ok so just to clarify first this im not being derogatry (well not intentionaly) but ive noiced that some kayakers are on the, lets say portly side of the wight range and i was just wondering how this is possible ? strange question i know but still one ive never seen answered before

jack

ok, Well being prolly the biggest paddler on the board (270:cry: ) I will address this question. the reason big paddlers are out there is because we like to have fun too. there is a lot of time you dont spend time paddling. Some of us like to eat. Saying that I know it is very unhealthy. I am doing alot to correct this. Running eating right and paddling. Although one good thing about paddling and being big is that you can squirt just about any boat. although i will say to all the big paddlers the best boat you can own is either a Jackson Super fun or a Fluid Spice L

I know guys that are 250lbs and all muscle. I know guys that are 6'5\" that come in over 200 lbs, but look skinny. Weighing a lot does not mean you're fat. My question is who cares? What does this have anything to do with kayaking? Big or small, tall or short, there is a boat for everyone, and everyone is welcome.

See ya on the REEEver

\" who cares?\"


hell yeah, i dont care if im paddling with fat or thin paddlers, its always gunna be FUN

What I think he was asking was people paddling over the manufacturers suggested weight limits for boats not why bigger peeps padddle!

I think it is quite a simple one to answer if you ind the boat for your size too big and have tried the smaller version of the boat but your are slightly over but find it more fun then most would go for the more fun one!

This is down to personal preferance for example I prefered the showdown instead of the outlaw even though Im 2 stone over Dagger Europes limits the Outlaw feels way too big for myself and the show down trimmed well and was a more comfortable fit

What I think he was asking was people paddling over the manufacturers suggested weight limits for boats not why bigger peeps padddle!

I think it is quite a simple one to answer if you ind the boat for your size too big and have tried the smaller version of the boat but your are slightly over but find it more fun then most would go for the more fun one!

This is down to personal preferance for example I prefered the showdown instead of the outlaw even though Im 2 stone over Dagger Europes limits the Outlaw feels way too big for myself and the show down trimmed well and was a more comfortable fit

If you mean why are people that have been doing regular sport for ages apparently still fat. Paddling isnt that intensive as exercise: it doesnt involve your legs much, on ww you can bimble along flat sections and sit around in eddies. Apart from the racing disciplines and surfing you dont generally do much anaerobic work, strength and power are often more important than overall fitness.

Also most paddlers idea of a high-protein, high-carb + energy drink training diet is pies, chips + beer (mmm.. pie .

chud wrote:

Paddling isnt that intensive as exercise...

Now that depends on how and where you paddle, doesn't it?

chud wrote:

...Also most paddlers idea of a high-protein, high-carb + energy drink training diet is pies, chips + beer (mmm.. pie .

This I agree to.. (mmm.. BEER )

i agree who cares if they are large if everyone is happy it dosent matter

chud wrote:

Paddling isnt that intensive as exercise: it doesnt involve your legs much, on ww you can bimble along flat sections and sit around in eddies. Apart from the racing disciplines and surfing you dont generally do much anaerobic work, strength and power are often more important than overall fitness.

In my experience paddling is the most (energy) consuming sport I have done. And I have been doing lots of sports from martial arts (judo) to cross country skiing and to snowboarding and almost everything inbetween. When the paddling season begins I usually loose few kilos of weight.

A couple of points:

Speaking as an engineer, boat specifications (along with most other mechanical specs) are normally calculated for a conservative number to provide a company with a legal CYA (cover your arse) clause. Additionally, things are normally designed with a really high failure rate (100-200% of the maximum saftey limit). A boat rated for 250 lbs. max can probably float a total of 300-310 lbs before drastically sinking the waterline of the boat. The plastic itself could probably hold 500 lbs of static weight and 350 lbs of dynamic (moving) weight. So, let's say you're 28 lbs (2 stone) over the maximum weight limit of 200 lbs. You are over the rated limit by 15%, which shouldn't pose an issue. In most cases, your boat rides a little lower in the water.

Now, the fun, unpolitically correct topic being a \"portly\". Kayaking strikes me as a sport of using the water, not powering your way through the water, to achieve results. I have paddled with kayakers who are nowhere near the physical condition I am in (I do a lot of endurance and strength training) and they are a lot better paddlers than I am. Some of them are 50 to 70 lbs heavier than me and can throw amazing tricks in holes that I am happy to run upright. It's all because they have great technique and know how to use the water.

Bottom line, it's all about having fun and being safe. Don't try to stash a case of beer in your boat if you are over the weight limit . You might lose your beer, which is bad karma for you, but a sweet score for the river goddess and her legion of gear gnomes. Damn gnomes take everything and sell it on eBay.

