{"id":60205,"date":"2017-07-14T07:15:35","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T11:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=60205"},"modified":"2021-09-18T07:26:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-18T11:26:57","slug":"hiit-beach-workout-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/hiit-beach-workout-running\/","title":{"rendered":"20-Minute Beach Workout for Runners"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"20-Minute
Photo by\u00a0Nathaniel Chadwick<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that the weather is warmer, it\u2019s time to ditch the treadmill<\/a> and take your running workout to the beach. In addition to sweet views, vitamin D-soaked rays and energizing fresh air, running on the sand will give your body a whole new wave of challenges.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>3 HIIT Workouts to Take to the Beach<\/a><\/p>\n

Meagan Fulps and Devin Wiggins, certified personal trainers and founders of A Couple of Trainers<\/a>, say your body works 1.5 times harder on sand than it does on concrete. Why? \u201cWhen running on the beach, your foot displaces the sand and recruits other muscles that you normally wouldn\u2019t on pavement,\u201d Fulps says. \u201cIt also greatly challenges and strengthens the arches of your feet, ankles and calves.\u201d<\/p>\n

And because you\u2019re targeting muscles you don\u2019t normally train when pounding pavement, you\u2019ll also help prevent injuries. Studies<\/a> have also shown that running on sand versus hard surfaces aids range of motion too, particularly in the hips and knees<\/a>. What\u2019s more is that the soft texture of sand helps protect your joints and improves your ankle, knee and hip stability, Fulps says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Get Seriously Faster With These Hill Running Workouts<\/a><\/p>\n

Going Against the Grain: Running on Sand<\/h3>\n

Just like climbing up hills<\/a> or stairs<\/a>, hitting sandy beaches and trails tests the boundaries of your cardiorespiratory system, resulting in improved VO2 max and endurance. So if you\u2019re training for a half-marathon<\/a> or marathon this summer, mixing in softer terrain is a win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uneven surface and extra weight of sand also provides resistance. Run up a sand dune for an incline, and you\u2019ve got yourself an intense challenge,\u201d Fulps explains.<\/p>\n

Because running on sand feels stickier, a few form tips are key. Pick your knees up higher, pump your arms and lean forward (but not too forward) to help propel you, Fulps says. \u201cIf you\u2019re sprinting, you should stay on the balls of your feet. Even though sand is softer than concrete, you still want to maintain good form and run with heel strike<\/a> and full hip extension,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For a more consistent stride on long runs, Fulps recommends running on wet sand instead of dry. If a shorter-distance stability workout is on tap: Stick with soft, dry sand. That said, there are no hard-and-fast rules to running with or without shoes on the beach. Wearing sneakers on the beach will give you more support on uneven terrain. But running barefoot on wet sand can help strengthen your calves and feet muscles since you\u2019re gripping your toes, Fulp says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>How to Score Perfect Running Form Like the Pros<\/a><\/p>\n

HIIT the Sand! Your 20-Minute Beach Workout<\/h3>\n

Ready to give sandy trails a try? Lace up your sneakers and hit the beach running with this 20-minute workout.<\/p>\n

\"20-Minute
Photo by\u00a0Nathaniel Chadwick<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All done? Get your next beach workout<\/a> here.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer is the perfect time to turn your run into a beach workout. Try this 20-minute interval run on sand to improve your endurance and stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":60208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[288,108,90,341,357],"class_list":["post-60205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-cardio","tag-running","tag-summer","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}