Get up! It’s firing! Photo: Shutterstock
Noodle arms suck. They hurt, yes. But they also effectively end your session after diminishing your performance after a period of paddling. Some surfers have greater endurance than others, but we’ve all run into the familiar spaghetti arm fatigue at least once.
Incorrect paddling posture is one of the main reasons we get tired too fast sometimes. Something as simple as the proper posture will help you exert paddling power as efficiently as possible, taking the unnecessary strain off those formerly gassed triceps.
This is one exercise that can help build the right posture for your paddling.
Do a hyperextension with straight arms pointing forward. Three sets for 60 seconds each.
I created a simple cheat sheet to help master this and track your progress. It includes this drill and four others that will build your foundation and endurance for paddling.
Do the drill in this sequence:
-Lie on your stomach.
-Raise your chest, legs, arms from the ground.
-Squeeze your glutes and the lower part of your back and raise up the upper body.
-Hold your arms straight next to your ears, with your thumbs up (if you would look from the top, your arms would form a V shape)
Make sure you do the drill the right way:
-Keep your arms straight and reach forward instead of bending the elbows.
-If you find the drill too easy to do, hold an extra weight in your hand (e.g. 0.5 liter water bottles, or 1-2 kg weights).
If you find this too difficult, go back to the previous exercise here.
Make sure you practice this and let me know if this helped you, or what you want me to cover next by emailing me at gershon@boostyoursurf.com.
Yours,
