What is Stand Up Padddleboard and Stand Up Paddlesurfing?
Stand Up Paddleboarding, (SUP), is an ancient Polynesian water sport that is currently exploding into popularity and is the fastest growing sport in the world. Essentially it is standing on a giant surfboard and propelling yourself along with a single ended paddle. The current form of stand up paddleboarding originated in Hawaii about 50 years ago as a way for surfing instructors to manage large groups of learning surfers, however the history of this sport goes back much further than its Hawaiian roots. Standing on the board gives you a better view of what is going on around you such as incoming waves. When standing up, you can also see much more clearly down through the surface than you can in a canoe or kayak and you can get a look at all of the amazing sea life below you. SUP has taken the worlds water sports cultures by storm. Hawaii, Australia, France, and California have all been the traditional leaders but now we see SUP spreading through the waterways and the media in every country.
The joy of surfing, the versatility of kayaking without the weight, SUP gives you the ability to essentially "taking a stroll" on any body of water, anywhere. SUP is the work-out, without the work. It is the speed of the wave, the glide on flat water, the mystery around the next river-bend and we feel very lucky to share this with you. We have never before seen a water-sport where people learn so fast. The skill development potential is without end, yet the progress, sense of achievement and physical improvement come rapidly.
CHECK OUT THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS BELOW FOR BASIC INSTRUCTION AND WAVE SURFING
Stand Up Paddleboarding, (SUP), is an ancient Polynesian water sport that is currently exploding into popularity and is the fastest growing sport in the world. Essentially it is standing on a giant surfboard and propelling yourself along with a single ended paddle. The current form of stand up paddleboarding originated in Hawaii about 50 years ago as a way for surfing instructors to manage large groups of learning surfers, however the history of this sport goes back much further than its Hawaiian roots. Standing on the board gives you a better view of what is going on around you such as incoming waves. When standing up, you can also see much more clearly down through the surface than you can in a canoe or kayak and you can get a look at all of the amazing sea life below you. SUP has taken the worlds water sports cultures by storm. Hawaii, Australia, France, and California have all been the traditional leaders but now we see SUP spreading through the waterways and the media in every country.
The joy of surfing, the versatility of kayaking without the weight, SUP gives you the ability to essentially "taking a stroll" on any body of water, anywhere. SUP is the work-out, without the work. It is the speed of the wave, the glide on flat water, the mystery around the next river-bend and we feel very lucky to share this with you. We have never before seen a water-sport where people learn so fast. The skill development potential is without end, yet the progress, sense of achievement and physical improvement come rapidly.
CHECK OUT THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS BELOW FOR BASIC INSTRUCTION AND WAVE SURFING
Why Try Stand Up Paddleboarding?
It is Fun- You won't even realize that you are getting some of the best exercise you've ever had until you are already exhausted and happy.
Increase Strength- Build usable muscle while you are having a blast in the waves or whitewater or just going for a flat water cruise. SUP creates muscle while you are having fun. Muscle burns fat while you are sleeping.
Improve Balance: All of the elements of SUP will greatly improve your balance. Humans are capable of incredible balance and it actually improves very quickly once you start playing on a stand up paddleboard. We only have two legs - we were made for balance. Go out and start playing!!!
Get in Better Shape, Strengthen Your Core Body Muscles:
SUP is a water-sport that can be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere there is water. It can be a serene and peaceful form of gentle exercise or exciting and physically demanding. However you do it, it is great for your body. Training on unbalanced surfaces is very effective for building the core muscle groups, (stomach and back) and for training muscles to fire in co-coordinated ways so that the benefits are immediately transferable to other dynamic sports and activities. As opposed to traditional resistance training where muscles are trained to work in isolated groups in a stable environment. In sport we require our bodies to provide explosive strength while we are on the move. This is the sort of benefit you get from cross-training in a more fluid environment and this where SUP excels.
Because you have to balance on the board, you have to continuously adjust your body weight from one foot to the other, as you pull yourself forward over the paddle, you must balance this force by varying the weight on one foot or the other - this is where applying load on an unbalanced surface comes in. The Paddle stroke has a very pronounced Torso Rotation and forward Curling Component, this occurs while balancing the force generated against your foot pressure on the board. So you get fantastic Core Strengthening combined with "intelligent muscle". The coordinated firing of neural pathways to get your muscles to contract at exactly the right amount at the right time, with the opposing muscles resisting just the correct amount is the talent of body memory. I have never seen a sport that starts out quite difficult, yet sees new users, develop quite amazing and very rewarding talent in as little as 10 minutes
You could consider SUP as a workout without the work. There have been many times that I have started out on a paddle and all of a sudden 2 hours have gone by and I did not even realize how far I had gone or how much exercise I had done until I stopped. Lighter than a Kayak and easier to store, with no moving parts it is more simple than windsurfing, it is safe and does not require expensive lessons or special conditions such as kite-boarding, and is much cheaper than sailing. Weather it be surf, river or lake, it is a great way to introduce water-sports into your life and enjoy the nature around you.
Peace and Calm...Give Yourself a Break
Life is getting more complicated. The amount of information we are forced to filter and process in a day is ever increasing. New terms like Adult Attention Deficit are arising, the inability to focus on something important. Well, it is not surprising. Our society is evolving much faster than our physiology can adapt, not to mention our poor old eco-systems. We do not have the answer for this, but taking some time out in nature a few times a month can help to bring your base stress level down and give you time to re-asses different areas of your life. Tuning into the gentle movement of the water, watching the light dance on the surface moving in time with the rhythm of the water is a Zen like activity that can bring a calm awareness to other aspects of your life. Take a little time for yourself to calm down, de-stress, and refocus on what is really important to you and your life.
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