By Lisa Turpin
I feel blessed to have so many options to stay active and healthy in Destin. Most of us live here for the magnificent beauty that surrounds us daily. The soft white beach and our emerald water paint a canvas of serenity but can also help add a little challenge to the mundane exercise routine. Get outside and take advantage of this area’s offerings.
Paddle Boards and Pilates are a match made in heaven! Sometimes called SUPilates, it offers total body conditioning and balance training with a workout that makes you feel accomplished, healthy and strong. The board is used in the water as a floating mat. You can perform most of the same movements as you can on land. In using the paddle board on the water, the body is constantly recruiting deep stabilizing muscles throughout the entire body just standing and balancing on the board alone. Adding core-based exercises, just takes it to another level… takes it further. By performing Pilates exercises on the board, you enhance the challenge and benefits of both paddling and Pilates workouts.
The concept of pilates is all about balance. I’m talking about synergistic balance within your whole body. We want the left side to be as strong as the right side, your back in balance with the strength of your front. When we neglect this type of activity, we can create muscular imbalances and our joints, ligaments and tendons have to work harder and it can throw our whole skeletal system out of order. Even when performing some of the simpler movements, such as the lying ab series, or leg circles, your hips, spine and pelvis needs to be stabilized to keep the hips in alignment by engaging your core. What’s great about the paddle board, is that it provides feedback on whether you are actually keeping the control or not. It kind of tells on you. When you aren’t as strict with your form, the uncontrolled movements will cause a little or a lot of rocking and you will notice the board tilt and show you where that imbalance is so you can correct your form or else you lose it. Most of the time you catch it but every now and then you don’t… but no worries… falling in is part of the fun! We don’t have to be so rigid all the time. A little splash is refreshing and lightens things up a bit! In fact, one time I had a crazy funny participant who, after she fell in, found it super hilarious and it became “the thing to do!” Whoops! Fell in again! It was probably my favorite class as she had us in stitches!
If you’re ready to step it up a notch or put your skills to the test… Pilates on the paddle boards makes the exercise a little more challenging but very do-able. Most of the movements are lying or kneeling, so you are hardly ever standing until maybe the very end. The abdominals will be engaging pretty much the whole time and they will be firing more stabilizers to maintain the stability of the unstable board. All-in-all, Pilates and other balance routines such as yoga on the SUP are very effective, challenging and extremely FUN!
If you are interested in trying this type of workout you can contact me at beactive850@gmail.com.
Have a blessed and active summer DestinLifers!
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