Stand up paddling is no doubt taking the world by storm, and while you don’t need to be in the greatest shape to paddle, you’ll soon discover the benefits. As you begin to improve your technique, experiment with new gear and maybe decide to enter a race or wave competition, it’s a good idea to learn how to train in a balanced way to prevent injury so that you can enjoy paddling even more and stay on the water.
As the sport continues to evolve, and as a trainer who specializes in educating people how to paddle stronger and better improve their performance, I’d like to share with you first an overview of some of the known complaints and injuries that I’m seeing and helping people manage. I’ll also share with you many training strategies designed to help you better approach your SUP training in a balanced manor as a way to avoid injuries.
This article is part one of a two-part series that will illustrate a more in-depth review of the anatomy and how your muscles function while you paddle and how injuries might occur. Part two will be the actual exercises and training approach I recommend to help recover from some of these injuries and/or avoid them.
I’ve also gathered some helpful insight from one of our Naish Team Riders, Karen Wrenn, on how she trains to help her better perform. In addition, I’ll be highlighting another paddler, Kevin Vangritis from North Carolina and new racing competitor and long distance paddler, with his personal story and struggle with a unique injury and how he’s managed to come back on the water.
Common SUP Injuries
Overuse injuries and strains from SUP are common and include mostly the muscles of the shoulder and/or rotator cuff muscles, the knee joint, foot and ankle and low back. It’s good to have a knowledge base of the anatomy and function of each group so you can better adapt your SUP training to avoid these injuries. There may be more to mention, but in my practice and I too have experienced things such as a nagging bicep tendonitis issue in my right arm and on occasion after long distances over 20 miles, my traps (trapezius) have cramped a bit and my feet have fallen asleep.
Injuries that are more common where there are waves are fin lacerations to the extremities and face, paddle handles giving bloody noses (mine), and leash wrap-arounds I call them, that can cause sprains to fingers and other body parts from wrapping around you after a heavy wave wipe out. Also, as these boards are much heavier than surfboards for example, if you get hit in the head you could suffer a good blow or even a concussion. In addition, some super heavy hold downs at some of the bigger breaks can wreck havoc on your back and lower extremities.
Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries:
Stand up paddling works a lot of muscles and is well known for being a great core workout. It also requires a lot of work from the stabilizers of the shoulder girdle. The paddle stroke is a combination of medial rotation and abduction (of the top hand). The deeper rotator cuff muscles included are the supraspinatus, subscapularis, infraspinatus and the teres minor. This requires the work of the subscapularis, latissimus dorsi, pec. minor, pec. major, and teres major along with deltoid and supraspinatus to lift the arm up. The bottom hand is mostly stabilizing to transfer the rotation of the trunk to the paddle the muscles used to stabilize are mainly latissimus dorsi rhomboids, triceps, and middle fibers of the traps.
One client complaint was that of a burning sensation radiating from his elbow up to his shoulder and down to his hand, and another, with numbness radiating down from his shoulder through his pinky finger. These can be common nerve entrapment injuries with chronic tension and overuse of certain muscle groups.
Rhomboid & Trapeziums Strains:
The rhomboid muscles interact with and help support the shoulder blade. Your trapezius (also referred to as your “traps”) are the connective muscles from the neck to the head of the humerus or top of the shoulder, and are responsible for stabilizing your neck and shoulder while you paddle. These muscles require a great deal of endurance. This is also where we tend to hold our stress and the area that can fatigue and cramp up on long distance races. I often hear of muscle fatigue and recently of a tear of the rhomboid as described by Kevin Vangritis. Read more of his experience and how he recovered:
Kevin Vangritis is a friend of mine from North Carolina and is just getting into SUP racing. Over the summer, Kevin was training for a big 50+mile-long distance SUP crossing in Chicago (with Windy City Waterman and Matt Lennert). Prior to the race, he was helping a friend with an exercise and felt a pop near his right scapulae or shoulder blade. At the time, he thought that to simply take an anti-inflammatory and ice should do the trick.
