Seeing a lot of SUP when I canoe, I was curious how SUP is different in terms of a workout. It looks like you use a lot of abs and leg dip to move forward and probably work your lower legs a lot to stay balanced. Is SUP beneficial to your OC performance or is it apples and oranges.
When I was in Hawaii this year I saw SUP paddling out into big sets and I never saw anyone fall off, just amazing, up and over 10 foot swells with perfect balance.
I have been swimming to try and mix things up but swimming just isnt doing it for me.
Thanks for any comment,
Shawn
Submitted by Shawn Michael on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 10:48pm
I know a lot of guys who just do it on flat water and say its great cross training. I was taught to just use my oc1 stroke to start out, rotation and all. Its a lot more core and legs. Supposed to be very beneficial for oc1. I like it becasue its a way to get out on the water and train for oc1 but without being a full on workout like my canoe sessions. Some guys take it to another level and really go the distance too.
#1 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 11:02pm
Cool. It is hard to find something similar enough that it will have carryover but different enough to add longevity and variety. I have read that old windsurf boards are great if you want to give SUP a try without spending 2grand.
#2 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 11:08pm
You can buy a DECENT, and I mean decent board for under a grand, especially 2nd hand. Dont know anything about the windsurf boards but im sure someone will have better info.
#3 Wed, 08/20/2008 - 11:17pm
doing SUP has greatly improved my canoe skills i have much more endurance because of it. and as for the windsurf boards i tried one out and its much more difficult to balance as the windsurf board has a curved bottom and a SUP board has a flat bottom
#4 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 4:53am
Hey Shawn
Im helping a friend shape her own SUP and its only costing her $350-400 for a custom fit board. Not sure what youre skills are but you may wanna consider building your own.
#5 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 5:29am
What skills do you need, aquafiend65? What about tools?
#6 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 7:42am
If it is something I enjoy that will be useful to OC then I would buy whatever was best for me. I might hate it though, or the movement might aggrivate some old injury. Once again the weight thing might be an issue and I might need a "fat man" board. My observation in sport is that an exact groove on any exercise has a certain amount of mileage you can put on it and if you are able to mix it up and do slight variations you can greatly reduce chances of overuse injury.
#7 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:23am
Thanks aquafriend, maybe she can make me one! I dont know anything about it and I pretty much suck at that sort of thing.
#8 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:25am
Thanks Garrett, I will pass on that idea then.
#9 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:26am
For those willing to build their own boards, it's not that difficult.
You will need a saw, glue, wood, glass, epoxy, plenty of space, and plenty of time...
check here for indpiration.
http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/
You can even download aps3000 aka Aku shaper to design your board, and a plugin call Hollow board to print stinger an ribs.
#10 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:47am
SUP is awesome cross training for OC1. It is similar enough to work the same muscle groups, but different enough to be "fresh" and "new". The longer lever from your bottom hand to the paddle gives each stroke more resistance. It definately takes more power for your strokes. I was off my OC-1 for nearly 6 months, just doing SUP (about a 1 hour circle course with an equal amout of upwind and downwind/surf) for 3-4 days a week. When I got back on my OC, I was a lot faster, especially down wind. I had the power to catch bumps that I would have missed before, and was able to connect bumps a lot easier. My endurance was the same, but my strength was improved. I would suggest trying out a lot of boards before buying. Also, for cross training, I would focus more on boards that work well for downwind/cruising. That is where you will see the best cross training results. There is nothing like the feel of surfing downwind bumps and even swells on a SUP. It's also fun to be up high where you can see all around. I highly recommend SUP for OC cross training. Good resistance for your typical paddling muscle groups, but also a great workout for your core and legs. It effectively combines my 2 favorite activities, surfing and paddling.
#11 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 11:14am
Hiro, thats a great site......Thanx!!!!!!
