Is beach fitness the new trend?

We rope in coaches and fitness enthusiasts to weigh in on the pros and cons of working out on the sandy beaches of Chennai
Fitness coach Shweta Gai
Fitness coach Shweta Gai

With outdoors being the trend whether it is dining or working out thanks to the pandemic - we explore the popularity of beach workouts even as all businesses reopen like gyms and clubs. From being forced to workout indoors within the confines of your home during lockdowns to seeking out al fresco options due to hygiene reasons - we find that there is a mixed bag of opinions from experts regarding the choice of space for fitness training. 

Get your vitamin D
 
Is beach fitness a new thing or its always been there? “Beach fitness has been there for a very long time, a lot of schools, young kids, people who play general sports like Koko, frisbee have always been training on the beach, we see a lot of sprinters as well practising on the beach because it provides the natural resistance. This isn't like the new trend, because it's been there. Because of the pandemic, all of the privileges were arrested, and now like a lot of people want to come back out and train again on the beach.” says Shweta Gai, a fitness coach with over 6 years of experience.
 
Beach exercise has several advantages.“It provides natural resistance, running on the beach and doing any fitness activities is significantly more difficult than running on regular terrain. Secondly, Vitamin D which most people require after the pandemic and the addition of having nice water right next to you,” she adds.

It’s free!
 
People from the fitness industry do all kinds of workouts at the beach and that includes boxing.  “I work out and practice boxing at the beach rarely and run on the beach. The benefit of working out at the beach is that we don't have to pay at the beach, but for the gym, we have to. More than common people athletes are using the beach to work out as far I know regularly.” says Mathiazhagan, a boxing instructor for more than 16 years and a fitness instructor for 6 years.


 
Another aspect that could be a winner is – motivation. “It is the best morning motivation for me and a great kick starter for the day. I have always wanted to go work out in the morning but it never worked. We will ideally be done with the workout before 7:30 am. Since the beach isn't a closed space, the environment, the sunrise is again a motivation to workout at the beach,” says Aashish Vivekanand, a fitness enthusiast. 

Come clean

On the other side, beach fitness does have cons as well. Especially hygiene aspects.  “I was initially iffy about working out without shoes and barefoot turned out to be a better option considering the hassle and discomfort caused by the sand getting inside my shoes. I found better stability and balance working out barefoot on the sand”. says Varun Vasudevan, a fitness enthusiast.
 
Due to poor sanitation at the beach, boot camps are returning to indoor exercises. “But again, Chennai’s beaches require a lot of maintenance. People spend more time cleaning up the beach than training on it so that is most definitely a challenge, and that should be addressed in my opinion.” Shweta Anirudh adds.

However, “Now, we have stopped conducting beach fitness because we are concerned about the client's hygiene. The Marina and Besant Nagar are always dirty and we had to clean always before the workout”. says Sharanya Ramasubramaniyan, a badminton player and fitness coach for the past four years.
 


“While this is a trend that's been booming for some people right now, I feel like this particular trend will always continue. You don't pay much for anything on the beach and I feel like all outdoor places will have some value like parks and such. This is something definitely that will continue if this is going to be a trend or not that we need to wait and watch but training on the beach is a lot of fun”. Shweta concludes.
 
 

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