When considering water workouts, reject the traditional and try the unusual in order to test your body's strength and fitness. Windsurfing, kayaking and water skiing all require strength and skill, providing challenge and adding variety to your exercise routine.
Windsurfing
Windsurfers balance on a long board with a rig attached. The rig consists of the sail, boom, mast and other pieces essential to steering and propelling the board. When windsurfing, you stand on the board and hold the boom of the sail, manipulating the boom to steer the board around the water. Depending on the strength of the wind and the choppiness of the water, windsurfing may challenge your entire body, exhausting every muscle, or will provide you with a way to scoot across the water without much effort. Discovery Health's Activity Calorie Burn Rate online calculator estimates that a 150-pound individual windsurfing for an hour will burn approximately 200 calories, but that rate could increase significantly as the wind increases. Sign up for a lesson to learn the ins and outs of the activity before setting sail on your own.
Kayaking
The American Council on Exercise suggests canoeing or kayaking as one of its top 10 summer fitness activities. Whether you choose to paddle around a flat-water lake, through the choppy waves of the ocean, or down the white water of a river, kayaking provides your upper body with an activity that will test your upper body endurance. Discovery Health's calculator estimates that a 150-pound individual will burn roughly 340 calories in an hour while white-water kayaking. Rent kayaks from your local sporting good store or purchase less-expensive inflatable kayaks.
Water-Skiing
Water-skiing requires balance, coordination and strength. If you've never water-skied, prepare yourself to fall a few times. When the boat starts up and it pulls you through the water, it takes practice to learn how to stand up and maintain your balance. Remember to keep your knees bent and to allow the boat to do the work—you don't need to try to stand up on your own, the boat will help pull you up. Once you've got it down, it might surprise you how much your legs start to ache from the effort, but they ache for good reason: Water-skiing burns more than 400 calories per hour in a 150-pound individual, according to Discovery Health.
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