Kayaking is a pleasurable outdoor activity packed to the brim with exciting benefits for the participant. If you’re not already kayaking, you should be, and here is why:
It’s great cardio
Most of us aren’t as physically fit as we’d like to be, and that’s a sad reality of our modern lives. But when we finally decide that enough is enough and endeavor to get fit, the options for doing so often aren’t all that appealing. It’s a simple reality that so called “gym culture” really isn’t for everyone. This is where kayaking comes in. The average person kayaking for one hour can burn upwards of 500 calories doing so. Do it a couple of times a week, and the fat burning benefits begin to add up fast. Combined with a healthy diet, kayaking can be an excellent source or cardiovascular exercise that can contribute to a positive lifestyle change.
It gets you outdoors
Most people nowadays are city dwellers, and it shows. Kayaking can get you back to nature. Who doesn’t love the idea of paddling along a gentle lake, taking in the sounds of nature and the feeling of warm sunshine on your skin? Going outside has been scientifically proven to increase feelings of well being and life satisfaction.
It helps your mental health
When you exercise, especially when you do so outdoors, endorphins or so called “feel good hormones” get released by the brain. These hormones increase your feelings of general well being, and can put you onto a so-called “virtuous cycle”. You feel good, so you’re more inclined to do things that lead to even more release of those same endorphins, which creates a self perpetuating cycle. Kayaking on its own won’t cure a mental health rut, but it can certainly be the catalyst that creates the cycle of positive changes that you’re looking for in your life.
It broadens your horizons
Trying something new is the best way to introduce your brain to the realm of possibilities that are out there. The human brain is a novelty seeking machine, always looking for something new to stimulate it. When you go kayaking, not only are you getting the novelty of a new and highly physical experience, but you’re also taking in new sights, sounds, smells – sensory experiences that you would not otherwise receive in the concrete jungles that we call modern society. When you see the true depth and breadth of nature’s beauty on a kayaking excursion, there is no doubt that you’ll find yourself in search of all new adventures and possibilities, there just waiting for you on the edge of the water’s horizons.
All in all, kayaking is an activity that can only bring benefits to the lives of those who partake in it. It has never been cheaper and more accessible of a sport to take up than it is today. So get out there, and experience all that the water has to offer you!