The 30 Minute Beach Workout

Hitting the beach is enjoyable, with the fresh air and water rushing on the shore, and the abundance of sand-filled beaches.  Your luxurious escape to the beach has many rewards for which you are reaping.  One such benefit you receive while you are staying near or on the beach is a beach workout.  A beach workout is something that not many individuals choose to endure for various reasons, but the fact is the beach is a perfect setting for such health and wellness.  While you are away on your vacation to the beach, consider working out on the beach for your next workout.

The 30 Minute Beach Workout

The following exercises are recommendations for a beach workout using your body weight, sand, and nearest ocean.  Consider the following reps and sets as a guide for continuing on your hard work and continuing a healthy lifestyle.  Feel free to scale any of the workouts to fit your needs and remember to enjoy the scenery around you.  Complete each of the following exercises is order for a full-body workout on the beach.

1. Jog along the shoreline. This is a perfect warm-up activity to get your heart rate elevated and to stimulate your ankles, calves, abdominals, and lungs.  Start out with an easy jog along the shoreline and avoid any lumpy sand spots during this warm-up.  Aim for about 5 minutes of light jogging.
2. Sand Push-ups. Following your shoreline jog, continue on with some push-ups in a clumpy sand area.  The uneven surface of the sand will challenge your arms and pecs and will give you quite a different feel from what you are used to.  Aim for a full 60 seconds of sand push-ups and lower the chest so that it nearly touches the sand.
3. Sand Planks. Following your set of push-ups, hold the body in a plank position, with the elbows buried in the sand.  Hold the plank for about 30 seconds to stimulate the core.
4. Beach Crawling. This will continue from the sand planks, but following your planks, remain in the plank position, and crawl forward for 30 seconds using the hands and feet [1].
5. Sit-ups. This is the full sit-up variety and it is effective for toning and working the abdominals.  Starting out in a supine position on the sand (do not worry about getting sand on your body), sit the body all the way up to the thighs.  For a good demonstration on the sit-up, check out the sit-up demonstration here.  Continue with an entire 60 seconds for a complete set.
6. Beach Jumping Jacks. Following a strong dose of abdominal exercises, a little cardio will do wonders to circulate the blood.  Complete 60 seconds of full arm-swinging jumping jacks in the sand.
7. Sand Squats. Following the jumping jacks, lower it down with zero rest into a deep squat (so the glutes touch the calf muscles).  Aim to keep the heels buried in the sand and keep much of your body weight in the heels.  Perform an entire 60 seconds of squats and aim to complete as many as you can with perfect form in that 60 seconds.
8. A standard leg exercise that works the thighs and hamstrings, the lunge is perfect on a beach.  Perform these on the shoreline and away from the clumpy sand and aim to complete 60 seconds on each leg in perfect form.
9. Sprint down the shoreline. Following the lunges, bring your body to a spot on the shoreline that has enough room to accommodate a 30-second sprint.  Once you complete the sprint, this will be your next area to exercise.  Take a 60 seconds rest and complete two more entire sets of the circuit for a full-body beach workout.

References