From the East: Paddling from the Core

October-November 2006

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Adam Bolonsky

Talk to any kayaking instructor these days and inevitably the conversation turns towards the core, that muscle group which connects kayakers’ upper and lower torsos to their arms and shoulders. An all too often under-utilized source of power, the core—which includes the abdominals, hip flexors, obliques, lower back and latissimus muscles (note that the arms aren’t included)—is the muscle group which the fastest, most efficient sea kayakers use to propel their kayaks forward with graceful stamina and power. Strengthen your core, learn to use your core to rotate your torso, and you’ll find yourself paddling faster, further, with fewer tendonitis injuries to the delicate joints at your elbows, wrists and shoulders.

Here are a few ways to strengthen your core, for more efficient days on-water this winter, whether abroad or at home. You’ll build reserves of power with which to paddle, and will find yourself paddling with increased confidence and balance should the seas turn rough.

First, think less about your arms and shoulders and more about your abdominals, obliques (hips), lats (the muscles running from your armpits to your lower back) and glutes (your bottom).

While these muscles may seem at first glance to have little to do with propelling a kayak forward, for skilled paddlers, they actually do: it’s these muscles which create the power that the arms and shoulders deliver to the paddle by way of torso rotation.

TWISTS
Shown below is the seated medicine ball twist. A beginner’s core-stabilizing/strengthening exercise, the medicine ball twist prepares your obliques and abdominals for the more challenging exercises to follow.

Grasping a medicine ball with both hands (if you don’t have access to a medicine ball a large can of soup or phone book will do), professional personal trainer Mike Harb sits on the floor and twists from one side to the other, placing the ball first on one side, then the other. By placing the ball on the floor before lifting it and twisting to place it on the other side of his body, Mike fully engages his abdominals and obliques with the drill and, more important, rotates his upper torso through a full range of motion.

Finally, to add an element of balance and difficulty to the drill, Mike lifts his feet off the floor.

The abdominals and obliques are crucial to paddling from the core. They deliver, with a deep range of motion, the significant torque that experienced paddlers create within their bodies when they push their feet, first one, then the other, against their kayak’s foot pedals. The twist at the waist helps deliver the core’s power to the paddle by way of the arms and shoulders.

LAT ROWS
Next, using dumbbells, Mike demonstrates lat rows. The lats are those long and flared, cobra’s hood-like muscles which connect the upper back to the hips and lower back. The exercise also strengthens the deltoids (the shoulders).

The key to lat rows is to start with light weights, so as not to strain your lower back and shoulders. Also, as Mike demonstrates, stick your butt out somewhat, bend your knees slightly, and pull the dumbbells towards your shoulders. You should feel a distinct pinch just below and behind your armpits. Try five or six sets of three or four lifts.

TWISTING LUNGES
We’re getting more advanced now (photos above). By lunging from side to side, Mike engages not only his lats, abs, obliques and deltoids but also—in a highly dynamic stretching and lengthening movement—his torso, arms, legs and shoulders. In short the twisting lunge duplicates the full-body range of motion required of paddling with a rotated torso.

Note how Mike combines the twisting of the seated medicine ball drill with the fluid motion of a smooth and powerful paddle stroke. Also note how the twist places Mike’s chest at nearly right angles to his hips—just as in a truly torso-rotated paddlestroke.

Again, for lack of a medicine ball, use a phone book or can of soup.

BALL PIKES
Here Mike demonstrates an even more advanced core strengthening/stabilizing drill (see photos right). As this drill utilizes the highly unstable balance ball, try it only after you’ve prepared yourself with the previous drills for a few weeks. Note how Mike flattens the tops of his feet on the ball to aid his balance.

This drill not only strengthens and engages all of the muscles worked by the previous drills, it also adds a crucial element of balance. Mike balances himself with the strength he has built up in his hips and abdominals, which is dynamic and flexible enough to compensate for the ball’s tendency to roll.

Of all the drills, the ball pike most dramatically illustrates the full range of hip, lat, arm, leg and glute strength that paddlers can develop as they engage the core in their paddlestrokes. At the same time, the drill illustrates the variety of muscles paddlers can use to stabilize their boats in roughwater by driving their knees up beneath their foredecks and pinching their hips close to their lower ribs.

ONWATER
Once you’ve prepped your core to deliver power to your paddle, here’s how to ensure that your strengthened core propels your kayak forward.

The key is to rotate your torso. Here’s how.

First, try paddling with a friend or coach next to you. Have him or her repeat the phrase “show me your back, show me your sternum” each time you take a stroke.

The phrase is a reminder that you need to rotate your torso, not your shoulders, so that your partner sees first only your sternum, then your back, on each stroke. If your coach cannot see each, exclusively, you are not truly rotating. Instead, you are rotating your shoulders, a common error known as faux rotation.

If the above coached drill doesn’t help, wrap a colored piece of waterproof tape around your paddle shaft, at the ferrule—where the halves of the paddle join. Place another piece of tape on your PFD, at your sternum. If the tape on your sternum does not remain lined up with the tape on your paddle shaft with each stroke, you are rotating your shoulders, not your torso.

Finally, if neither of the above help, place your hands 10” or 12” apart on your paddle shaft and force yourself to paddle this way for fifty yards or so. You’ll find it impossible to paddle this way without rotating your torso, as the hand position renders it impossible for you to paddle with bent elbows and shoulders, a beginning paddler’s stroke also known as the Kangaroo Stroke for its distinctive reliance on motions similar to that of a kangaroo punching with its forelegs.

Come this winter, then, should you find yourself grinding down some lengthy stretch of shore, lactic acid pooling in your arms and shoulders, ask yourself whether you are paddling from your core. Strengthen your core, then try the above onwater rotation drills, and chances are you’ll find that same stretch of miles a lot less tiring next time out. You’ll paddle faster, further, and with deeper reserves of strength.

© Adam Bolonsky is a kayak fishing guide based near Gloucester, Massachusetts: adambolonsky@yahoo.com. You can read Adam’s lively blog at paddlingtravelers.blogsport.com.