The reason most of us go on holidays is to relax and take a break from our usual routines. However, that doesn’t mean your holidays shouldn’t include some exercise. In fact, keeping active on your holidays can ensure your body keeps feeling healthy so you can enjoy that relaxation to the fullest. In our surf villa, we like to try to find the perfect balance of both relaxation and exercise but it’s easy to find things to do when you want to relax. What can I do to exercise and why should I do it? In this article you will find 5 things you can do to exercise in your holidays.
Surf
We are surfers after all so our number one priority is surfing! Whether you are having 1 or 2 surf lessons per day, surfing is one of the best forms of exercise. You might have realized that already from the feeling of exhaustion after a surf! It might seem pretty easy to do but don’t get tricked by those pros at the beach. They make everything look easy!
Surfing helps to increase your strength, balance and flexibility. Paddling uses a great deal of strength, stamina and several muscles such as your triceps and biceps. When standing up apart from the ability to maintain your balance and stability, you are also working on your arms and chest muscles and of course those leg muscles! Surfing is great for not only improving your heart health, relieving tension and reducing stress, but it’s also very effective in producing “feel good” chemicals inside the human brain, boosting your mood! Why do you think surfers are always happy?!
Skate
Grab your skateboard and surf the streets! Sometimes we don’t get perfect waves and conditions but that’s not an excuse for a long Netflix marathon! What you could do is grab your skate, carver, rollers and get out in the streets! There’s plenty of space around the Villa to practice your skills and curves! For the more advanced we suggest starting in Guincho beach and skate all the way to Cascais, next to the shore! This route will take more or less 40 minutes and you will get to enjoy picturesque views of the Portuguese coastline! You can also take the train from Cascais and get down few stops later in Sao Joao de Estoril where you can find the Parque das Gerações, our local skatepark. There you can find all different kind of ramps, a big skate bowl and many locals practicing their skills!
Whether you’re performing tricks or just cruising down the sidewalk, skateboarding burns calories, trains your upper and lower body muscles and of course your balance and flexibility. So you are basically getting your full body daily workout without having to be stuck at the gym!
Cliff Jumping
Even though cliff jumping is mainly for entertaining reasons, it can also work as training! Walking all the way to the spot, to climbing back up the cliffs after your jump, you are definitely pumping your heartbeat! Casa da Guia is a 20 min walking from Cascais center, where you can find different restaurants, cafes and shops hiding in a small forest on top of the beautiful cliffs. Enter the place and walk straight to the left to avoid the crowd and head to the jumping spot! The trail to get there might be a bit tricky if you are a newbie since you have to jump some walls and get down some trees, but nothing hard, don’t worry, is all part of the workout! If you find it hard finding the trail, follow some
local kids who are normally there jumping all day long! After this small hike you end up at the edge of the cliff where you can choose different spots to jump off! Starting from 3m high and up to 9m, pick up your spot and go for it! You can climb back up from the rocks, but you can also swim to the shore and walk back up again!
Rock Climbing
We are lucky enough in Cascais to be surrounded by amazing nature that provides us with lots of outdoor activities. One more of these activities is rock climbing. Rock climbing an amazing form of exercise that focuses a lot on improving both your physical and mental strength. You will find amazing rock climbing possibilities all over the sintra national park as well as the incredibly scenic climbing spots scattered along the coastline.
Hiking in Sintra
Guincho beach is not only famous for its waves and wind but also its national park. On the opposite direction of the sea, you will find miles of pure nature! The landscape resembles a mix of Sahara and Tundra since there’s a mix of bushes, sand dunes, plants and flowers! Follow the wooden trail and get lost in the nature! And if you fancy even more hiking, our villa is after all, located in the Sintra National Park which is filled with amazing trails and scenery that make it one of the most beautiful ways to possibly burn calories.
You can find out more information about our surf camp and lessons on our website or if you have any queries, feel free to e-mail us at info@surfcascais.com.