A 30 minute walk along a beach will improve your circulation, exfoliate your feet, reduce varicose veins, assist in lymphatic drainage and increase your mineral content, which in turn reduces the effects of ageing. What are you waiting for??
Salt water contains iodine and sodium. Too much sodium is bad for you, but inhaled sodium, like you get from fresh sea water, is perfect because you are not eating it so there is only so much you will ingest.
Walking in ankle deep water causes you to stretch the tendons in your feet and ankles which is great for them, especially if you are often in heels. Wearing high heel shoes shortens the tendons around our feet, this is not very good for them long term.
Walking bare foot is great for treating nasty funguses that LOVE being enclosed in shoes.
A stroll through salt water heals nicks and cuts, and will help sort out blisters and other red lumpy things on your feet.
Walking in thigh high water is like lifting weights with your legs. This increase in effort raises your heart rate, so it become cardio exercise, but you won’t get too hot because, yay, you are walking in water.
Due to the effort required to keep you balance on sand, you can actually burn more calories from a 20 minute walk along the beach than a 40 minute jog along a track.
In fact, walking on sand is the toughest exercise there is, just ask any pro sportsman or woman who is forced to do it as part of their training.
They don’t walk racehorses at the beach because the horses love the coffee shop near the carpark
Racehorses are walked on sand to make their legs stronger.
If you do want to jog, jog along the sand. Studies show that a jog on sand burns up to 2.7 times the calories burnt on a hard surface. Plus the scenery is better.
Walking in the sun increases our vitamin D uptake (vital for calcium production in the body) and yes, you should wear sunscreen, but let a little light in. New research shows that too much sunscreen can lead to a vitamin D deficiency. Remember Rickets? Ain’t nobody got time for that, as they say…somewhere….where grammar isn’t as important. Also, very severe Vitamin D deficiency can lead to very severe asthma in children. Another reason to not fear The Sun to the point of ill health.
A beach walk is good for the soul too. Plenty of thinking to be had when the waves are beside you and the Earth is literally at your feet. If you have company, it’s the perfect place for a chat. If you are alone, it’s the perfect place for a chat, too.
If you can’t get to a beach, try and get to some grass. Kick your shoes off and stand there for a bit. You’d be amazed at what a little sand, some pebbles and even a bit of dirt can do for the mind and body.
#RELAX #BEACH #EXERCISE #WALKING
