Surf Ski Paddling is a pretty tough and physically demanding sport and the benefits of adding some sort of strength training routine to your weekly workout is without question.
Why?
The ski itself is pretty heavy (for most people, as not everyone owns a 9kg vacuumed racing snake!) There is generally some phase of the race/training session that will be performed into a headwind.
The sea is usually choppy and a smooth glide like that achieved in a canoe on glassy water is not always possible.
If you are a female, with less natural strength, strength training is even more vital!
It is really a question of available time. If you can only afford 3 sessions in a week, I would rather suggest you spend them paddling, as strength training is great as an addition to your paddling, not as a replacement! You could maybe make one of those sessions a “resistance” training session, where you add a bungi to your ski, thereby increasing your boat’s drag through the water, sort of like “boat gym”. Just remember to maintain good technique when you add resistance, and don’t make any drastic changes. It should actually make your ski more stable, which could be used as an opportunity to work on technique.
So what kind of exercises should you do? Well, the most important thing is to keep it paddling specific. In other words, strengthen the muscles that are used to make you paddle faster. Remember that no muscle in your body acts alone, they all work in certain groups to achieve movement. Rather concentrate on complex movements, than isolated ones. For example, don’t do Triceps Extension as that will only strengthen your triceps muscle (the one at the back of your arm-that straightens your elbow), rather do Straight Arm Pull Downs as that will strengthen your lattisimus dorsi muscle with your triceps, as they work as a group when you paddle to pull the blade through the water (one of many that do).
Here are some important things to remember when you are designing your strength training program:
muscles act together not alone
paddling is a rotational action for your trunk
your legs are very important for generating power
your core muscles (see article on Core Strengthening) transfer power to blade and are a major asset to your overall strength, as well as an injury preventer
strength work should make you stronger, you can do your endurance work on the water
go slow in the beginning, use correct technique so as not to create any injuries (get a gym coach if you aren’t sure)
always build in a warm up, as well as stretching-a tight muscle is a short muscle which is an ineffective and weak muscle
the main muscles involved you need to strengthen are your back, chest, core, and legs (mainly gluteals-butt muscles and thigh muscles)
Injury prevention
Your strength workout can also be a very useful way to prevent injuries. By having a stronger core and a correct sitting posture, you can prevent any lower back and shoulder problems which could occur as an over-use injury with all that repetitive motion from paddling for hours on end. The extra strength will also go a long way in helping you to maintain your correct technique when you start to get tired, or when you are paddling into a head wind.
A Note on Paddling Technique and Strength Work
Try and always incorporate the correct pattern of movement into your exercise. For example, your foot compresses the footplate, and then there is leg drive which flattens your leg and pushes your hip backwards and rotates your spine. It is this leg drive and subsequent rotation and hip movement that are synced with the pull of the paddle through the water. So at the same time as your foot begins the movement, there is the pull on the blade. Your body “uncoils” from its forward rotated position, unleashing the power generated onto the blade.
Therefore your gym exercises should try and mimic this.
For example:
Standing One Arm Cable Pull
This exercise utilises leg drive, rotation and a pulling action all in the same neuro-muscular pattern as in paddling. It strengthens your core muscles, and back and arm muscles. You can also do this exercise seated.
Another example would the Swiss Ball Single Arm Dumbbell Press. Instead of (or addition to) bench press/dumbbell press, you could do Single Arm Dumbbell Press while bridging off a Swiss-Ball (see photo below).
This will give you a connection from the floor through your body and to your pushing hand (and the dumbbell), much like in paddling. This focuses on co-ordination rather than only on chest muscle strength. Hip stability throughout the paddling action is vital, and in this exercise, through contraction of your gluteals (read butt) muscles you achieve this. This will mean more stability in the boat and a more powerful stroke.
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