I'll be posting various exercises which are functional for paddlers. These exercises will focus on agility, power, and endurance.

Please consult with your physician before attempting these new exercises.


The following exercises focus on improving shoulder stability:

Why this works:
The shoulder complex includes multiple joints mainly the ball and socket (Gleno-Humeral) of the arm and shoulder, collar bone joint (Acromio-clavicular), and shoulder blade on the ribs (Scapulo-Thoracic).


The shoulder blade (SCAPULA) IS THE ANCHOR for the most important muscles in the shoulder complex. Not the Deltoid, Pectoralis, or the Trapezius, but the Rotator Cuff musculature, is most important in developing shoulder torque and stability. The ball of the Humerus (arm bone) fits into the socket of the shoulder (Glenoid Fossa) like a golf ball on a tee. This ball is stabilized by the Rotator Cuff muscles.

The Rotator Cuff muscles include, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, Subscapularis (S.I.T.S.). These attach around the ball of the arm bone (Humeral Head) and to the shoulder blade (Scapula).

The following exercises focus on coordinating these critical muscles, responsible for shoulder stability. Without stability, the other more powerful muscles of the Deltoid, Pec. Major/ Pec. Minor, Traps, Lats, Biceps, and Triceps are unable to produce maximal torque due to instability.

Important factors contributing to shoulder stability are paddling form and muscular coordination/balance. Coordination is primarily achieved by training muscle memory (proprioception). Balance is achieved by involving opposing (antagonistic) muscle groups in FUNCTIONAL EXCERSISES.

Exercise Description:
A GREAT way of really working on stabilizing musculature of the shoulder complex is to do push-ups with a football (soccer ball), basketball, or other round ball under each hand. This works the shoulder complex to produce both torque and muscular coordination.

Another variation is, do the same but with two different sized balls. Make sure you switch the balls every other set, if you are using different sized balls.

Another advanced variation is to use one ball under each hand and one ball under both feet. Now you will have no direct points of contact with the ground as your body will struggle to stay balanced and stable.

These exercises are more tiring and stressful than other exercises on the shoulder. They should be introduced gradually and performed no more than 2-3 times a week at the most. Warm up your arms first and do these movements towards the beginning of your workout. You will need all the strength from the Rotator Cuff muscles, as they are small muscles that tire more quickly. Especially with the last advanced variation, you will see how important it is to have COORDINATED opposing muscle groups.

Good luck,
Whitewaterules

Pretty good exercise that! Nice one. I'll give that a


Have you considered writing your own blog with the new Playak Blogs?

AdrianTregoning wrote:

Pretty good exercise that! Nice one. I'll give that a

Have you considered writing your own blog with the new Playak Blogs?

I'll think about it. I think I like the forum because it will get more exposure.

Cheers,
Whitewaterules

Just out of interest. That Swaziland article that I posted. It's on the Playak news now. I got 402 hits on my site. 271 of which was through Playak news. And thats in 22 hours... Check how many are looking at the threads here, over the weeks...

Not everyone reads or even enjoys the forums. Give it some thought.. Blog, blog, blog

In terms of exercises, I think that rock climbing is awsome. It involves a lot of power, finess, and balance. It keeps all those little muscles strong and is great for preventing injury when paddling. A lot of paddlers also have a good body type for climbing so you guys should give it a go. It's a big commitment, starting another sport. I think a person would start benefiting when they climb 5.9's and boulder around a V2 or V3. Anyway, I'm just trying to stay off the injured list

Yes, climbing is exellent exercise. But when it comes to your upper body it utilisizes a lot of same muscle groups than paddling (more pulling than pushing). So on top of climbing I still would recommend doing some exersices to develop pushing muscles (pecs, front deltoids and triceps). It's paramount for healthy shoulders to have a good balance between your antagonist muscle groups in upper body.

