I'm very interested in Kayaking. I understand that depending on how you push yourself, it can either be a very relaxing, light activity, or a very strenuous one.

I'm about 35 pounds overweight, and I'd love to get myself into great shape (190 pounds is me in great shape).

Is kayaking an activity that could do this for me? Would I have to push myself extremely hard, or would just getting out on the lake 3 or 4 or perhaps even 5 times a week be enough to do so?

If that's not quite enough by itself, would kayaking 4 or 5 times a week in conjunction with a healthy diet get me to such a point? I understand that this would be ideal, but I don't know how demanding kayaking exercise can be. For all I know, being on the lake 4 or 5 times a week without eating healthy, but not necessarily eating poorly, would be enough.

Am I going to have to take things one step further and hit up the gym as well?

Kayaking with some simple body weight exercises (pushups and crunches) and perhaps some dumbbell arm exercises would be ideal for me.


Also, I have carpal tunnel in both wrists. How difficult is kayaking on the wrists? I understand that there are paddles (not sure what the name is for them, but the ones with the indentations where your hands grip) that make things easier on your wrists.

Would such a paddle with good technique save me from discomfort. I feel pain whenever I make repetitive motions. Limiting wrist movement in favour of arm/torsoe movement would be great.

I have a friend who's interested in getting into the sport, so we'd definitely push ourselves and paddle fairly competitively when we're both out on the lake.

I'm taking a 4 hour kayaking course ($60) to see how I like the sport, how it effects my wrists, how the exercise is, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask a few questions before hand (hope I didn't ask too many).

Thanks.

It WILL be relaxing but mostly it's not such a light activity, in my opinion - I'd go for a medium to anything way beyond that. I'm 6', about 184 lbs and consider myself to be in good shape, just from kayaking. I paddle on weekends only, either surf kayaking or down rivers. In summer I windsurf a fair amount and bodyboard year round a few times a month and do little else.

Being able to tell you if it would help is an impossible question to answer. It will help for sure, but how much and to what degree depends on you. In my opinion, training/exercise is all about intensity. I can train harder and burn more enegry in a 30 minute workout than what most people do in 2 hours of gym. Train hard! I haven't been to gym since 1997. Kayaking with some push ups, sit ups and a few basic dumbell exercises would be very good indeed.

I can't help you on the wrist problem. I use neutral bent shaft paddles and am very happy, no problems. I'm positive somebody on these forums will be able to help answering that one. Hope this helps

Thanks Adrian, that's was very helpful.

I guess I'll wait for my course and take things from there.

As long as my wrists don't bug me, and I enjoy it (I'm sure I will), I may pick up a kayak.

I want to get out on the lake often.

I guess I might pick up a set of dumbells and eat a little healthier as well. It can't hurt, in fact it can only do good.

If anyone else would like to add something, please do.

It probably depends quite a lot on which discipline you go for; most of my paddling is flatwater racing which will give you an excellent whole body work out if your technique is good. I tend to train for at least an hour 4-5 times a week, but even a few hours at a weekend will make a difference if you get your heart rate up.

On the other hand, a lot of whitewater and surf kayak technique is mostly based on arm and shoulder strength so won't be such a good whole body thing, but is great fun and will burn plenty of calories, particularly in cold weather.

If, as you say, you will be paddling with a friend on a lake then you really should be able to lose weight by pushing each other a few times a week, but you should try to make sure your technique is good by reading as much as possible on proper technique then filming each other and comparing it to the many videos of racing paddlers on youtube. Obviously, trying to find someone who knows what they are doing to help you out would be best!

Whatever happens, let us know about your progress.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I would be primarily kayaking on a lake. I live a minutes walk from a very large one.

There's a slow flowing river connecting the lake that I live near, and a lake at the other end of town. I could see myself kayaking up and down that with my buddy on occasion.

