by the stress in the sole of your feet. This can also be due to poor flexibility or strength of your calf and the intense grip of your toes while riding. The pain can often be felt in the heel and arch of your feet.

Why Do Ankles Hurt After Longboarding?

Your ankles can also be affected by longboarding. If you are a beginner, your ankles may not be used to the movement yet and it may take a little while to get used to the activity. Make sure that you don’t push too hard with your feet so your ankles can ease off.

If you are a pro or you have been riding for some time and you still experience extreme pain on your ankles, this may be a case of tendonitis or sprain. These cases are common and are often the result of overuse of your ankles. You may also be putting too much pressure on them which can result in swelling, stiffness, or pain.

Is Longboarding Bad for Your Knees?

If you don’t take proper caution and you overuse your body, longboarding can be bad for your knees and other parts of your body. Both beginners and pro can experience knee pain and injuries.

It is always best to wear proper protective gear like knee pads to help you protect your knees in case of a fall, crash, or accident. You should also take ample time in correcting your form to avoid knee injuries.

Aside from that, you should also avoid pushing excessively to prevent straining the muscles on your knees.

Why Is Longboarding Good for You?

Longboarding is a great activity for many reasons. Sure, it can be dangerous at times, but it benefits your body in more ways than one.

It is an amazing cardio workout and it helps your balance, flexibility, and focus. It also helps you in building muscles while getting rid of your unwanted body fats. It is a whole workout that is not only good for your body but also your mind.

Just remember to always wear your protective gear and to treat your body right. Longboarding may be fun, but accidents can happen so you should always be aware of your movements and make sure to look after yourself especially if you feel any pain.

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