Life’s a Beach
It may come as no surprise to some when I say that I love a nice beach.
Part of this love is for the simple beauty in the nature surrounding. The sights and sounds of the waves crashing. The feeling of the hot sand on my feet, intermingled with quick splashes of cold water to cool them off. Being able to zone out and relax when I need to, combined with a nice surf session if I want a workout or feel like getting rocked by a good wave.
If you have access to a beach regularly, or just enjoy them when on those short vacations, you might be someone who loves to take a nice stroll down the beach at some point in the day. Or maybe you just walk onto the beach to watch the sunset and then back to your regular life once the sun sets.
Or you might even go so far as to do your workouts or run on the beach.
Regardless of what you do on the beach, the benefits for our body are numerous. (FYI, there is research to back this if you are interested.)
Being an active person, and from a city that is not lined with nice coastal beaches, I take every chance I get to walk or run on the beach when presented.
Next to stress relief, beach walking or running is great for helping strengthen up those small intrinsic muscles of the foot, while challenging a few slightly bigger ones in the process.
Some of these muscles being stimulated are ones that for some, are slowly getting weaker in the big clunky, over-stabilizing shoes that we are often told to buy at the shoe store. These are muscles which help control your foot position and assist in keeping your body upright when walking, standing or exercising.
Weakness in these muscles can lead to altered performance and possibly foot injuries down the road if left untreated.
When it comes to running, and even walking on the beach, it is important to note that if you are not used to doing it, you will not be able to tolerate the same amount of load on the beach as you would when on solid terrain like a road or sidewalk or even trails.
Therefore, you have to be VERY careful with how much you do and how quickly you do it. Otherwise, injuries might happen.
If you are used to running 5-10km and try to run on the beach, you would be hard pressed to finish the same distance without already feeling something get hurt. Others might call it quits after 2-3km and often feel discomfort (DOMS) the next day or later. This also applies to walking if you aren’t used to walking on a beach at all.
So why am I preaching beach running/ walking if there are so many chances of getting injuries and you can’t even do as much as you’re used to?
Our bodies ADAPT. They need stress to get stronger, but too much can be detrimental. To put it simply, you need to gradually progress and expose your body to more each day. DO NOT go out and try to do too much too soon, as that’s when injuries happen most.
So if you plan to run, try some run/ walk intervals to start if needed. Otherwise, only go for 1-2km the first time. If needed, stick to the firmer sand initially and after a few days, progress to the soft soft sand further from the water line.
Much of the same principles apply to walking on the sand. You might be able to go slightly further as the load/stress is less than running, but I would strongly suggest that you still keep the distance to a minimum to start,
So next time you are on a beach vacay and want to stay active, give it shot. Just go slow and keep the mileage low. Gradually build up and you might just fall in love with it.
A few suggestions on where to beach run in the city: The Toronto Islands, The beaches.
Outside the city: Wasaga beach, Sauble Beach, Southampton Beach, Sandbanks, Prince Edward County.
As always, if you want more information on beach/ sand running or any other topics, do not hesitate to shoot me an email (arasruslys@gmail.com) or find me on insta (@ahh_rass_physio) or facebook (Aras Ruslys-Phsyiotherapist).
Happy runnings,
Stay active and prosper.
Aras Ruslys
Registered Physiotherapist
