5 Reasons Your Body Will Thank You for Longboarding

Farhan Shafie
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 Z

The physical benefits to longboarding will surprise you.

Photo: Unsplash

Want to strengthen your core, improve your balance, and tighten your legs? Longboarding might not be the first exercise that comes to mind, but according to Nathan from Longboard Love, it’s so much more than just a leisure activity or a means of transportation. Here are 5 ways longboarding can give you the physique you’ve always wanted.

PHOTO: NICK CHEE

It improves your balance

Very few people, even skateboarders like our model Dione Tan, can hop on a longboard without losing their balance the first time. “It is way tougher when you first start, but as you do it more often, your body will get it,” explains Nathan. Sure, you might incur a few bruises in the process of learning, but keep at it long enough, and your body will learn how to adjust its centre of gravity so that you can move on to tricks that require a little more hand-eye coordination.

It strengthens your legs and your core

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Even the two basic longboard moves – pushing (rolling forward) and carving (manoeuvring) – will help you strengthen the lower part of your body, starting from your core, all the way down to your legs. Longboarding helps improve stamina as well since the movements activate different leg muscles. Tilting your heels to carve around a bend requires a lot of leg strength. And shifting of body weight requires a strong core as well as a good understanding of your overall body.

It increases your flexibility and agility

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Yoga may improve flexibility, while dance increases range of motion, but did you know longboarding does both? From manoeuvring your core to carve, shifting your body to maintain your balance all the way to squatting down low to gain more speed. These various positions will help to develop those attributes. Not only that, just cruising along our cityscape makes you more agile when swerving and carving through the street. “The more you skate, the more aware you are of your surroundings,” Nathan adds.

It can help you lose weight

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“If you were to longboard every day like me, you'd lose a lot of weight," Nathan says. It is the constant moving, pushing and perfecting of your stance will allow you to shed the troublesome kilos off that scale. “Longboarding helps to increase your metabolism rate as well." In other words, you could burn some major calories just by longboarding from your home to the nearest Sheng Siong.

Healthier body, healthier mind

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The stress at work can take a toll on your mind and body. Longboarding not only improves your physical fitness, it conditions your mental health, thanks to a psychological effect where when your body is happy, your mind starts to follow.

Saving our home

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In this day and age, when people are making a conscious effort to save our planet, longboarding helps to reduce carbon emissions. Not only will your body thank you for being able to keep fit while looking cool, everyone else in the world will forever be grateful that you chose to go green!

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