These exercises will help you increase your overall SUP performance. They are presented with a clear progression from easier to advanced. All levels of paddlers can take away a few new training tips and techniques here.
As a trainer and paddler, I want to introduce a new concept that will help keep your brain and stand up paddling skills extra sharp in all dimensions.
What I mean by this is that we live and paddle in one dimension. We walk forward, we swim forward, we surf forward and we all can say we paddle forward. Sure we turn, we cut back and I have seen some paddle backwards to goof off, but we usually train and paddle in one dimension.
Now I have experienced, not on purpose; the act of sliding sideways on a big downwind glide. It’s almost like drifting in a racecar or doing what we call in the rally world, a 4-point drift! (Best freak’n, exciting rush ever!) Have you ever felt your board skid sideways? What did you? How did you react? Did you fight it or did you think it was way cool and go with it?
Have you practiced time and time again to step up; hop up over that small or medium sized wave or beach break attempting to get out, only to find yourself quickly stepping off the nose or back of board? These exercises will help you get up and over that small or medium side chop or wave.
Do you know how to brace yourself with your paddle before you fall? Can you instinctively plant your paddle without looking and confidently know it will be exactly where you need it, without falling off your board? Are you having trouble with quick turns into a wave or around a buoy? If so, these exercises will help you improve those skills too.