Very well put... one of the better replies I have seen in a while. Hats off to ya!

Very well put... one of the better replies I have seen in a while. Hats off to ya!

chud wrote:

If you mean why are people that have been doing regular sport for ages apparently still fat. Paddling isnt that intensive as exercise: it doesnt involve your legs much, on ww you can bimble along flat sections and sit around in eddies. Apart from the racing disciplines and surfing you dont generally do much anaerobic work, strength and power are often more important than overall fitness.

Also most paddlers idea of a high-protein, high-carb + energy drink training diet is pies, chips + beer (mmm.. pie .

Well… I respectfully disagree with everything you say.
#1) Paddling is as intensive as the person in the boat. If you are in a river and you aren't just lollygagging, the energy expended is tremendous. Water is quite dense. As you add momentum from the force of gravity, the work load increases drastically (F = ma).
#2) Paddling absolutely involves ALL of you body's musculature. Your upper body and the lower body are very involved. All of your control in the midsection comes from muscles that connect your lower body to your upper body. The lower body anchors you into your boat. Even your calves are used in stabilizing the lower body. After a hard days paddle, my whole body is sore.
#3) Actually, anaerobic means you are not using a fat burning oxygen energy system of cellular respiration. Examples of anaerobic exercise include heavy lifting, sprinting, and other high intensity and short burst excursuses such as kayaking. So, I think the word you mean is aerobic not anaerobic. As a side note, kayaking is both aerobic, and anaerobic. Power moves burn stored glycogen and phosphocreatine (energy stored in the muscles and liver). Endurance movements burn mostly fat in the process of cellular respiration, which also uses a small amount of carbohydrate as the fat burns in a carbohydrate flame.

On a final note... many people who are not fat are unhealthy. Don't forget that the most common cause of illness related death in the USA is heart disease. Many people look healthy, but their cardiovascular system is sick. I would say that the best way to measure a person's health is performing a cardiovascular stress test. Those who perform best during this test are typically healthiest. Their VO2 max is higher and their heart rate is lower and steady which also means that their energy system is more efficient.

Anyhow... I have one more thing to say...
A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool because he has to say something.

Saddle-Up,
Whitewaterules

jackb wrote:

ive noiced that some kayakers are on the, lets say portly side of the wight range and i was just wondering how this is possible ?

Maybe I'm not understanding your question right (pardon me, by my native language is Dutch), but I'll answer the way I interpret it:

Just as everywhere else outside paddling: Eating too much and not getting enough exercise, as well as sometimes have some illness.

If you wonder why they also show up in a sport like kayaking without becoming slim overnight: I think that you don't need to use a lot of energy or muscle if you're paddling at or below your comfort level.

I weigh roughly 100 kg/220lbs (being 201cm/6'8\" tall), and I used to use a lot of energy when paddling, needing to eat several plates full at night to make up for the energy used during the day of paddling. As I got better, that gradually decreased. When I'm now on the river in the summer, I try to play as much as possible, wearing myself out. Most of the winter paddling trips are just floating down and correcting the course a little, but not requiring a lot of energy to either concentrate or to stay on the line.

Excellent post, Whitewaterrules, and I think this one sentence says it all:

Paddling is as intensive as the person in the boat.

Perhaps you're unlikely to get injured or to go into oxygen debt by paddling gently around. And nothing wrong with that. But perhaps you won't improve your skill level either? And ultimately not have as much fun? And, of course, you may stay fat - if indeed you are?

But do people take up paddling to lose weight?

As a beginner here (but not inexperienced in other anerobic and aerobic activity) I've noticed weight loss after paddling (and I've felt I've had a hard workout, too), so, personally, yes, I think getting in a kayak can lead to weight loss. But fat or thin this sport appears to embrace all. And so it should be.

\"I'm fat and I kayak\" - well, not me personally, you understand...

Excellent post, Whitewaterrules, and I think this one sentence says it all:

Paddling is as intensive as the person in the boat.

Perhaps you're unlikely to get injured or to go into oxygen debt by paddling gently around. And nothing wrong with that. But perhaps you won't improve your skill level either? And ultimately not have as much fun? And, of course, you may stay fat - if indeed you are?

But do people take up paddling to lose weight?

As a beginner here (but not inexperienced in other anerobic and aerobic activity) I've noticed weight loss after paddling (and I've felt I've had a hard workout, too), so, personally, yes, I think getting in a kayak can lead to weight loss. But fat or thin this sport appears to embrace all. And so it should be.

\"I'm fat and I kayak\" - well, not me personally, you understand...