Other thing I have observed that most paddlers have very strong abs and trunk rotators, but their hip extensors are lagging behind. Expesially the whole posterior chain (lower back, glutes and hamstrings) is not strong enough to be in balance with their abs and hip flexors. The posterior chain is the prime mover in any activity that involves using ur legs like track and field for example. So it's very important to have strong posterior chain and the only time when we as paddlers get proper exercise for that muscle group is when we are doing those epic portages out of deep canyons!

So hit the gym and do some back squats and deadlifts to bring the lacking parts up to business. And if you have no access to gym you can allways do some lunge walking, one legged squats and deadlifts. Grab some small dumbbels or water bottles in your hand if the resistance feels too small. Dont´t forget to stretch your abs and hip flexors regularly because they get a lot hit paddling, but very little in terms of streching making them strong, BUT short which only makes the situation worse.

Our bodies work as a one unit - not separate parts. So if your training isn't productive or better yet, causes pain, take a minute or two to look at the big picture. Am I helping my body to reach the balance or pushing it off the balance? Am I just training muscles that are allready strong or I can see in the mirror? You will do much better progress if you help you body to reach the balance because it's something it naturally likes to do.

you guys here about marlows injury not to long ago shoulder problem why stress them more than just kayaking. if one was to paddle with the correct technique. power stabability, speed, indurance will dramatically improve.

for correct posture in a kayak sit up do not slouch

next make a box the same box you learned to hold your paddleand keep it about your belly buttom and keep your elbows in.

to make a stroke extend and twist you are not just reaching with your arms you are turning your body and this cause you to reach out head stright were you are looking paddle should be extended to about your toes in play boat. than you twist back and up with your other side doing same thing but instead of your paddling moving your abdominals are now doing 80 % of the work and the power will be here.

continue to work on it because at first if you are paddling and its not working your boat will look like its waggin a tail but if you are doing it correctely than your boat will track correctely.

your body position and strenght of your abs is what matters when you are only half way done on a 2 day trip

a shoulder injury like marlows even though it was a accident can take a person out for a season or good so be smart when you paddle!

i learned this technique about three years ago from mika who teaches the aca class in salida and its help improve my skill

Mix,
The reason to do the movement I suggested it that it improves shoulder stability. It's really that simple. I've used these exercises with athletes in clinical practive, who develop shoulder instability from dislocation or subluxation and it is one of the most FUNCTIONAL exercises you can do for shoulder stability.
\"Why not just kayak?\" you ask? Because this exercise helps improve shoulder stability further so that as you mentioned, you don't loose out on paddling.
Does a soccer player train for soccer games by ONLY playing soccer games? No there are many power and finness drills they practice. The exerceises I mentioned helps the body's musculature develop balance and coordination through proprioception (muscle memory). This translates to improved torque, stability, and the prevention of injury, and that's a fact.

Cheers,
Whitewaterules

Tuomas wrote:

Yes, climbing is exellent exercise. But when it comes to your upper body it utilisizes a lot of same muscle groups than paddling (more pulling than pushing). So on top of climbing I still would recommend doing some exersices to develop pushing muscles (pecs, front deltoids and triceps). It's paramount for healthy shoulders to have a good balance between your antagonist muscle groups in upper body.

Other thing I have observed that most paddlers have very strong abs and trunk rotators, but their hip extensors are lagging behind. Expesially the whole posterior chain (lower back, glutes and hamstrings) is not strong enough to be in balance with their abs and hip flexors. The posterior chain is the prime mover in any activity that involves using ur legs like track and field for example. So it's very important to have strong posterior chain and the only time when we as paddlers get proper exercise for that muscle group is when we are doing those epic portages out of deep canyons!

So hit the gym and do some back squats and deadlifts to bring the lacking parts up to business. And if you have no access to gym you can allways do some lunge walking, one legged squats and deadlifts. Grab some small dumbbels or water bottles in your hand if the resistance feels too small. Dont´t forget to stretch your abs and hip flexors regularly because they get a lot hit paddling, but very little in terms of streching making them strong, BUT short which only makes the situation worse.

