Paddle Board Training with Push Ups

I’ve always been a fan of push ups, but I haven’t done them for a few years because I was either paddling, going to the gym, or building my company. When the COVID 19 lock down began, the beaches and the gyms closed. I couldn’t paddle and I couldn’t work out. I had to do something, and I wanted to be strong and ready for the day I could finally put a paddle board into the water. It was time to get back to push ups.

Push ups are almost the perfect body weight exercise, because the movement works so many muscles. But, will it be an effective exercise in getting my muscles ready for paddle boarding? As it turns out, push ups train just about every paddle boarding muscle.

Commonality between the two exercise types can be broken into two groups. Primary muscles which have direct importance to the exercise, and Secondary Muscles such as stabilizers.

PRIMARY MUSCLES
Pectorals

• The major muscle developed during push ups, strong pectorals are important to the forward portion of the stroke. Pectoral work with your deltoids to plant the paddle with strength.
  

Deltoids

• Deltoids are the muscles that wrap around your shoulder. Anterior deltoids (front of the shoulder) are one of the primary muscles developed in push ups. These muscles help you to raise your arms in front of you. With every fresh stoke, you use your anterior deltoids. Building strength and endurance through push ups will pay off on the water with an improved stroke rate and less fatigue.
  

Trapezius & Rhomboids (Upper Back)

• The trapezius muscles are an important muscle in the paddle board stroke, and play an integral part for powering the pulling part of the stroke.  During push ups, these muscles acts as antagonist muscles. Antagonist muscle works in opposing forces to the primary mover (pectorals), muscle of an exercise. Without these muscles, you could not control your movement back down to the floor after pushing yourself up.
  

Triceps

• This muscle group gets a lot of work during push ups. Although, proper paddle stroke technique doesn’t depend on heavy tricep usage, the simple fact is that these muscles are used as part of the stroke. Strong triceps will help you to paddle longer without fatigue.

SECONDAY MUSCLES
Abdominals (Core)

• A strong core is imperative to having a strong paddle board stroke. A proper strong depends on proper use of the core. The Rectus Abdominus is a primary core muscle. It’s the long muscle that covers the front of your torso and gives the coveted six pack, and it is a primary stabilizer in push ups. Without a strong Rectus Abdominus, you will be limited on the amount of power transfer in your stroke.

  Obliques (Core)

• These muscles run along the side of your core, and they help to transfer the stoke power. During push ups, obliques are working with your abdominals to keep your body aligned properly.

Erector Spinae (Core)

• This set of muscles run along both sides of your spine. In paddle boarding, these muscles are used to flex, rotate and extend your back. During push ups, they are used to keep your back straight and flat.
  

Glutes and Hamstrings

• During paddle boarding, these two muscles not only help you to keep standing, they also assist in transferring the power of your stoke through the board to push you along the water. While you are doing push ups, these muscles are working to stabilize your body and keep it level. Essentially, these are the same duties while paddle boarding.
  

Since push ups are such an effective paddle board training exercise, get ready for the upcoming season by taking on this 30-day challenge. It’s starts at 30 push ups and builds to 100. Not only does this quantity of repetitions build muscle endurance, it also improves cardio vascular strength. Even paddling for one hour requires hundreds of strokes. Building strength and endurance is important.
 
Don’t be intimidated by the number of push ups required. It seems daunting at first, but if you take it one day at a time, and one push up at a time, you will complete the challenge. Don’t worry about trying to do them all in a row. Break your daily goal into sets of 10. Before you know it, it will be day 30 and the challenge will be completed. You will be strong and ready to take on the water. Remember, YOU CAN DO IT!!

How much is a paddle board? Great question, and one that is often asked by people shopping for their first one.

The short answer to that question is that paddle board costs vary. You can purchase paddle boards for as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as several thousand, and everything in between.

Like so much else in life, when you buy a paddle board, you get what you pay for. Don’t expect a quality board that is light and durable for a few hundred dollars. They simply don’t exist. If you want to spend as little as possible on a paddle board, don’t be surprised that the board is wrecked by the end of its first summer.

Now, lets answer the question with a little more detail and take a look at what’s available at different price points. Please note that these prices are in USD.
 
$300-$500 Paddle Boards
At this price point, pretty much the only paddle boards available are cheap inflatables from brands that no one has ever heard of, and they can only be purchased online. Typically, these paddle boards are made with cheap PVC, lower levels of stitching, etc.…
Rigid board are rarely available at this price.
 
$500-$750 Paddle Boards
This price point is still dominated by inflatable paddle boards. However, rigid paddle boards are now available.
Most rigid paddle boards in this price range are cheaply made. At the lower end of the prices, you can purchase rigid paddle boards that are essentially a piece of foam with a couple of layers of fiberglass wrapped around it. It may have a stiff plastic base to help the board become stiffer. Unfortunately, the foam is easily punctured as I learned when I accidently pressed my thumb into one such board while at a prospective dealer (I ended up buying the board and gained a new dealer).
Other types of paddle boards at the lower end of this spectrum have hard plastic shells like a kayak which are filled with foam. While these boards are very durable, they are very heavy. Some weigh as much as 60 lbs. Not only are these boards tough to carry, you have to push all that extra weight through the water while paddling.
 
$750-$1000 Paddle Boards
Once you exceed the $750 threshold the quality of paddle boards starts to improve. Inflatable brands no one has ever heard of start to disappear. The inflatables in this price range are made with a better grade of PVC and has better stitching. These boards still puncture easy, so care must be taken when riding.
The number of rigid paddle boards available at this price point increases greatly. However, it’s this price point that shoppers for rigid paddle boards need to be the wariest. For many new shoppers, one paddle board looks like the next. A $750 SUP may look very similar and even be more visually appealing than a $1500 or $2000 paddle board. The difference will be in how they are made. Ask the salesperson about core densities, core stringers, materials, construction techniques and technology that went into the manufacture of each paddle board.
 
$1000-$2000 Paddle Boards
This price point is the segment of the market where Wappa Paddle Boards competes. SUPs in this price range are all quality products. Significant effort has gone into the production of these boards. They are not cheaply made, and they tend to be produced by companies that have a passion for paddle boarding or water sports in general.

There are still some inflatable paddle boards available in this price range. In fact, the best inflatables on the market are closer to the $2K end of this spectrum.

The vast majority of the boards in this price class are rigid boards. Rigid paddle boards are what all inflatables inspire to be. Why? Rigidity translates to balance, speed and power. If you love paddle boarding and plan on doing it for the foreseeable future. You should consider a rigid board in this price range.
 
$2000+ Paddle Boards
Once you hit $2K and more for a paddle board, the inflatable market disappears. Boards in this price segment are oriented for high performance. Carbon fiber is a dominant feature at this price point. If stronger lighter faster is what you need, then these are the boards for you. Competitive racers and paddle surfers are drawn to this end of the market, as is anyone who loves the best of the best. If you are the typical paddle boarder, this is probably more board than you’ll ever need.
 
Paddle board prices vary greatly. You can be on the water and paddling your own SUP for less than $300. However, you probably won’t want to be paddling that board for a couple of years. Cheap boards are slow, unstable and not very durable. So, if you plan on owning and using a paddle board for several years, you’ll probably be happier spending more on a better-quality product. Find something that will meet your current and future needs without breaking the bank. And remember, you always get what you paid for.