Blog Post

Three Ways to Work Out on the Beach

Kevin Kohan, PES, Sport Nutrition Specialist, Certified Gym Jones Instructor • Aug 21, 2019

Believe it or not, this place we generally look to the Beach for a little relaxation can also be great place for a fun, calorie-burning and heart-pumping workout. My Wife, Carolina and myself, been teaching boot camp classes at the beach for just about 10 years now and we absolutely love to take our clients to an enjoyable little ‘Gut Check’ "Hit the Surf" Workout.

You may be asking yourself, "How can a boot camp-style workout be fun?"? Watch and Learn! Or if you think your in for the REAL-DEAL then come join us this Saturday August 24th to our 3rd Annual End of Summer Beach Bootcamp Bash at Fort Lauderdale Beach! Learn more here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beach-bootcamp-annual-end-of-summer-bash-tickets-66252120877?aff=efbeve...

Here's how:

With the steady crash of waves, the light whisper of a fresh sea breeze and sunbathers lounging contently in the sunshine, the beach isn't usually an environment where people overly exert themselves.

But, as it turns out, a sandy beach can actually provide one of the best possible surfaces for a barefoot-running workout; and a beach workout can be a great way to stay fit.

No Shoes Required

"The foot is an incredible piece of machinery," says Ben Cohen, an accomplished collegiate strength coach and founder of Ben Cohen Athletic Advising. "With 26 bones, 33 joints, 12 tendons and 18 muscles, they all stretch and move like an earthquake-resistant suspension bridge."

Cohen is one of the many advocates of barefoot running and likens the foot's structure to that of the Parthenon, an architectural structure capable of supporting a lot of weight.

Putting a support column under the arch of the Parthenon defeats the purpose of the arch. Similarly, once you add the support of a shoe to a foot, it's counter-productive to the foot's structure, according to Cohen.

For this reason, Cohen believes running in the sand is one of the best exercises for your ankles and feet. It forces you to use your toes like talons, grabbing the sand with each stride. There's also little impact on your knees and consistent resistance to help you maximize your workout

The Workout

Jog about 100 yards and back in the low, wet sand to warm up with less resistance: Do some butt kicks and high knees during the run. Also, take some time to stretch your calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes. If your body is not used to running in the sand, it can be easy to pull a muscle.

Shuttle Sprints

Gather some driftwood, rocks or even some T-shirts to mark out every 10 yards.

You're going to start with some shuttle sprints, which are short bursts of speed with quick direction changes.

These are great to do with a partner of similar speed so you can push one another.

Sprint 10 yards, touch the sand and quickly turn around to sprint back. Rest for 15 seconds, then sprint out 20 yards and back.

Continue increasing the distance in increments of 10 yards until you get to 50 yards; then come back down. Try to push off the line quickly.

Take one minute to rest, then work in some plyomterics—exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements—in the high sand. This will really give your legs and lungs a good burst.

Your going to do the same exact plyometric workout that was discussed in yesterday Training Tip Tuesday 👇👇👇👇

4 Plyometric Exercises to Speed Up Your Muscles

Plyometrics

  • 20-sec work Burpees: Drop from standing into a plank, do a push-up, hop to your feet and jump as high as you can. Repeat.

  • 10 seconds rest

  • 20 Broad Jumps: With your feet together, explode up and out as far as you can in rapid succession, staying in the air as long as possible as to cover maximum distance.

  • 10 seconds rest

  • 20 Bottom Squat Pulse Hops: In one place, jump upwards vertically, but without straightening up and remaining in your bottom squat position. So you Feet are just barely leaving the ground. Go right back into another rep, and then another, and another and so on until you barely have any feeling left in those legs of yours. Lol. It won’t take much.

  • 10 seconds rest

  • Alternating Lunge Jumps: assume the Lunge Position, lowering your body slowly to the ground and then pause just before your trail knee touches the sand, then EXPLOSIVELY reverse direction vertically getting as much air time as possible. While in midair be sure to switch your legs shows that your trail leg is now in front. Repeat

  • Take 1-2 min rest, Repeat for a total of 4 rounds.

