Getting Your Body Ready For Paddling
It’s just about time to put away the skis, snowboards and snowshoes and break out the boats! Before you put in for that first paddle of the spring, I strongly recommend that you spend a little extra time in the gym to get your core muscles ready. Now, let me be clear that I’m not a personal trainer, but I’m a big fan of neck and shoulder presses, lateral raises, and shrugs. I generally start with a 15 minute warmup on the rowing machine to get ready before I run through my half hour circuit of upper body and core exercises. Abdominal exercises like situps and crunches are great for the core because, after all, paddling begins at the core. Adding these types of exercises into your current workout routine will help you avoid overexertion when you take that first trip of the year.
Speaking of your maiden voyage, be sure to take it easy your first time out. Don’t expect to be as strong as you were at the end of last season. I recommend to even the most seasoned sea kayakers that you take your first trip of the season on a pond or small lake to get your rhythm back, revisit basic technique, and take that first Eskimo roll in protected water where you’re less likely to get yourself into trouble. Remember, your first trip of the season is not about going out and doing a 20 miler. It’s about reacquainting yourself with your boat and bringing your paddling skills out of hibernation.
When you’re back on dry land, I recommend doing some windmill stretches with both arms to shed that lactic acid before you bring your boat back to your car. Once you have that first trip under your belt, you can start venturing further afield and exploring the places you didn’t get to last year. If you’re looking to take your paddling and/or your navigation skills to the next level, we offer lessons from beginner to expert at six different locations on the east coast and we’d love the chance to work with you, your family and your friends.
Don’t forget – keep your head above water!
Hi Tracy
Almost time for your Hike up Washington hope it works out for you and the training is paying of. You should check in with George at the EMS School when you get up in the area he will have a good idea of conditions
Peter
Hey Phil
I couldn’t agree with you more I actually do 1 muscle group a day Chest, Back, Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps time allowing, and always finish with a core work out mostly situps of varying types, this year the shoulder has had some extra attention as I had it surgicaly repaired last fall. Hope we see you on the water this summer.
Peter – While my paddling routine also includes rotator cuff exercises, I mainly try to work on my core muscles to aid in whitewater rolls and for leaning my boat on edge. Some of my favorite gym training exercises for this are slant board Russian twists with a medicine ball, one legged bulgarian split squats, cable wood chops, and one legged bench step-ups. It’s a brutal workout, but it seems to do the job.
Hey Peter, Nice article. I know the pains involved too of preparing for adventures of the body! Sounds like you’ve certainly been around, very nice indeed. I have been prepping for my Mt.Washington hike up thru Tuckerman Ravine to the summit and back down thru Alpine Garden trail to see every thing in bloom. I leave from Atlanta on May 5 and I spend a month back in NH. I stock weighted pillow cases in my back on the treadmill and grind for 3 miles. People think I’m nuts!! I don’t even care, being ready for a grueling hike with 37# on your back ain’t no easy task. But to see what not many see and accomplish our goals is what it is all about.