Women Love the Core Workout of Stand up Paddleboarding

Laying on your floor doing crunches is no fun compared to the core workout you get when you stand up paddle board. And, engaging your core while balancing and paddling improves your overall fitness and balance skills for other sports.

Stand up paddling is a low impact core workout that is great for men and women. I love to go paddling with my friends and chat while getting a great workout in nature surrounded by water.

So how do you maximize your core movements while paddling? When first learning to paddle it's natural to think of paddling as an arm exercise. To get the most power as you paddle you must engage your core.

Here are some ideas to help you maximize your core strength when stand up paddleboarding:

1. Bend slightly at the waist when you paddle and be sure your knees are soft or slightly bent.
2. Pretend there is a small ball at the top of our diaphragm and in your imagination start compressing that ball so that your core crunch starts at the top of your abs.
3. Because you will be paddling on different sides, your obliques will also be part of the movement. Paddle both sides of your body as evenly as the conditions allow.
   

The photo above is of two Bend, Oregon athletes paddling at Elk Lake, Oregon: Dagmar Erickson, a world title holder Nordic skier and Susan Hopkins, an all-around athlete. Susan is on a Laird 12'1" gloss stand up board. Dagmar is paddling her kayak.

You can rent stand up paddle boards near Bend, Oregon at Elk Lake Resort, Oregon, about a 35-40 minute drive from Bend on the beautiful Cascade Lakes Highway. Read more about Elk Lake and other Places to Paddle near Bend, Oregon.

Purchase your stand up paddleboard gear from us at www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com
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