Fitness Onboard is the only business in our area to offer workouts on paddleboards. They offer both yoga and bootcamp classes for any fitness level. The only requirement is that you can swim.
Courtney Fell, certified Vinyasa Flow yoga instructor and co-owner of Fitness Onboard, says this business is special to her because of the way it came about. The inspiration to teach yoga from a paddleboard came to her as she and her husband, Sean, were taking a sunrise paddleboard trip near Grayton Beach.
“We were camping on Grayton Beach for our anniversary and we got up one morning to paddleboard out on the water at sunrise. It was so peaceful. I thought, I should be teaching yoga from a paddleboard.”
Courtney posted the idea on Facebook and her friend Cindi Bonner, whom already had a M.A. in Exercise Physiology and years of experience as a fitness instructor, loved the idea of teaching workouts on paddleboards. And, in less than two short months, Fitness Onboard opened for business.
Classes will take place in Little Sabine across from Margaritaville. For yoga, you will enter behind the dive center and then paddle to Hoffman’s Bayou. Cindi teaches an intense bootcamp workout while Courtney teaches Vinyasa Flow yoga. Both workouts will help tone and strengthen your core muscles.
Some of you may already be doing these workouts in a gym, so I asked the owners some questions to see what benefits we can receive from doing Fitness Onboard.
Q: We hear how important it is to work our core muscles. How does fitness from a paddleboard help?
A: Fitness Onboard helps strengthen the core in two ways. The simple act of keeping your balance works nearly every muscle down to your toes. And then, of course, the paddling works your low and mid back, as well as your abdominals. It really targets the core.
Q: What benefits can we receive from exercising outdoors?
A: To me, there is nothing worse than breathing in stagnant, recirculated air (like you would find in gym). Exercising outdoors, especially on the water, allows you to breathe fresh salt air. Also, when getting your “Fitness Onboard,” there is the added bonus of enjoying the natural elements. We regularly see dolphins and pelicans. And the water feels wonderful when you are building heat through your workout.
Q: What would be an ideal paddleboard yoga session?
A: My ideal yoga session would begin with a 10 minute paddle warm-up to our destination. Then, we would nestle into a serene, tucked away cove for a Vinyasa flow class. Vinyasa flow is a type of yoga which involves breath-syncronized movement, wherein the poses flow smoothly from one to the next, becoming almost dance-like. The flow class finishes in a heavenly Savasana, (2-3 full minutes of rest while lying very still) floating in the board. Class would wrap up with a leisurely paddle back at each person’s own pace.
Fitness Onboard offers great workouts out in the fresh air from paddleboards. Don’t have a paddleboard? Fitness Onboard will provide a paddleboard for you!