  • More: 4 Plyometric Exercises to Speed Up Your Muscles

Long Sprints

Run as fast as you can for about 100 yards in the firm sand closer to the water, draw a line where you turn around, then run back in the deep sand. Take a minute break; then repeat 10 times, running to the same line.

The best part about this beach workout is you can run straight into the ocean to take a nice dip in the cool water, which will soothe your muscles and joints instantly and help cool you off.

➡️ If you think your in for the REAL-DEAL then come join us this Saturday August 24th to our 3rd Annual End of Summer Beach Bootcamp Bash at Fort Lauderdale Beach! Learn more here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beach-bootcamp-annual-end-of-summer-bash-tickets-66252120877?aff=efbeve...



By Kevin Kohan 15 Mar, 2023
The AdvoCare 10-Day Reset™ provides the tools you need to jumpstart healthy habits, which is a huge focus for many during the new year. If you’re curious about the Reset, but want to learn more before taking the leap, we’ve rounded up a few of the top things we love about this system. Keep on reading to learn more! https://my.advocare.com/advocare-10-day-reset/?D=120922584
By Kevin Kohan 09 Nov, 2022
A strong immune system is important, especially in today’s climate. During seasons when we are more prone to illness, we often look for ways to help support immunity. Many studies show that a balanced diet combined with adequate sleep and exercise, effectively primes our body to fight infection and disease. Throughout the years, many foods have also helped contribute to living a healthy lifestyle. Incorporating some of these foods into the diet can help support our body’s immunity. So next time you’re headed to the grocery store, make a list, and power up your plate to include these nutritious foods. POWER UP YOUR PLATE
By Kevin Kohan 22 Sep, 2022
Many of us want to be able to run, jog, or walk a 5K… but the goal can often seem overwhelming and intimidating. But, what if it didn’t have to be? What if you could complete a 5K in as little as 2 Months? Well, now it IS possible! I put together a FREE 8-week Walk-Jog-Run 5K Training Plan just for you. It’s a step-by-step plan that can help almost anyone complete a 5K run in just 8 short weeks! Plus there are so many other reasons to ramp up your run/jog/walk game: Benefiting heart health Lowering your risk of disease Boosting energy Elevating your mood Improving better sleep Reducing stress Getting up off the couch and into your life! Excited to learn more? Grab your copy for FREE here >>
By Kevin Kohan 25 Aug, 2022
This month I’ve been talking a lot about next-level actions to get even better results from your fitness and health habits. You’ve probably noticed a theme: it’s all about the fundamentals. That’s because even the best ‘next-level’ actions won’t do much if you aren’t nailing your basics most of the time. But what if you ARE covering your basics and want to ramp things up even more? This is when you can turn into an exercise mad scientist to find your own “secret formula” for supercharged results. Your top tip for becoming a successful biohacker?
By Kevin Kohan 10 Aug, 2022
🔥 The only hack you need for your goals I’ve got some great info for you today that I wanted to share ASAP because it can make a huge difference in your results. Every few days, someone will ask me what I think about some trendy fitness or wellness topic … things like fasting, supplements, a new fitness gadget … Basically, something (anything!) that’s designed to speed up your results. So, over the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on how to REALLY supercharge your results and break down specific actions you can take to elevate your results to the next level, fast. Because YES: it IS possible to make small changes that yield BIG results. In this email, I’ve got the #1 TIP to rocket you toward your goals. This is the absolute most important thing you should do before you get fancy with any trendy “hacks.” It’s to NAIL YOUR BASICS.
By Kevin Kohan 04 Aug, 2022
You asked for it, you’ve got it! We’ve got a list of 5 ways you can boost the results from your workouts … STARTING TODAY. By “results,” I mean noticeable changes in your stamina, strength, energy, and overall fitness. In addition to this, this will also have a super HUGE impact on your overall health & wellness because it plays into your immune system, your sleep, heart health and so much more. Before I get into the tips, I want you to remember one thing that will help drive all of those results: YOU ARE AN ATHLETE in training, no matter how young or old you are, or your current fitness or activity level. You’re an athlete who ‘Trains For Life’! You are training for your BEST LIFE. Having a fit, strong, and healthy body that can help you make the MOST of every single day is something worth fighting for!