I should note that Kevin is in amazing shape and has a very consistent, well planned and executed training and paddling routine, so this was a bit of a surprise. Kevin is also well versed in the field of sports orthopedics as he assists surgeons and medical teams and knows the anatomy which is also helpful when recovering from an injury.
He writes, “Over the next couple of days, I began to develop a large knot in my trap as well as radicular pain down my right arm into my hand, which was my major concern. This is a classic sign of a herniated cervical disc. The knot began to limit mobility in my neck. Our endurance paddle of crossing Lake Michigan was fast approaching, and I had to come up with a plan to get better. Continue reading Balanced SUP Training to Help Prevent Injury Part One by Suzie Cooney for Naish
Introducing Matt Lennert, long distance and wave SUP paddler, SUP event director, windsurfer and surfer; stopped in for an all-on SUP performance tune up with me in my studio during his recent visit to Maui. He was up for any challenge, that’s for sure! I threw medicine balls at him full speed while he managed to amazingly hang onto whatever training apparatus I placed him on top of.
His sheer determination and already a finely tuned athlete; he was on top of his training game. Wow! He performed well this day and left with a good sweat. Unfortunately the conditions for a Maliko Run were not up to par but we’ll have to try again Matt when you come back with your family!
Paddle Your Way Sexy! SELF Magazine July 2011 Issue:
Stand up paddling definitely gets you in AMAZING shape. Brody Welte in Florida mentioned offers some tips through his paddle fit course on how to do so. I also teach SUP beginner to advanced, and as a competitor know first hand that this sport will transform your body! Anyone can do it and you don’t have to know how to surf!
( All Rights Reserved 2011)Want to explode your paddling core strength? You got it. These exercises require that you understand how to engage your core muscles both before and during the entire set. You become the stabilizing factor as you perform these movements. Also, I’d like you to pay close attention to the tubing or TRX Rip Trainer cord so that it is always taut and under tension throughout the entire series. I call this “time under tension”. If you “let go” of this concept, or your core, you won’t benefit fully from this workout.
Training Note:It’s your choice if you wear shoes or not, or if you train on an unstable surface such as the beach (which is more challenging). I try to train barefoot so that I can mimic the feel of the board. If working with weights, be careful not to drop them on your feet! Everyone’s training needs and experience will vary, so the number of sets/reps you perform is up to you. Typically, if you are just starting out, try 1-3 sets with 10-12 reps each, making sure you are always in perfect form.
In this photo, I’m using the new TRX Rip Trainer with the heavier cord.
Starting with your feet solidly on the ground about shoulder width apart, pointed straight ahead and with good posture, tie the cord to a secure object (Dave’s truck worked great!). Holding the TRX bar at shoulder width and just below the top of your shoulders, begin to engage your core by drawing in your abs and hold while making sure to breathe. Remember, safety loop! Don’t death grip the bar, but start far enough away from post with enough tension that will require you to stabilize the bar and your body. Rotate your body to the right while core engaged, then slowly return just before your start position (critical) and repeat.
Progression 1: Stand on your BOSU or other unstable platform. (An INDO Board on top of a Gigante Disc works well too). Now do the same movements while on the BOSU. Wow…crazy!
Progression 2: Secure a light, medium, or heavy gauge tubing to your secure object and perform the same movement as above, however, this time you’ll need to steady the tubing with your left arm locked. Gently clasp the tube with one hand, but do not grip too heavily. Place a bit of tension on the tube and begin the rotation. Remember “time under tension”. To increase challenge, step further out or hop on your BOSU or other unstable platform.To read the rest of my article and to see all my SUP Fitness Tips go to: http://www.naishsurfing.com/sup-fitness/dynamic-core/While visiting Maui, Suzie is available for private ftness training and beginner to advanced stand up paddling lessons. Contact her at 808-283-2121.TweetSuzie is a professional Team Rider for Naish International.Get your TRX Rip Trainer here. The Rip Trainer will really help you build your core to explode that stroke!