I guess the only thing I can do is push myself when I'm out on the water, and make sure that I go out a few times every week (I'm thinking more like 4 or 5).

I'm off work by 2:00 or 3:00, that leaves me plenty of time for me to get out on the lake.

Paddling on a lake 5 times a week, as long as you're going at a pretty good clip with good form, would provide great cardiovascular exercise and help you on your way to your weight loss goal. By "good clip," that should mean that you can still chat with your friend, but only in phrases--if you guys are able to keep up a steady stream of full-sentence conversation, neither of you is pushing yourself very hard. On the other hand, it's also a good practice to throw in some 'intervals' where you push yourself very hard for a short time--in this instance, you shouldn't be able to get out more than a grunt or so. That's where having a buddy with you is great because you guys can push yourselves with little short bursts of intense effort in addition to your medium-to-high intensity steady state paddling.

As Adrian mentioned, try the neutral bent shaft paddles as they alleviate a lot of stress from the wrists. It's great that you're going to take a class--that's a great way to see if this is going to work for you without dropping a lot of coin beforehand.

The other key to weight loss is, in fact, a healthy diet. Limiting sugars; eating lots of fruits and vegetables; healthy sources of protein and complex carbohydrates. Drink water. I'm no advocate of removing things from your diet--just limiting the unhealthier foods. If you want a brownie, have a brownie, just don't have one everyday. Nancy Clark has some great books on nutrition.

All this being said, it's still a good idea to balance any workout with another activity: walking, running, biking, swimming are other good forms of cardio. To get the best results the quickest, you should be doing cardio everyday--at least 5 days a week for about an hour. Once you are at your ideal weight, you can drop the amount a bit. Weight lifting can help balance out the body, but so can yoga, another option.

All of this should, of course, be taken with a grain of salt, as I am unfamiliar with you and injuries you may have. Listen to your body and good luck!!

playboating will require good body control and rotation, therefore works your abs etc. i think.

Traditionally, kayaking is not primarily used for exercise but more for the excitement and thrill usually because of the cost of owning, storing and transporting a kayak. If you are fortunate enough to obtain a kayak at a relatively low price than, absolutely, kayaking is a wonderful exercise. What is so great about it is that you determine where you go(on a lake) how fast you go, and how far you go. Not to mention the scenery - there is nothing like kayaking at a fast pace and than suddenly letting off, head up, enjoying the scenery around you. About your wrists - i would, as you are doing, try it out first, push your self as long as you can - if it doesn't affect you too bad, you should be fine. Possibly wrist braces or something along those lines, depending on your wrist condition. I will say, in order for proper technique you will need to be able to rotate your wrists constantly, but you shouldn't have to put much strain on your wrists at all. Be sure to ask the instructors at the class you are taking for proper paddle techniques based on your wrist condition. Unfortunately, sea kayaking, or in your case - touring - doesn't work your mid-section and lower body as much as whitewater does. If your interested you could look into sit-ontop kayak with a sliding seat - don't really know much about them, but they promote the ultimate work-out. Working out every muscle in your body - legs, mid-section, upper body, back and everything else you can think of. - rowing, not kayaking.

I paddle a playboat, and practicing freestyle moves in my swimming pool has helped me out tremendously with regards to getting good exercise. Not saying you can do this on day one, but learning things like flatwater cartwheels, bow stalls and stern stalls works your entire body including your abs a lot! Just learning those moves can take several months in itself, which learning them in the first place could help you loose weight. Although a roll would be manditory to even think about trying those moves. You will be upside down almost as much as you are upright. As I've always said though, if you are not under the water as much as your on top of the water, you aren't learning anything!

Many people in the area I paddle in have moved towards Greenland paddles as they are apparently easier on the shoulders and wrists. It might be worth looking into this style of paddling as it does tend to force the paddler into a looser grip which will help ease wrist pain. If nothing else, try to focus on not having a death grip on your paddle as that will cause some wrist pain.

Good luck

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