Our bodies work as a one unit - not separate parts. So if your training isn't productive or better yet, causes pain, take a minute or two to look at the big picture. Am I helping my body to reach the balance or pushing it off the balance? Am I just training muscles that are allready strong or I can see in the mirror? You will do much better progress if you help you body to reach the balance because it's something it naturally likes to do.

Well you have some great points Tuomas! I would just like to point out that the muscles involved in the \"Posterior Chain\" get quite a bit of attention already such as walking, going up stairs, walking up hills, standing up, sitting down. Let's look at the muscles involved:

Glutes... are one of the most powerful muscles in the body and don't really need too much attention as applies to kayaking. I would recomend stretching glutes and doing lunges (as you have mentioned) are great as they incorporate both antagonistic muscle groups in a functional closed chain motion.

Hamstrings... need a bit more attention as they are weaker however lunges do a good job of toning the hammies. The most important thing for hamstrings is STRETCHING. Keep your back straight and bend at the waist not at the back. The best way to stretch the hamstrings is to lay on your back and pass a towel around the foot (like an upside down U). With your hands, pull the leg towards the chest.

You hit it on the button with the hip flexors! Almost everyone's hip flexors are to tight (paddler or non-paddler). Take the lunge position and bring the knee down to the ground and keep the back straight and lightly tighten the glutes and push the hip forward stretching the leg that has the knee on the ground. Hold 30-60 seconds and switch.

Back extensors... save the most important for last. Very important to balance as you mentioned the strong abdominals, obliques, and transverse abs. Lay on your stomach and lift your chest off the ground, keep your arms parallel, perpendicular, or straight out over your head. Make sure to keep your head in line with the neck. DO NOT look up with the head, keep it pointed at the ground so the neck stays neutral.

Cheers mates,
Whitewaterules

Whitewaterules wrote:

Well you have some great points Tuomas! I would just like to point out that the muscles involved in the \"Posterior Chain\" get quite a bit of attention already such as walking, going up stairs, walking up hills, standing up, sitting down.

That's correct. As I stated the posterior chain is bodys prime mover and it involves almost any kind of activity where you move yourself with your legs.

But it doesnt mean they are strong by default! There's no way you can compare the intensity of the exercise your abs and hip flexors are getting from paddling for the intensity of walking. Equivalent for paddling would be hard sprinting and jumping drills. Not only the quantity, but also the intensity of exercise the antagonist muscle groups are receiving need to match.

But don't be disheartened. In reality our bodies are pretty good at adapting to different stress. Body naturally seeks balance and just a little encouragement to to the right direction go long ways.

Well in a kayak you actually can suggest that walking does work out the extensors plenty compared to the flexors while kayaking. Here is why this is true:

When you are seated in a kayak, the glutes and hammies actually have a mechanical advantage due to the position they are in (hip flexion with knee extension). This mechanical advantage is the same reason you lean forward when you go up some stairs, it activates a mechanical advantage in the glutes and some also in the hammies. You not only put the muscle at the proper line of pull angle and in tension but you also stimulate the reflex contraction by stimulating the muscle spindles. Like crouching down before you jump up.

So being in a kayaking position actually takes the mechanichal advantage away from hip flexors and gives a mechanical advantage to the extensors. This is the main reason the hip flexors actually need more attention and they must also be trained in a shortened state such as.. leg lifts while hanging from a pull-up bar. Focusing on the extensors is good, but it can also easily become overkill. This scenario is SPECIFIC to kayaking though due to it's biomechanics..


Peace in the Middle-East,
Whitewaterules

Yes, you are in proper position to engage the hip extensors, but most of the time at kayaking you do not do that. You keep the abs tight to maintain the neutral/forward posture while paddling. You hardly never lean back on purpose. If you do it's mostly a failure to keep the body tension.

And the fact that hip flexors are mechanically in disadvantage position means just that they need to work extra hard to maintain the correct body tension.