#12 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 2:30pm
Shawn, I have been doing SUP here on flat water on the East Coast this summer, and I have definitely noticed an improvement in my paddling. In truth, I love it so much I have been doing SUP and OC-6 exclusively, but when I hopped on my OC-1 I really felt I could put more power to it. The SUP makes you work your whole body, so getting on the OC-1 where you have less balance worries feels easy! Also, no rigging time wasted with a SUP, just grab your board + paddle and go. I have a Jimmy Lewis Distance board, 12'6" with plenty of flotation for a big guy. I weigh 220 and am not even near the weight limit for the board. Absolutely no regrets about buying it, definitely a workout that does not feel like a workout, because it is so fun!
#13 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 6:47pm
Shawn. if you're worried about being too heavy, there's a board available that is split in two but joined by 2 iakos. You paddle with one foot in each half.
I have a photo some where, looking now.
Cheers rambo
#14 Thu, 08/21/2008 - 6:57pm
Hey thanks for many comments. The Jimmy Lewis distance board looks great...any sellers in southern cal? I have bad luck with shipped stuff.
It will be easier to hide from my wife than another oc!
Thanks for comments
#15 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 1:29am
Getting a good SUP should be easy in Cali, I think thats where your from??
You should be able to borrow or rent or whatever very easily there so you can test them out. I would think much easier than a 1man. I would think all of the same ideas for choosing a 1man apply here.
#16 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 1:34am
Shawn,
Check with Jim Terrell of Quickblade. He distributes the Jimmy Lewis board in Socal. http://quickbladepaddles.com/
#17 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 8:08am
rambo you mean this?
#18 Fri, 08/22/2008 - 1:29pm
That's the one Dacho, Shawn Michaels, this is for you. The extra height/ thickness of the hulls make up for the chunk of material missing out of the middle of the board. This thing is fast downwind and tracks like train.
The iakos are adjustable so you can set it wide for stability when learning and narrow her down for speed when you get the hang of it.
Simple to attach a bolt on motor drive for those days when you can't be stuffed paddling upwind to do the downwind.
Cheers Rambo
#19 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 12:44am
That is cool. Jim Terrel of quickblade has a 12'6 Jimmy Lewis and I have some $ this month hmmmmmm. Thanks for the tip Scott, Quickblade is right down the road. What is this adjustable mother called? Back to google. Fun stuff, thanks for help.
#20 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 12:53am
I believe it's called the Standamaran and was created by Ron House. The links below shows them.
http://www.kenalu.com/2007/11/13/ron-house-stand-up-paddle-surf-board-ca...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/standuppaddlesurf/382505207/
#21 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 1:35am
thanks for the link, I couldnt find it!
#22 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 11:04am
It's excellent exercise, more core probably than OC1. The SUP industry has done some market research and expects the greatest influx of SUP surfers, distance racers and flatwater paddlers to come from the paddle sports rather than from traditional surfers. Perhaps more from Kayaks and such than OC1, but definitely from folks that like to paddle.
I'm looking the other direction--a SUP surfer that's interested in OC1. I think when I get back to Maui this winter there's going to have to be some room made in the garage for one more toy.
If you're looking for a board, you might take a look at our showcase--we review most of the boards available. It's at http://www.kenalu.com and just click on the tabs at the top for Gear Reviews. There's both a board and a paddle showcase.
I think most SUP surfers don't know as much about paddling as canoe racers, but then we don't have the coaches and the history yet. I'm working on improving my stroke to do some races this fall. Specifically the "Battle of the Paddle" at Doheny Beach in October. I'm paddling five mile sprints every other day. We'll see how it goes, I'm pretty heavy (250), but this distance stuff is starting to take off some pounds.
Bill Babcock
Editor: Ke Nalu e-Magazine
www.Kenalu.com
#23 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 7:01pm
Hey thank you Bill. From your showcase and the above posts and being that I can just got pick up the paddle and board and go, I am going to get the Jimmy Terrel distance and a quickblade.Peahi this weekend...should be a hell of a workout and the board sounds like a safe bet for the first ride. It will be interesting to see how it affects my OC and how I enjoy my time spent on it vs the canoe. All good stuff.