Left to right: Gigante Disc, Suzie, smaller 12" disc, 6.5 in roller, 8.5 in roller, INDO Board Pro, Ying & Yang Rocker Board, Kicktail
Aloha! Everyone knows that trains with me or reads my blogs and articles that I ‘m a huge fan of the INDO Board. It has brought all my clients to new levels in fitness and is always exciting and fun; meanwhile allowing me to cater to each individual and their unique needs. I’ve been a team rider and contributor for INDO Board for some time, and their product development, trainer curriculum and application continues to blow me away. My surfers, stand up paddlers, kiters, windsurfers and those also coming off of injuries have enjoyed building their strength on the different INDO Boards and platforms. Even those reentering fitness again or for those who want to freshen up their routine, love the challenge and discover new things about their abilities which allows me at any level, help them reach their personal fitness goals.
Functional training is the key focus of my practice and it’s how I’m sure that when I’m training a surfer or a new mom, all of their kinetic checkpoints are tracking properly before we embark on any new fitness program. The INDO Board training equipment offers me the expansive opportunity to test, observe and ask folks to perform on different, unstable platforms and is part of every assessment for each individual. It allows me to really measure one’s core strength, balance and reaction ability while I’m developing their unique program in my mind, all the while watching them discover new abilities they thought they never had. As a trainer, this is my biggest reward!
Suzie Cooney on Gigante Disc photo by Darrell Wong 2011 All Rights Reserved
The Gigante Disc, which has been a dream come true not only for training my SUP clients on land before we train on the water, but I’ve discovered so many other modalities and exercises that I’ve never before knew one could do. I often make up a lot of this stuff as I go based on the individual’s ability. You will see this piece of gear as one of my favorites and now on Naish’s website with my fitness articles. My mind is always thinking in that direction as I develop more and more exercises and also combine other tools and weights in conjunction with. It’s literally exponential on what you can do for your own training.
My second favorite new deck is the simple INDO Board Kicktail and the INDO Board Ying & Yang Rocker Board, which is very loose and wide, offering my more advanced clients a lot more freestyle action on a larger surface, but I’ve already implemented other uses! For example, today, setting up my hard core windsurfer, Tim Ellison loves it when I place the INDO Board Kicktail board on top of a semi-inflated Gigante disc in the surfers stance. This is his way of practicing his foot work for wave sailing. Then I fire at him an 8lb medicine ball in all planes of motion. He loves it! The INDO Board Kicktail is narrow and challenging, while the Gigante forces him to keep his knees bent and manage the force production and movement caused by the weighted ball. He’s be happy and completey satisfied if we did this the entire session!
The photo above shows me on my Naish 9’0″ Hokua. This is quite a sassy quad fin and with the INDO Board Gigante disc inflated almost to the max, I’m able to push my body to the max. ( beginners, remove your fins and I may suggest you place two Gigantes with less air at first, one in front and one in the back of board ). Aquiring upper body endurance with a medicine ball or weighted bar, while at the same time challenging all the finite muscles from from my feet, ankles, knees, hips to the core. This will get your heart rate up and burn your legs! AWESOME!
Advanced INDO Board Core Training. Not just for surfers or paddlers! Everyone can benefit!
core challenge.
SUP paddlers, you can take your paddling to the next level with just a few pieces of key INDO Board equipment. This kind of training REALLY transfers to many different types of water conditions. Flat water, to big waves, to Maliko down wind coast runs, require all muscles to fire and this type of training also known as “propreocetion” work is key. You want your body to respond quickly and naturally. That’s why this gear makes that difference. Be sure you take your time and train your brain with the new reaction benefits that will challenge you. Safety is paramount and as you progress in your leg, core and even upper body strength, go back to the basics and start from the top.
Progressions should be safe, managable and always proper form. Progressions are as simple as two legs to one, less air in disc(s) or more air. Tempo, speed shift, holding weights below your knees or resting on your shoulder as you might perform squats on top of the Gigante disc while standing on the Rocker Board.
Hunter Joslin, Chip and Georgette at INDO Board, thank you for all that you do to help us trainers help more of our clients and water sport enthusiasts, and putting smiles on thousands of hard training folks, and for providing a most excellent quiver of fun under the sun or studio lights!
