“Looking for a trip that involves great scenery, a good workout and tons of fun? Don’t wait any longer! Rent a stand-up paddle board from one of the rental shops in the area and set out on your next excursion.
This adventure requires you to have some sort of balancing skill, but not to worry! We’re here to share with you some basic paddling techniques in order to avoid falling. Either way, it’s a win-win as falling will land you in the refreshing bay.
Adjusting the paddle
First things first! Before you go out into the water, you’ve got to make sure your paddle is adjusted to your body. Place the blade, which is the flat end part of the paddle, in front of your right toe. Then based on the adjustment settings of your paddle, move the T-grip up until there is a slight bend in your elbow. Keep in mind that your adjustment, whether it’s too high or too low, will affect the efficiency of how you paddle.
Basic strokes
These are three basic strokes that will have you paddling in no time:
Forward Stroke
Just keep moving forward! It’s time to put those core muscles to work to move your board forward. You must have your arms stretched out as straight as possible, so you aren’t using your arm muscles, but engaging your abdominal muscles instead. Bring the blade of the paddle from the nose of the board, pulling the water and exiting the blade at the waste.
Sweep Stroke
The trick to turning your board depends on which direction you want to go. For example, when turning left, you paddle to your right. In contrary, when turning right, you paddle to your left. Start the blade at the nose and make a sweeping rainbow motion. The bigger rainbow motion you make, the wider your turn will be.
Reverse Stroke
This stroke is very similar to the forward stroke. But instead of moving your board forward, it works as a maneuver to have your board move backward. You want to begin by sinking your blade to the tail of the board and bring it back towards your waste. With this motion, you are thrusting the water forward, which will move your board back. You may have to switch sides when paddling to keep your board going in a straight path.
Now that you know what it takes to go paddle boarding, reserve your board from one of these rental shops:
