 As a fitness trainer I have worked with many different types of athletes in order to make them stronger for their sport and to help minimize injury and muscle imbalance. I find that athletes will often place more of their focus on training areas of strength, which is fine, but I want them to also strengthen their areas of weakness to give their bodies more overall balance, power, and resistance to injury. I sometimes find that stand up paddlers lack the leg and lower core strength in comparison to their upper bodies. Therefore, this article is dedicated to all you stand up paddlers who need to throw a few leg strengthening exercises into the mix. As an example of the above mentioned upper/lower body strength imbalance, I have chosen to single out Hawaii’s Morgan Hoesterey, an accomplished stand up paddler, swimmer, freediver and all around waterwoman. Morgan is the first woman to ever complete the Molokai race, solo, on a stand up board and she is about to embark on another amazing journey in early April. Morgan and her friend, Jenny Kalmbach, are attempting an almost 300 mile paddle across all of the Hawaiian Island channels to raise money and awareness to the huge problem of marine plastics debris. (http://destination3.com/the-cause/ ) Their project is named Destination 3 degrees (www.destination3.com ) and the only other two people to ever complete this challenging series of crossings were Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama.
During the last couple of weeks I met up with Morgan to help her train for her amazing adventure. (http://destination3.com/category/our-friends/) I know that Morgan is a strong paddler and swimmer, so I really wanted to test her leg strength. Although her legs are not ‘chicken legs’ as she likes to call them, they were still considerably weaker in comparison with her upper body. I told her that adding in a couple of leg workouts and runs into her routine each week may vastly improve her overall performance. Strong legs will help give a more solid foundation for paddling and help give more power to the leg drive. The following exercises are a few I gave to Morgan. Add a couple of these into your normal workout or fit them in after a stand up paddle session. They are considered advanced so BE CAREFUL and take it slow. The great thing about these exercises are that they need virtually zero equipment which means zero excuses for not being able to do them. Remember to warm up before and stretch afterward!
Morgan demonstrating an Isometric Wall (or tree) Squat and her multitasking abilities.
1. Sit against a wall so that your legs are bent to 90 degrees.
2. Hold for up to one minute and perform three sets.
3. Do not perform any jumping lunges or plyometric exercises right after this isometric hold.
4. To make this exercise more challenging, lift your heels of the ground.
Single Leg Squat: A great test of leg strength and balance.
(Safety tip: Know how to properly perform a regular squat before trying this one)
  1. Stand a couple of feet in front of a bench or chair. 2. Hold both hands and one leg straight out in front of you as shown in the photo. Look forward and slowly move your hips down and back, descending on one leg, as if you were going to sit on the bench or chair. Do not let the free leg touch down on the ground. 3. As soon as your butt barely touches the bench, then slowly return to standing position, still only using one leg and without touching the other foot on the ground. 4. Begin with three sets of 10reps on each side and slowly progress to 15 reps as you become stronger. Split Squat with Overhead Press:    1. Elevate a leg behind you on a platform that is about 2 feet high, resting on your toes or the top of your foot. 2. Carefully hop forward with the other leg so that when you lunge your knee remains behind your toes. 3. Holding two lightweight rocks or dumbbells on your chest, with elbows pointed forward, lower into a lunge until the front leg is at 90 degrees. 4. When you are in the lowered position, press and lower the weights above your head and keep elbows pointed forward. 5. Do not stand up until you have completed the overhead press. 6. Push through the heel of your foot to return to a standing position. Repeat. 7. Begin with 2 sets of 10 reps on each side and progress to 3 sets as you become stronger. Jumping Lunges:    1. Begin in a lunge position with feet staggered, core tight, chest forward, and hands held up in front of you. 2. Jump up and quickly switch foot position. 3. Absorb the landing and go right back into a lunge by bending your knees. 4. Make sure your feet leave the ground and LAND at exactly the same time. 5. Try 3 sets of 15 reps—it will burn!! Check out the latest on Nikki's website: www.nikkigregg.com |