Mahalo and in good health,
Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui
While visiting Maui, Suzie is available for professional private training sessions. These may include on and off water sessions should you like. She will take you through all the progressions based on your current level of fitness and assist you safely to success. Call at 808-283-2121 or go to: http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com/suzie-cooney-certified-personal-trainer/
Training for power comes with time and one should have a pretty good base of fitness before attempting some of these exercises. Extra precautions should be warranted to those who may have ankle weakness or other orthopedic challenges. You may have heard of plyometrics, which refers to very powerful, 2 legged, explosive like exercises that help speed and power.
Training Note:It’s your choice if you wear shoes or not, or if you train on an unstable surface such as the beach (which is more challenging). I try to train barefoot so that I can mimic the feel of the board. If working with weights, be careful not to drop them on your feet! Everyone’s training needs and experience will vary, so the number of sets/reps you perform is up to you. Typically, if you are just starting out, try 1-3 sets with 10-12 reps each, making sure you are always in perfect form.
Exercise 1: Box Drops Equipment: Box or stable platform (24-29 inches off ground)
This exercise requires you to drop to the ground from a box or raised platform and land softly. It is very important to land on the balls of your feet, not on your heels. The box I’m using is 29 inches tall.
Exercise 2: Box Hop Ups
Equipment: Box or stable platform (24-29 inches off ground)
This powerful exercise can be a great cardio blast too. You can increase the difficulty by changing the speed or height of the box or platform you are jumping to. I suggest not standing too far away from the box or too close; about 12 inches away from the box seems to work well.
Strong SUP Legs for Flat Water, Waves and Gliding Power Part II: Strength
Suzie Cooney for Naish
Strength Exercises for your Legs
by Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui and Naish Team SUP Rider.
Last week we focused on recruiting the finite muscles around your feet, ankles, knees, inner thighs and hips to promote quicker reaction times and improve your stability and balance. This week, I’ll be walking you through exercises to improve your leg strength, endurance and power.Remember when you were first learning to stand up paddle? You may have felt like your legs were like jello and your feet and arches may have burned a little too while you were death-gripping the deck and trying to put it all together. That too shall pass as you develop and strengthen the muscles of your legs and simply spend more time on the water!
Training Note:It’s your choice if you wear shoes or not, or if you train on an unstable surface such as the beach (which is more challenging). I try to train barefoot so that I can mimic the feel of the board. If working with weights, be careful not to drop them on your feet! Everyone’s training needs and experience will vary, so the number of sets/reps you perform is up to you. Typically, if you are just starting out, try 1-3 sets with 10-12 reps each, making sure you are always in perfect form.
This Week: Strength Exercises
Your glutes (larger butt muscles) and quads (front thigh muscles) are the very large muscles of the legs and offer tremendous power as you shift your body and change position on your board. If you want to kick some butt on the water…do lunges! Lots!
Again, I like to challenge myself when I’m at the beach, so I go shoes off. If you do train at the beach and are used to wearing shoes, you will really notice all the muscles in your feet working hard to stabilize you as you enter the exercise and as you push off. You can do these lunges with the same leg or alternate legs.
Exercise: Simple Lunges
Equipment: weights (optional)
Progression Variables: Weights at side or on top of shoulders
You wonder how top professional athletes eat to win? Practice, like anything! It takes practice and discipline to choose the right training program, know how to recover, what gear to select, but what to eat? People often ask me, what should I eat?
Discover the benefits of knowing what to eat so you can to be your best, finish your first windsurfing slalom event, SUP race, or complete your first marathon. Eating for sports performance requires planning, testing and seeing what digests easily. The last thing you want to worry about is running out of steam and crashing early, or worse losing everything on the course you just ate! There’s no one perfect formula that suits all, so be patient and find out what you like and plan ahead.
Suzie’s Daily Power Food
In this article I’m going to keep it short and delicious and tell you what I eat to do my best for all the sports I enjoy! My breakfast, everyday consists of healthy, satisfying protein and complex carbs. I need fuel to get me through training 4-5 clients back to back or a training session on the water. I’ll blend a cup of low-fat yogurt ( prefer the Greek higher protein content ), a cup of high quality granola blended with a cup of fresh berries!
