How Paddle Boarding in the Summer Can Prepare You for Snowshoeing in the Winter

Paddle boarding, not really the activity you think about when you come across a snowshoeing website. The fact of the matter is they are closer related to each other then you may realise! Unfortunately snow is not available all year long or may only be available in the mountains. Don’t despair! You can give paddle boarding a try. Not only do you feel like you are walking on water but it also has a lot of commonalities to snowshoeing. I’ll explain below.

Paddle Boarding and Snowshoeing Commonalities

Photo by IsleSurfboards.com

They Both Burn Over 400 Calories/Hour

While you may not be doing the same walking motion as you would while snowshoeing you do end up burning a similar amount of calories. According to Fix, snowshoeing burns an average of 510 calories per hour walked. The range of calories burned while paddle boarding varies but it is typically in the range of 305 to well over 1000 calories burned.

They Both Work the Glutes (Your Booty)

While it is pretty obvious that snowshoeing and hiking engage this muscle, few people think of paddle boarding engaging your glutes. Think about it though, when you are balancing on your board, moving your hips and glutes together to counterbalance for a whole hour, they get a workout. It is not simply just the case that you are standing on a board and paddling around, you have to manoeuvre it, steer it and balance on it all while concentrating on where you are going. When snowshoeing, the glutes help with inclining and declining terrain you encounter.

They Work Your Hamstrings

The hamstrings are used primarily to support your knees while doing either activity, but they are used in different ways. When snowshoeing, they are used to cushion each step you take when walking through the snow. When paddle boarding, they are used in more relation to balancing and carrying momentum with each paddle stroke.

They Work Your Calf Muscles

When snowshoeing, your calf muscles are used to stabilize your foot with each step that you take to absorb the impact on your ankles. For paddle boarding, they are used to absorb each movement that your board encounters. This is especially true when you come across waves or any other wake or ripples.

They Work The Hip Abductors

Responsible for balance and keeping your knees from knocking into each other, the hip abductors are both at work in paddle boarding and snowshoeing related activities.

Enjoy winter on snowshoes! (photo courtesy Volleyball Beauty)

You Never Know What You May Run In To

Nature has a great way of pleasantly surprising you at the most random times. Often times something as simple as seeing a Lynx on the hunt or seeing a seal’s head pop up ahead of you is enough to make your entire day. Both activities allow you to interact with nature without actually disturbing it.

So How Can You Prepare?

You can choose to either rent a paddle board from any local water sports rental location or buy one! I recommend that you first try a paddle board before purchasing one to see how you get on with the sport. This is what I did for about a year before I took the plunge and got an inflatable paddle board!