SUP Fitness: How Many Calories Does Paddle Boarding Burn?

Is Paddle Boarding a good workout?

Standup paddle boarding can offer a fun and relaxing activity that mostly anyone can do, it is also one of the best workouts out there. People with all body shapes, sizes and ages are engaging in standup paddle boarding as a fun fitness activity. As many people have heard, standup paddle boarding is the best workout for a complete body workout. SUPing is a low impact exercise that is a combination of balance, strength, and endurance which are exercised whether you are paddling or just balancing on your board. It’s not only an excellent core workout but also the toes, legs, back, shoulders, arms and neck which all work together.

“Balance, strength, and endurance are exercised whether you are paddling or just balancing on your board.”

Is paddle boarding a good workout? Short answer: YES!

Calories Burned Calculator:

There are many ways to measure the amount of calories burned but the formula we used was based off the subjects weight, age, heart rate and amount of time participating in the specific activity. Of course the measure of calories a person will burn depend on how aggressive you are in the exercise, plus, men typically burn more calories than women. Below are the most common categories and the respective Calorie Burn Estimates.

*Estimates are based on an average of three people of different sizes (165-200lbs) & 1 hour of paddling

There are many different ways to measure amount of calories burned while stand up paddling.

Calories Burned SUP Surfing:

One category of paddle boarding is paddle board surfing. Surfers call it some of the best cross training you can do to improve your surfing. Of course the bigger and rougher the waves, the harder you work which translates to more calories burned. For our study we surfed the Coronado Shores on a typical chest to head high day with light winds. After an hour of Paddle Surfing at an intensive pace catching waves every couple of minutes we gathered the data and discovered that you can burn 623-735 Calories paddle surfing in an hour.

“Paddle boarding is the best crossing training you can do to improve your surfing.”

SUP surfing is an awesome way to burn those calories!

Calories Burned SUP Racing:

Racing might be the highest intensity category of paddle boarding where there is no slowing down and your heart rate and cardiovascular are at full throttle. Your calorie burn can vary greatly depending on stroke intensity, stroke form, wind speed, and water conditions.

For our particular experiment we raced the Dana Ocean Challenge which was a 5 mile sup race and found that you can burn on average 713-1,125 calories in just under an hour of high intensity racing. To put in perspective, the top finisher in our 12’6 class did the 5 miles in around 48 minutes and we finished up at around 55 minutes. Needless to say he was at the highest intensity the entire race and his calorie burn was more significant.

Being an open ocean race with side breeze and cross swell you get an added workout just trying to stabilize the board than you would find on a calm flat water course in a bay or lake clearly adding to the calorie burn.

“When Paddle Board Racing at a high intensity your heart rate and cardiovascular are at full throttle.”

Paddle board racing is where you can burn the most calories since it involves the highest intensity paddling.

Calories Burned SUP Touring:

SUP Touring entails paddling for a long distance at a moderate pace without stopping in-between. We did an hour of touring in Glorietta Bay with an average speed of 3 mph and burned an average 615-708 calories.

SUP Touring entails paddling for a long distance at a moderate pace without stopping in-between.

Calories Burned SUP Yoga:

Standup paddle boarding can be calming and meditative but also exhilarating and an intense workout for the mind, body and spirit. Our friend Helen at San Diego Paddle Yoga practiced a vinyasa power SUP Yoga sequence which lasted about an hour. With an energetic yoga flow you can burn anywhere between 416-540 calories in an hour.

“SUP Yoga offers an intense workout for the mind, body and spirit with an increased intensity which outperforms land yoga”\

With an energetic yoga flow you can burn anywhere between 416-540 calories in an hour.

Calories Burned Recreational Paddling:

The most common type of standup paddle boarding is recreational use which is an easy paddle with calm water, light winds at a slow walking type pace. At a typical casual pace, you’ll burn about twice the calories you’d burn on a moderate paced walk (2.5 mph). There are a ton of spots in San Diego to leisurely paddle but we went to Glorietta Bay for a nice sweep. You can burn 305-430 calories leisurely paddling in an hour.

“At a typical casual pace, you’ll burn about twice the calories you’d burn on a moderate paced walk.”

You can burn 305-430 calories leisurely paddling in an hour.

*Now use these numbers as a base rule of thumb and throw in some variables like choppy water, paddling into a headwind and riding waves on your paddle board and you could add 100’s more Calories burned per hour to the above estimates.

Paddle Boarding Compared To Other Sports:

Surfing: 412 calories per hour
Biking: 483 calories per hour
Running: 650 calories per hour
Swimming: 840 calories per hour

Standup Paddle Board Calorie Burn Infographic:

As you’ve seen SUPing can burn a lot of calories compared to other sports and will also build good muscle. The main muscle groups that are being activated during a paddle are your mid back muscles (latissimus Dorsi), Shoulders (deltoids), Arms (triceps & biceps) and abs.

Paddle Boarding is an all-body workout which has more than just the physical rewards, it can also restore your balance and calms your spirit. At the end of the day getting out on the paddle board can be a walk in the park or a high intensity full body workout. Either way a day on the water paddle boarding beats the gym anytime, so what are you waiting for – Shop our selection of Paddle Boards and start dropping those calories!

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