Beach workouts may seem difficult, but challenging your entire body comes with perks. Working out on the beach tests your stability, agility, fitness levels, and mental toughness due to the unstable surface and outdoor environment. Test your strength next time with these beach workouts you can do in the sand!
Surfer Get-Ups
This is exactly what it sounds like - you’re mimicking the motion surfers make when they get up on their board just before catching a wave. Start on the ground in the plank position with your hands beneath your shoulders and your stomach touching the sand. From there, thrust yourself upward into a squatting position. Then return to the original position and keep alternating the leg in which you lead with while you stand.
Crab Walk
What better exercise to do in the sand than a classic crab walk? Begin seated in the sand facing your starting point. Keep both knees bent and place your hands on the sand under your shoulders, lifting your hips off the ground as high as possible. Flexing at the ankle, begin pulling through the hamstrings and pushing with your upper body. You want to take small, quick steps to avoid injury of the wrists. Then, crab walk for a desired distance and come back to your starting point.
Sand Lunges
Lunges are one of the best leg exercises you can do, and throwing in the beach only adds to the challenge and effectiveness of the move. Start by stepping forward with one foot, keeping your knee above your ankle and your back knee just brushing the sand. Push up through the front foot and use your back foot to step into the second lunge. The sand is likely at an incline, so you’ll be forced to use more muscles to stabilize your body.
Ice Skaters
Even though you're on sand, you can still pretend you're on ice with some ice skaters. Begin with your knees bent and torso upright. Then with your right foot, take the first step at a 45-degree angle forward, trying not to let the back leg touch the sand. You want to keep weight in the hip, position the knee behind the toe, and push off onto the other foot at a 45-degree angle. Your left arm follows forward with the right leg to propel the body forward, as the right arm will do the same with the left leg as the weight shifts off the right hip. Keep "skating" 20 steps forward and then return back to the starting point for your next move.
Running Abs
The beach makes for the perfect ab workouts since the sand if your new, soft mat. Complete 30 running abs by balancing on your tailbone, flexing your torso, and bending your knees and arms at a 90-degree angle. Then straighten the right leg out while reaching the right arm forward to mimic a running motion. Really engage your core here to keep your torso upright as you balance and draw in each leg.
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-Gina