Thanks
#24 Sat, 08/23/2008 - 9:02pm
Hey Shawn,
I'd try another shape besides the Peahi, maybe you can demo a few. Quickblade makes great paddles, but the Peahi is for people who have a lot of paddle control and need all that oomph. Laird, Dave Kalama, folks like that. Some pure surfers like them too for the high torque. I find them difficult to control and not friendly to my shoulders. But the Quickblade Shaka Pu'u is one of my all time favorite blades.
Bill Babcock
www.Kenalu.com
#25 Sun, 08/24/2008 - 8:05am
I was going to check with Jim too. That paddle just looked cool, but maybe not good for me.
#26 Sun, 08/24/2008 - 10:08am
Yep, my abs and legs are pretty forked. I did 2.5 miles (first time on the board) and I had to stop a 3 times times because my legs were shaking. I was watching Aaron Naploean's stand up races and he has a crazy stroke but he seems to be really fast. I was surprised that he kept up with the top paddleboarders in this race. I am sure if the wind turned on him the SUP are in big trouble.
The one thing I dont like is that I am just zig zaging all over the place unless I switch after 2 strokes.
The whole thing is a lot easier than I thought. No hitting the sides of the board or falling off except when my hand slipped on the paddle. A little surf wax fixed that. When you have the wind in your face it is really a struggle. I look forward to getting my weak links up so I can really go for it and get a good workout. Thanks for advice. I think this will be a nice complement to OC
#27 Wed, 08/27/2008 - 8:25pm
Jim made me a 82 inch paddle with a 10x18inch blade and it seems it has an aluminum shaft? We never discussed this but he said he would make something good for me and I didnt question him...seems to work just fine though I was thinking it should be a few inches longer and where to grip exactly is a bit of a mystery.
#28 Wed, 08/27/2008 - 8:29pm
PonoBill,
Isn't the Shaka Pu'u made by Kialoa? Quickblade makes the Peahi and Kanaha SUP blades.
As for the lower hand grip, it should almost be about the same as your normal OC -1 paddle spread making the same triangle with your arms.
#29 Thu, 08/28/2008 - 2:25am
howzit paddlers,
been following this forum for a long time but never posted before.
this is a great place for all paddlers and watersports folks to hangout.
just some quick comments about SUP before i head off to work.
this past regatta season my young son learned to paddle canoe by training oc1 with me... we would go out and train only on days that had bumps... he learned a lot about surfing bumps, paddling and reading the ocean.
he also cross trained by SUP'ing. the SUP and paddling complements both his paddling and his surfing. SUP is a very good way to cross train for paddling... as long as you train hard on it and not just go on a cruise.
aloha!
#30 Thu, 08/28/2008 - 5:47pm
SUP be an awesome workout an' a great sport. But if ye do 't, dasn't be a donkey an' go t' a surf spot an' catch ever' friggen wave that comes by. SUP be smartly gettin' a bad rap from guys campin' ou' at one spot an' catchin' everythin'. Go cruise arrr different breaks in one session. Dasn't forget t' SHARE. On accoun' o' o' a wee swabbies, SUP be in danger o' bein' branded as a kook sport. Get proficient at standin' an' paddlin' before goin' anywhere near waves. Blane Chambers has th' best advice fer aspirin' SUP swabbies on his web site.
CLICK HERE
Yer PSA be now o'er an' we return ye t' yer regularly scheduled programmin'.
#31 Thu, 08/28/2008 - 8:24am
I've done SUP for about a year and a half and it's a great workout. Kills the hammies at first. New to OC 1, but it's great too. I do the standup mainly to hit unpopulated outer breaks and putter around in smaller waves that are waste time to surf. They make cruddy waves fun. But they suck going into the wind. Oc is a bit more versatile in that regard. Great cross training.
#32 Thu, 08/28/2008 - 9:28pm