7 Benefits of Skateboarding

While we all know it’s fun, skateboarding has even more benefits that you might not expect. In fact, many fail to realize the potential and beautiful advantages that skateboarding can bring. Therefore, we’ve come up with some of the main reasons why you should skateboard and the benefits of skateboarding.

1. Staying Fit and Healthy

Like any other sport that encourages us to get outside and put our muscles to work, skateboarding is a way to stay fit and healthy. Constant practice can provide a heart-pumping cardio boost. It can also reduce stress and fatigue levels. If you have healthy joints and enough courage to take to the streets, skateboarding is a sport easy to master and requires minimal equipment. This Men’s Fitness article lists just a few reasons why skateboarding is such a good workout.

Skateboarding is a full-body, muscle-building workout. When skating you engage muscle groups throughout your body, as seen here:

Thanks to Brandon for providing his custom infographic, and learn more about the muscles used for skateboarding on his site!  

2. Transportation

Skateboarding is definitely linked with the urban environment and becomes a great way to explore it. As you switch between streets, sidewalks, or parks, there is no other means of transport more suited for the unpredictability you will find while cruising around the city. One of the greatest benefits of skateboarding is not skating at all: you can always walk and carry your board without the hassle of locking up a bike! For some commuters, skateboarding can be a practical decision, as you no longer need to worry about finding a parking space or a way to keep your bike safe from theft. Skateboarding thrives around college campuses as well as many pedestrian-friendly urban areas.

(Photocred: http://xgames.espn.go.com/)

3. The Ultimate Tourist Experience

Exploring a city shouldn’t be a “by the book” activity. Forget about the city tour that links some major monuments and the most iconic buildings. Pass on any guide telling you where to take a right turn and where you can find the best meal in town. Every city is much more than the sum of its highlights. One of the benefits of skateboarding is being able to see the environment around you in a different light, through the eyes of a local. Thus, skating around the streets of a new metropolis can be the ultimate tourist experience. While driving doesn’t offer the same intimate connection, walking is definitely too slow to allow you to cover enough ground in a limited amount of time. 

4. Learn Street Smarts (Literally)

Despite a reputation of danger, skateboarding can be much safer with the right safety equipment. For someone hitting the streets on their own for the first time (like a child), skateboarding is a great way to learn traffic rules. Therefore, another benefit of skateboarding is learning traffic interactions and becoming more aware of your surroundings. The more knowledge and experience that is accumulated from a young age, the safer driver you will become. Seeing the road from a different perspective than behind the steering wheel can be a blast, but here are some applicable traffic rules for those that bicycle or skate along the streets.

(Photocred: http://kroq.cbslocal.com/)

5. Meet New People

Needless to say, skaters are some of the most interesting, quirky, and inclusive people you’ll ever meet. At the skatepark, a shared love of a skating brings everyone together. Skateboarding can bring a child closer to his/her parent or even set the foundation of new neighborhood friendships. Where there is something free to be enjoyed together, friendships and other positive relationships flourish. Skateboarding can build bridges between generations and different social backgrounds, ultimately bringing people together and offering a great outlet to meet new people.

6. It’s Fun!

Regardless of the other benefits, we can definitely say that skateboarding is a major source of fun and quality time. The mix of speed, hanging with friends, and getting outdoors to enjoy your city are an awesome combo. Each ride becomes a new experience, a chance to see the city and its people in a different light. For some, skateboarding represents skateboarding provides an identity, a social group, and a creative outlet that is irreplaceable.

7. Skating’s Cool

For most kids, the idea of riding a skateboard has nothing to do with staying healthy, learning traffic rules, or exploring the city. Most of all, skating is cool! Skateboarding can offer acceptance, respect, and a peer group. Skateboarding’s not just a hobby or a sport – it’s an entire lifestyle.

Why do you absolutely love to board?

About The Author:

Yogin Patel is a serial entrepreneur who currently attends Arizona State University. At the age of 16, Yogin became an independent marketing consultant, along with an avid blogger and online marketer. In the past year, Yogin has worked with several small businesses, including local restaurants, hotels, and personal brands. He builds clean websites, ranks businesses on the first page of Google, and manages social media for brands. In his free time, Yogin likes to read thought-provoking books and play basketball with friends. To learn more about Yogin, or to get in touch with him, go to YoginPatel.com, or add him on his LinkedIn. Yogin blogs at Doolid.com.