Developing and balancing your training routine is for some, much easier than creating healthy eating habits for your sport(s) of choice. I recommend to keep it as simple as possible and to include a combo of fueling carbs with some protein. The two components will be satiating and energy sustaining.
We’ve heard way too long that carbs are bad. Sure, if you’re sedentary and sitting on the couch eating a whole bag of potato chips, a loaf of white bread washed down with a soda, and the only surfing you do is channel surfing!
Think of carbs and associate the word “healthy or whole grains” instead or think of the phrase “complex carbs”; fuel for the brain and your muscles. Most Americans eat “refined” grains with high contents of sugar and little to no fiber. Whole grains or healthy grains contain necessary nutrients like magnesium ( plays an important role in bone health and blood pressure regulation ) Vitamin E ( functions as an antioxidant ) and zinc ( for the metabolism of the foods you eat ).
Carbs are GOOD if you choose the right ones and use it as fuel. Some examples of good carbs are: oatmeal, quinoa or granola. On race day, my first choice is a cup of oatmeal with a pinch of raw sugar for taste with fresh berries on top and a half a cup of coffee and lots of water mixed with a little electrolytes . This is easy for me to digest and can keep me fueled for at least 2+ hours of high intensity!
Next, let’s talk about protein which is necessary to keep your muscles in tip top shape as you break them down. The best way to consume healthy amounts of protein for athletic performance is to eat nutritious, low fat foods such as lean red meat, nuts,egg whites, fish, beans, rice, and low fat dairy products. I also enjoy mid morning during my heavy client loads, a protein shake with about 27+ grams of protein and low in sugar. I’ll use VitaCoco coconut water as my base and add a cup of fresh berries.
How much protein to consume will vary for each person. But for most athletes and in my book all of you are atheltes if your reading : divide your current weight by 2.2, multiply that number by 1.4, the number you come up with is the number of grams of protein you should consume. Another method to try is consuming 10 to 15 percent of your daily calories from protein sources.
The right amount of healthy grains and protein will be different for each athlete ( you ). Eating the two combined all throughout the day is really key. So before performance, during if possible and after to assure proper recovery and repair of the muscles and tissue you broke down. There is a proper balance that one should try to achieve and I recommend taking it slow as you introduce new foods. Be sure you can tolerate certain foods and “practice” combining the two. Don’t wait until the morning of a special event. That can be disastrous. Also, remember to hydrate well before and after.
Make each stroke count, paddle hard, or rig a big sail and enjoy the benefits of eating well.
Aloha and see you on the water and at the finish line!
Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui
To train with Suzie while visiting Maui or to hire her for your next SUP Fitness Event/Clinic you can contact her at info@suzietrainsmaui.com
Whether you’re new to the sport of stand up paddling or preparing for an exciting Maui Maliko downwinder, having upper body paddling endurance and excellent balance will get you through the deepest troughs, maybe help you pass a competitor or help you enter bigger waves and swells with extra confidence and success!I like to be as efficient as possible when training, so combining the two is perfect.The following exercise is just a sample of what you can do to get stronger, develop faster reflexes, increase the rapid firing of your finite muscles that stabilizes your larger muscles, improve your timed runs and possibly reduce fatigue and/or risk of overuse injuries.It’s well known that SUP requires the entire body to perform and respond in unison. You’re never isolating one muscle group at any given moment.As you paddle, your entire shoulder complex, upper/lower back, feet, ankles, knees, hips and core (everything excluding your extremities) are executing each short or long stroke in a smooth, connected motion. Conditions can and do change, so adding some balance work is also a huge plus. I totally can tell that when I balance train, my reactions are sharp and quick.Based on your current level of fitness, ease into some of these more advanced moves and change the variables accordingly. You can simply start with your own paddle or select one of the suggested weights. I usually start light and advance to heavy, to fatigue.