Many paddlers have a pretty bad posture. Their pelvis is tilted forward because of the severe inbalance between hip flexors and extensors. Hip flexor need a lot of attention - not to strengthten them, but to stretch. The other part of the business is to work your ass of at gym to make your hip extensors rock solid.

Tuomas wrote:

Yes, you are in proper position to engage the hip extensors, but most of the time at kayaking you do not do that. You keep the abs tight to maintain the neutral/forward posture while paddling. You hardly never lean back on purpose. If you do it's mostly a failure to keep the body tension.

And the fact that hip flexors are mechanically in disadvantage position means just that they need to work extra hard to maintain the correct body tension.

Many paddlers have a pretty bad posture. Their pelvis is tilted forward because of the severe inbalance between hip flexors and extensors. Hip flexor need a lot of attention - not to strengthten them, but to stretch. The other part of the business is to work your ass of at gym to make your hip extensors rock solid.

I don't think you quite have a grasp of the biomechanics involved. The position you body is in when you kayak does place your hip flexors at a mechanical disadvantage and extensor at an advantage, that is just a fact. In fact if you \"lean back\" as you are saying, you would be taking the mechanical advantage away more not gaining it. If you sit up as you are mentioning, you would advantage/disadvantage would actually be magnified not diminished. Also... you do go from extension to flexion and back all the time when doing many kayaking moves and/or just paddling. All the antagonistic muscle work in a static and dynamic contractions.

Maybe I am not explaining myself well but the fact is that my points absolutley correct, but I guess I can't fit 4 years of college courses and 1500 hours of clinical practive into a few paragraphs.

Peace,
Whitewaterules

Whitewaterules wrote:

I don't think you quite have a grasp of the biomechanics involved. The position you body is in when you kayak does place your hip flexors at a mechanical disadvantage and extensor at an advantage, that is just a fact. In fact if you \"lean back\" as you are saying, you would be taking the mechanical advantage away more not gaining it.

Well, I don't know if I'm right or wrong, but I meant exactly what you wrote above. It's also a fact that hip flexors work much much more than hip extensors in kayaking. To lean back you need merely to release the muscle tension from you abs and hip flexors, but to rock your weight forward again you need to work pretty hard with em. muscles. Every time after a hard playboating session my abs and hip flexors are totally shattered, but there's no noticeable fatigue in my hip extensors.

My only point is that kayakers in general have stronger abs and hip flexors compared to their posterior chain and kayakers should be aware of that when designing their suplementary training.

since this is functional exercises

these are the group of muscles most needed in kayaking,

Transversus Abdominis
internal and external obliques
rectus abdominus (not rectum whitewater)
spinal exstensors

these make up the musscles that act like a support belt and help keep a good posture your obliques and abs are the most used muscle when do cartwheels, space godzilla, squirting looping, bluntin, pan am, helix, spins all spins your paddle does very little when kayaking but stay in one position in the water and almost every trick can be done with out a paddle.

working shoulder muscles, arm muscles and other muscles is not bad because like whitewater said the bodys muscles act in a counter acting way one flexs/ the other extends

hold your crunches and work your obliques by rotating your upper body using your stomach fex your abs while doing this for best results

try lying on your stomach and doing (back bends) opposite crunches this will help when learning how to get air

push ups

I didn't write \"rectum\" abdominus anywhere. Where did you see that?

Cheers,
Whitewaterules

Uhhh Okay? Okay funny joke.

Here is a link to a picture of the Rotator Cuff muaculature:

Paste it in your address bar starting at the \"www.\" if you are having problems with the link.

www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/pated/sho...tor_cuff_anat_02.jpg

Cheers,
Whitewaterules

Hmpf,

Seems like I have developed a chronic overload and/or strain in Supraspinatus tendon in my right shoulder

I can do all the extrenal rotation drills of the rotator cuff fine if the elbow is kept lower or at level to the shoulder. If I elevate the arm more the I feel mediocre pain in my shoulder.

I'm gonna cut down the upperbody work-outs and just do pain-free rehab mobility and strenghtening movements to my shoulders. Let's see what happens.

