Should you bend your knees when paddle boarding?
Basic Paddle Strokes for Beginners To move forward, place your paddle in the water and take smooth strokes. To change direction, switch sides with your paddle. For sharper turns, use a reverse stroke by planting the paddle in the water and pushing backward. Always keep a slight bend in your knees for balance. Avoid offshore winds. They will quickly blow your paddleboard far out to sea, which can make it extremely tiring and difficult to paddle back to shore. Avoid launching in windy conditions. You should wear a suitable personal flotation device.Plant your blade fully in the water before you start to pull. Always assume ready position when paddling. Use your core muscles for all your strokes. Keep your board as quiet as possible.Although falling off your paddle board can be frustrating, it’s important to remember that even the most experienced of paddle boarders will fall off every now and again and it is all part of the process of learning.
What is the secret to paddle boarding?
Keep your arms straight and twist from your torso as you paddle. Push down on the paddle grip with your top hand rather than pulling the paddle back with your lower arm. It’s helpful for some people to think of pulling the board past the paddle rather than pulling the paddle through the water. For calm waters and recreational paddling, a single fin may suffice, providing stability and ease of use. However, if you plan to paddle in choppy conditions or surf waves, a three-fin setup may offer better performance and control.This really depends on what you are doing on your paddleboard. If you are having a gentle cruise around the local lake or canal, then just a single fin at the middle of the back of the board is perfect. If you are taking to the surf or whitewater, then a set of smaller fins at either side of the back of the board.As you gain more experience, you may appreciate the speed and tracking offered by a single-fin setup. Water Body: For flat, calm water bodies, a 1 fin setup excels. However, in surf or choppy waters, the stability of a 3 fin setup can be advantageous.What does a fin do? Having a fin in the water helps you to keep the paddleboard to track in a straight line. Making it slower to turn means you’ll find paddling forwards a lot easier. If you didn’t have a fin then you may find that with each paddle stroke, you begin to spin around.
Should I wear water shoes when paddle boarding?
While you can certainly paddleboard barefoot, a good pair of water shoes will keep your feet better protected when getting in and out of the water, especially along rocky shores. Do I need shoes for SUP? While you can certainly paddleboard barefoot, a good pair of water shoes will keep your feet better protected when getting in and out of the water, especially along rocky shores.
Is paddle boarding good exercise?
SUP makes it easy to get fit and stay fit. Never underestimate the power of SUP in terms of weight loss. With just one hour of paddleboard racing, you can lose up to 1100 calories. This is unrivaled with any other exercise. Just like regular surfing, SUP surfing is an incredible full-body workout. You can burn around 700 calories in an active one-hour sup surf session. The bigger the waves – the harder you work and more calories you burn.Use smaller boards that are more manoeuvrable. SUP surfing is an extreme aspect of the sport and should only be undertaken by very experienced paddlers. Riding stand up paddle boards in white water rapids. White-water SUP is an extreme aspect of the sport and should only be undertaken by very experienced paddlers.Speed: Kayaks are usually able to move faster than SUPs but there are racing SUPs that can keep up with a kayak. Some of this is also dependent on the user (the engine) of the craft. Fitness: Both SUPs and kayaks provide an excellent workout. However, SUPs do provide a more rigorous whole-body workout.SUP is the ultimate low-impact, full body workout. Your arms, shoulders, back, core and legs are engaged when paddling which in turn raises your heart rate and burns those calories and builds muscle.