The Exercise: Balance/Weighted Paddle Stroke Repeats:
Equipment: A weight: 4-10 lb medicine ball, 9-12 lb body bar or regular dumbbell
A balance platform: a small 12” inflatable disc or BOSU, INDO Board 24” Gigante inflatable disc, INDO Board or your own SUP Caution: if using an SUP board on a Gigante, you may want to remove the fins.
March 26th, 2011 MAUI! STAND UP for Health & Fitness with Suzie Cooneyof Suzie Trains Maui. F R E E! Guys and gals, train on the beach with me, then we hit the water for some SUP water training, strength training, relay fun, and fine tune your paddling techniques. CLINIC IS NOW FULL! If you are still interested, we are taking information should there be a cancellation.
All levels of fitness and paddling welcome! Meet new paddling friends.
Learn to paddle efficiently, gain better control of your board and glide more smoothly. Enjoy the healthy benefits SUP has to offer and learn from a professional. Learn a few training tips to help build better body and paddling endurance. Check out this SUP exercise tip written exclusively for Naish International: http://www.naishsurfing.com/sup-fitness/
Space is limited! To reserve your space and inquire: suzie@suzietrainsmaui.com or call 808-283-2121. You must provide your own board or you can rent from the Maui Naish Pro Center 808-871-1500. This class is for beginners and intermediate paddlers and is 1.5 hours.
Suzie Cooney is a world renowned SUP instructor and ambassador of the sport of stand up paddling. Her SUP clinics are a day or a week long adventure. As a sponsored Team SUP Rider for Naish International and elite fitness specialist, Suzie has taught hundreds of men and women this fastest growing sport in the world. Her SUP Health & Fitness clinics welcomes all ages and all levels of fitness; are informative and sure to spread the stoke of SUP!
She is available to conduct private or group clinics, host events or customize a week long adventure at your resort. She is also supported by Olukai Premium Footwear, Kaenon Polarized Eyewear and Elite Athlete for The True-Collection Team, owner of Suzie Trains Maui More info: http://www.standuppaddlingfitness.com OR http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com
Call Coach to reserve your board!
To inquire more about hiring Suzie for your event, resort or private lodge e: info@suzietrainsmaui.com
Stand up paddling is no doubt taking the world by storm, and while you don’t need to be in the greatest shape to paddle, you’ll soon discover the benefits. As you begin to improve your technique, experiment with new gear and maybe decide to enter a race or wave competition, it’s a good idea to learn how to train in a balanced way to prevent injury so that you can enjoy paddling even more and stay on the water.
Stand up paddling works a lot of muscles and is well known for being a great core workout. It also requires a lot of work from the stabilizers of the shoulder girdle. The paddle stroke is a combination of medial rotation and abduction (of the top hand). The deeper rotator cuff muscles included are the supraspinatus, subscapularis, infraspinatus and the teres minor. This requires the work of the subscapularis, latissimus dorsi, pec. minor, pec. major, and teres major along with deltoid and supraspinatus to lift the arm up. The bottom hand is mostly stabilizing to transfer the rotation of the trunk to the paddle the muscles used to stabilize are mainly latissimus dorsi rhomboids, triceps, and middle fibers of the traps.
The rhomboid muscles interact with and help support the shoulder blade. Your trapezius (also referred to as your “traps”) are the connective muscles from the neck to the head of the humerus or top of the shoulder, and are responsible for stabilizing your neck and shoulder while you paddle. These muscles require a great deal of endurance. This is also where we tend to hold our stress and the area that can fatigue and cramp up on long distance races. I often hear of muscle fatigue and recently of a tear of the rhomboid as described by Kevin Vangritis. Read more of his experience and how he recovered:
Join the Discussion: Leave a comment 
Category: Sports Medicine, SUP Enthusiasts | 
Tags: back, Kaenon Polarized, Maui, Maui personal trainer, Naish, Naish International, rotator cuff, shoulder injuries, Stand Up Paddle, Stand Up Paddling, Stand Up Paddling Fitness, SUP, SUP conditioning, SUP Core Training, SUP Fitness Training, SUP instruction, SUP Maui, Suzie Cooney, Suzie Trains Maui