Tuomas wrote:

Hmpf,

Seems like I have developed a chronic overload and/or strain in Supraspinatus tendon in my right shoulder

I can do all the extrenal rotation drills of the rotator cuff fine if the elbow is kept lower or at level to the shoulder. If I elevate the arm more the I feel mediocre pain in my shoulder.

I'm gonna cut down the upperbody work-outs and just do pain-free rehab mobility and strenghtening movements to my shoulders. Let's see what happens.

This is the most commonly injured muscle in the shoulder (Supraspinatus). It's good to hear that you are aware of the importance of rehab, stretching, and REST. The Supraspinatus is especially responsible for the first 30 degrees of arm elevation, so it makes perfect sense what you are saying. It is perhaps the most important muscle in the Rotator Cuff as if is used in virtually every motion the shoulder does.

Keep your movements in a pain free range of motion to get out of the inflammatory response cycle. This is very important so that you don't develop more scar tissue (keloid scar). The space the Supraspinatus passes through, under the Acromion Process is a small space. Repetitive injury and scaring can lead to Tendonosis (thickening on the tendon) and even calcium deposits (which the eat at the cartilage lining under the Acromion Process. The second picture on this link that illustrates this point very well:

rehabworks.ksc.nasa.gov/education/topics/rotatorcuff.php

The reason you can't elevate the arm is that the space between the head of the Humerus (arm bone) and the roof of the Acromion process becomes closed off and the Supraspinatus becomes sandwiched between the two.

A very important exercise for opening this space is to sit or stand up straight and slowly squeeze your shoulder blades together. To do this movement properly you must direct your shoulder blades down first and then together, like you are trying to put them in the back pockets of your pants. So, down first, then squeeze together. You don't want to engage the Upper Trapezius, very important, DOWN & together. Do 12 repetitions with 3 second holds in 3-5 sets.

Follow your rehab and you should do fine.

Good Luck,
Whitewaterules

Whitewaterules wrote:

The reason you can't elevate the arm is that the space between the head of the Humerus (arm bone) and the roof of the Acromion process becomes closed off and the Supraspinatus becomes sandwiched between the two.

This is exactly how it feels! The tendon doesn't feel bad - I can put it under stress without pain and it doesn't feel weak. The pain only comes comes when I reach the certain range of motion.

Seems like a I have a been a bit stupid with my shoulder. At times it have felt pretty good with only a faint of pain in the most extreme range of motion. So I thougth my supraspinatus should be ok, just to overload the damn thing all over again So the inflammation has been almost over couple of times, just for myself to bring it back again. As you said I need to get out of the cycle.

This is actually a good chance. I have observed that my left rotator cuff is somewhat weaker than my right. I can give my right supraspinatus some rest and work my left rotator cuff more intensively to bring it up and with in balance with the right one.

Just one question. Is it ok to exercise the buggered supraspinatus in pain-free range of motion? Or should I stick to exercises that put the most stress to intraspinatus and teres minor tendons like the side-lying external rotation?

Anyways, this time I will try and be patient enought the gain the whole ROM pain free before engaging any intense training.

Tuomas wrote:

Whitewaterules wrote:

The reason you can't elevate the arm is that the space between the head of the Humerus (arm bone) and the roof of the Acromion process becomes closed off and the Supraspinatus becomes sandwiched between the two.

Just one question. Is it ok to exercise the buggered supraspinatus in pain-free range of motion? Or should I stick to exercises that put the most stress to intraspinatus and teres minor tendons like the side-lying external rotation?

Anyways, this time I will try and be patient enought the gain the whole ROM pain free before engaging any intense training.

You must stay in painfree motions for at least two almost three weeks or so. But you must do stretching and strengthening in all pain free ROM's (range of motions).

Have you been given exercises and stretches? If not check this site out:

www.discussbodybuilding.com/Rehabilitati...njury/m_60416/tm.htm

Feel free to ask questions.

Cheers,
Whitewaterules