You don’t need to be super sporty to go kayaking and depending on the boat you use, it is really a sport for everyone. However, if you are hoping to take your kayaking further, paddle a closed cockpit single sea kayak and want to go on day trips regularly to explore the coasts, travel to islands and reach remote places, a good level of fitness will get you there more comfortably. But what does fitness mean for kayaking? We will eplore this in this blog.
Movement
Movement is everything in kayaking. Even if you are not particularly strong, a good range of movement and flexibility will allow you to have a good posture in your boat, and that will help you paddle efficiently with minium strength effort. No, you do not need to be a gymnast, but moving your body freely is a clear advantage. An upright posture is key in keeping your balance, achieving a wide range of strokes, efficient and forward paddling. So let’s look at which muscles are involved in sitting upright.
Hamstrings
Your hamstrings reach from your bottom to your knee on the back of your thighs. Many adults, especially men have tight hamstrings, possibly through other sports or their work. When they are tight, they pull on the ischial tuberosity, also known as “the sitting bones”, which draws the pelvis back, tilting it backwards and flexing your lower back forwards. In a sitting position that means that you have a round, crouched lower back and find sitting upright strenuous. Other muscles need to work hard to counteract the pull, and that is hard to keep up for a long time. Tight hamstrings are often the cause of lower back pain, so it’s worth working them, not just for kayaking.
To stretch your hamstrings, why not try out a bit of yoga (you don’t need to do the spiritual, aawwwm kind of yoga) or just follow Adrienne’s Hamstring Yoga video. When you stretch your hamstrings, always make sure your back is straight. The aim is not to get your nose onto your knees, but to achieve a stretch without straining your back. Stretch your hamstrings regularly, ideally a few minutes every day to achieve a visible change.
Torso rotation
We want to use our whole body for power transfer from the paddle through the body into the acceleration of the boat. That means instead of pulling with our arms alone, we aim to rotate the body with every stroke and let the bigger muscles in the back and shoulders do the work, we’ll explain more about that in the strength section. But to achieve this rotation, good movement in your obliques and abs is required. Try some this exercise:.
Good movement in your neck is also useful when you want to look behind you to see if your fellow paddlers are still with you. But a lot of that goes back to balance and confidence. Try it out in your kayak and work on looking back over your shoulder without leaning over the side. You can also practise that on your floor at home.
Hips
The sitting position in the kayak is a bit unusual for most people. Our legs are bent with the knees out, a bit like a frog. Good movement in your hips makes this position more comfortable and will allow you to hold your kayak stable when it gets choppy or later on when you want to roll. To achieve this, stretch your hipflexers, your adductors and your glutes. You can try out this 12 minute yoga routine with Tom. You do not need to achieve the level of flexibility that Tom has!
Strength
Back
Your back and shoulders are the most important part. We want to achieve the power transfer through our shoulders and back rather than our arms alone. The main muscles used for this are your lats (aka latissimus dorsi). For a good posture the muscles on the side of your spine (erector spinae), are important. To strengthem both of them, using the rowing mashine at the gym works well, or try lying on your front with your hands next to your face and lift your arms and shoulders off the floor, making butterfly movements.
Or simply get into the habit of sitting up straight at your desk, at the dinner table or on the floor.
Hipflexers
Your hipflexers help you keep your torso upright when you are sitting. It is important to both stretch and strengthen them for a healthy back. To strengthen them, along with your abs, lie on your back, press your back into your floor and stretch your legs up to the ceiling. Then draw circles with your legs, or lower them and lift the back up. The lower you can go the more you get out of it, but make sure the lower back does not come off the floor, as this can cause injury.
Arms
For new paddlers it’s probably grip strength that is needed. I wouldn’t worry too much about that. But if you are keen, try using a stress ball or something for squeezing. The upper arms are surprisingly unimportant for paddling, but some general strength will not go amiss. When you are paddling, stry looseining your grip and only grip during the puling phase of the stroke. This will keep you going for longer as your muscles only need to work half the time and circulation to the muscles is increased.
Endurance
You don’t need a high level of cardio fitness for kayaking. It’s more about how long you can keep your muscles going. The best thing is to just go kayaking regularly and if you want to really build it up, try going faster for a longer time. If you can’t go kayaking, body weight training or things like kettlebells are a good way of staying strong. We, Kevin and Janni and South Skye Sea Kayak, go to Kettlebells and yoga classes to keep fit throughout the year with Skye Strength and Movement (also available online).
Am I fit enough?
If you don’t think you can manage all of this, you can still come kayaking with us. Our half days are suitable for everyone of any fitness level. Our half day beginners sessions are great for those with an average fitness level, and the ability to sit upright is definitely an advantage. If you can do one thing only, stretch your hamstrings, and you will feel a great improvement, not just for kayaking but for your general wellness.
