Paddling exercises that don't bore Nate
I know there are some kayakers who go to the gym, run, and stay in top physical condition year-round. For the rest of us, tricking ourselves into getting fit in the spring is an important start to a safe, successful paddling season.
The problem for me is that I don’t actually like exercise. I enjoy hiking, kayaking, or even moving firewood around, but if it involves a gym or a machine of some sort, I lose interest pretty fast. Of course, I recognize how much my paddling performance is improved by good physical conditioning, so I’ve had to find some tricks for getting in shape without noticing that I’m exercising. None of these are revolutionary, but perhaps you might find them to be useful.
1) Go kayaking! If you can, get out and paddle early in the season! It’ll create a strong foundation on which to build the season’s skill development. If you happen to be stuck at home during a global pandemic, or if you only have 30 minutes, you might resort instead to some indoor games that are closer to kayaking than to “exercise”.
2) Balance games! When we’re kayaking, we use a whole constellation of core muscles to adjust our posture and balance. You can recreate that simply enough in your living room using a back roller (a 6-inch diameter foam cylinder, or padded plastic tube, used for rolling out muscles in your back). Set the roller on the floor, put a small dense pillow on top, and sit down with your legs in front of you, such that you are wobbling side to side. You’ll feel your core muscles firing to maintain your balance on the roller. To raise the challenge level, move your heels closer together, or rest one foot on top of the other!
3) Heavy spare paddle simulator! Sitting on your floor (with or without the roller), you can strengthen upper arm and shoulder muscles by “air paddling” with a piece of pipe, a branch from your yard, a garden implement - whatever you like. (I use a 3-foot length of 1” black iron pipe). You want something beefier than your nice light carbon fiber paddle, and short enough that it doesn’t hit the floor when you paddle. Even though this DEFINITELY ISN’T “EXERCISE” it might just happen to help with endurance and improve our form at the end of a long day. Just pretend you’re using that heavy old battle-axe of a paddle that you got for free with your first used kayak. Focus on a nice high “home” position (when your paddle shaft is horizontal between each stroke), and an upright posture.
4) Bungie paddling! Ok, this one is kind of like exercise, but it still feels pretty close to kayaking to me. Attach something stretchy to one end of your piece of pipe from above. I use Theraband (those giant rubber strips you get from your Physical Therapist), but you could also use some spare deck bungee cord, or other similarly stretchy (not too stiff) material. Tie the free end to something solid near the floor, perhaps a door hinge or couch leg. Brace your feet against the wall to one side of the bungee. Then using good torso rotation, unwind against the bungee. Keep it slow, and imagine using your bottom rib to stretch that elastic. Keep your chest parallel to that paddle shaft. Repeat on the other side.
If you’ve got some other suggestions I’d love to hear about them, and if you’d like an actual paddling workout, one of my Long Term Students passed this one along from AMC. It looks good, it features a jug of maple syrup, and if you aren’t allergic to proper exercise, it could be useful to you! Thanks Jeff!
I hope you are all surviving this crazy spring without too much stress or frustration. I don’t have any idea of what the paddling season will look like, but I hope to paddle with you all as soon as it’s safe to do so. Courses are (optimistically perhaps) still listed on my schedule. In the meantime, you can visit with me this Wednesday at noon, as I’ll be hosting a live Q&A on the P&H Sea Kayaks facebook page. Hope to see you there!
Be well,
Nate