14 Jul, 2022
🚨 [SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS] BMI rate in kids is skyrocketing right now and here's why. According to a new CDC report, kids’ BMI has been increasing at nearly DOUBLE the rate than it did before the pandemic began. BMI (body mass index) is a measure of weight to height that’s an “easy screening method for weight category: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obesity.” Alarmingly, the increase was especially high in preschool and school-aged children. This is DEFINITELY something we all need to be paying attention to. There were 432,302 kids aged 2 to 19 years old in the study. They found the rate of BMI increase jumped from 0.052 (pre-pandemic) to 0.100 kg/m 2 /month during the pandemic. In more understandable terms, in August 2019, the obesity rate in the group was 19.3% (already high) … and it reached 22.4% in August 2020 and close to 25% in August 2021. We already knew that kids were gaining weight during the pandemic because of all of the changes in their daily habits …But this study shows how significant this negative impact was in just A FEW SHORT YEARS. Here’s another key finding: The CDC found that children who were already obese gained about 1 to 1.2 pounds a month, putting them on track to gain 6.1 to 7.3 pounds in 6 months. This group is gaining weight at a faster rate compared to the 2.7 pounds in those with a healthy weight. Straight from the study: “Accelerated weight gain, especially among children, can cause long-lasting metabolic changes that put children at risk for serious and costly co-occurring conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and depression.” The US already has a high level of obesity among kids, affecting more than one in six children. This is serious stuff, folks! We need to be paying attention and making sure our kids are staying ACTIVE and putting HEALTHY FOOD into their bodies. The good news is that this is ALL stuff we have control over. More good news is that if you’ve noticed this happening in your family, we’ve got a solution to help! 🤸‍♀️🏃‍♀️Let your kids explore new and exciting activities and challenges with our HIT FIT KIDS CAMP. Whether your child is a veteran with us or coming for the very first time, we know they will be enriched with new fitness experiences that will inspire them to live an active healthy lifestyle. We launched our first HIT FIT KIDS CAMP in 2021 to help offset the findings in the study above and the outcome was beyond what we expected! Our one week all-inclusive camp will: Enhance your child's cognitive skills and promote working in teams. Your child will learn different skills from different sports They will also learn about nutrition through interactive activities & They will experience how delicious healthy lunches can actually taste from our friends over at EAT PRIME MEALS who will providing the healthy lunches for your kids. REGISTER Today & DONT let them miss this camp!!! 🔸Camp starts Monday, July 18th-22nd 🔸All Inclusive Day Camp 9AM-1PM 🔸Lunch will be provided by Eat Prime Meals **Please share this with a friend or family member - we want to get this message out there to people who FEEL THEIR KIDS need this.
By Kevin Kohan 07 Jul, 2022
🔥If you are serious about your goals… one of the BEST things you can do is focus on THE BASICS. Like Bodyweight Strength Training! They give you the biggest bang for your buck over the long run! Here’s what I’m talking about … One of my top personal basics – something I try to do every day – NON-NEGOTIABLE for my fitness is at least 15 minutes bodyweight strength training, 15 minutes flexibility/mobility, and 15 minutes hitting on my weak points to balance out any muscular deviations. Its all about making a plan, and working my plan.”
By Kevin Kohan 22 Jun, 2022
Get healthy from the inside out. Not a patch or potion but real wellness and longevity supported by consistently healthy lifestyle choices. Something we call the 5-Pillars of Health. Plus, our New HIT FIT SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE just for your absolute FREE!
By Carolina Kohan 21 Jun, 2022
Stop Sabotaging YOUR GOALS!
More Posts
Share by: