8 Best Exercises For Paddle Boarding To Do At Home In Winter

One of the (many) things we love about paddle boarding is the fact it’s a sport that can be enjoyed all year round. However, on chilly winter days when it’s just that little bit too cold to head out, or conditions aren’t safe, there are plenty of ways you can work on your paddle boarding game at home. Doing strengthening exercises for paddle boarding off the water is a great way to build your strength, stamina and endurance for when you’re on the water. These are some of the best exercises for paddle boarding that you can practise from the comfort of your own home:

Squats

A standing squat is really effective at building your lower body strength, helping you to enjoy your time out on the water for longer. This paddle board exercise focuses specifically on working the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves, all of which are essential for helping you maintain balance on the SUP and get power into your strokes. You can enhance this exercise by lifting your paddle square over your head when you squat - this will help to work your back muscles at the same time. 

Plank Walkouts

Another one of the best exercises for paddle boarding is a plank walkout. This is a particularly good paddle board exercise for strengthening your core, which is crucial for maintaining balance on the water. Plank walkouts also activate the shoulders and back muscles which are used a lot when paddling. In order to do a plank walkout, you’ll need to start with your legs shoulder width apart and your hands on the floor. Next, walk your hands forward into a plank position, keeping your core tight. Hold and repeat the exercise as many times as you like. 

Burpees

Burpees are certainly one to get the blood flowing and help you warm up in the cold winter weather! They provide a full body workout that’s great for boosting cardio as well as strengthening muscles. Start by bending your knees until you can place your hands flat on the floor. Once your hands are flat on the ground, kick your legs back so you can land in a push-up position. Next, push yourself up to return to a squatting position, before jumping your feet up with both hands above your head to land in a standing position. 

Press Ups

Simple but effective, press ups are one of the best exercises for paddle boarding for strengthening your chest, the front of your shoulders, abdominals and lower back. - these are all muscles that are used when paddling. The key to a good press up is engaging the core, squeezing the glutes and keeping pressure through the hands while bending the elbows to lower the chest. You can use variations to make this stand up paddle boarding exercise more dynamic, such as staggering your hands, one higher up than the other, and placing your hands in narrow and wide positions. 

Side Lunges

Side lunges are a quick and simple exercise to practise at home or in the gym, however they’re really effective at working leg muscles in a similar way to how they’re worked on the board. Unsurprisingly, this makes them one of the best exercises for paddle boarding to practise off the water. They’re also good for improving balance. To do a side lunge you’ll need to take a wide step with your left leg to the side of you with both toes pointed in the same direction and your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your hips back, bend your left knee as you step outward,  before returning to the starting position and switching to your right side. 

Plank T Rotations

Plank T rotations mimic the core rotation that’s required for paddling, and help to build shoulder strength. Start in a plank position, tighten your abs and glutes, and reach your elbow up towards the sky, looking in the same direction. Complete equal reps on either side. Incorporating strength training with dynamic movement, this is one of the best exercises for paddle boarding (and one of the more challenging training exercises) to practise at home on the days when you can’t get out on the water. 

Superman Plank 

Another great plank exercise to practise at home or in the gym is the superman plank. Starting from a regular plank position, the superman plank involves extending your right arm forward while lifting your left leg back, making sure to keep both your leg and your arm parallel to the floor. Perfect for strengthening your core, the movement of lifting an arm and a leg away from the floor creates an instability which forces your core to work harder in order to maintain stability.  

Kick Throughs 

It might look a bit like a breakdancing move, however a kick through is one of the best exercises for paddle boarding for working a whole range of muscle groups. This includes the shoulders, abdominals, upper and lower back and quadriceps. It develops core rotational strength and extension of the shoulder which is required for both phases of paddling. Starting in a plank position, lift your right hand and left foot off the floor whilst rotating your hips to the right and kicking your left leg to the right. Rotate your hips to the left, return to the plank position and then repeat on the opposite side.