Stand up for fitness
Stand-up paddling is gaining popularity
both as a sport and as an everyday fitness trend |
By Nina Wu
Mar 02, 2010
GETTING STARTED
The sport of stand-up paddling might seem intimidating
to some at first, but Casey Brown, an instructor at
Girls Who Surf, says with a few basic pointers, it's
easy to learn.
Here are Brown's first five steps
to stand-up paddling:
Step 1: Equip
yourself. It is essential to equip yourself with the
appropriate paddle-boarding gear. This includes a board
and paddle of appropriate sizes. The wrong-size board
and/or paddle can make a surf session less than
desirable. Various surfs schools and shops around town
can help with your equipment needs.
Step 2: Find an
appropriate location to paddle-board. Lagoons, calm bays
and coastal waters with sandy bottoms and minimal reef
are perfect for this sport.
Step 3: Go out on
days with light or no winds.
Step 4: Start on
your knees. Practice the basics of paddling and turning
before making the leap to your feet.
Step 5: Start with
ankle-level waves. When you gain the confidence to enter
the surf, start on the inside with the manini waves.
Master the small waves before marching out to the
lineup. Furthermore, once you make it out to the lineup,
respect other surfers.
———
Source: Casey Brown,
instructor, Girls Who Surf
Honolulu's Star Bulletin
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Miho Masuda
learns the fundamentals of
stand-up paddling from instructor Casey Brown.
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Photos by
JAMM AQUINO /
JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
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Casey Brown gives instructions to Fatmir Dana, left, and
Miho Masuda on the sand near Ala Moana Bowls in Waikiki,
before they enter the water. |
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The first time Athline Clark of
Kaneohe tried stand-up paddle surfing, she was hooked.
Now she has to get out to the ocean
to paddle a few times a week or else she'll feel like a
part of her life is missing.
"It's addicting," she said. "It's
so refreshing and it's inspiring. You don't feel like
you're working out."
And yet, stand-up paddling is a
great workout for the full body, from your legs to your
back, core and arms, according to Clark, 52, a water
aerobics instructor at the YWCA.
She says it also helps with
endurance, stability, balance and coordination. How much
of a workout you get depends how hard you push yourself,
how far you go and whether you choose to go upwind or
downwind.
Her favorite part of it, though, is
the camaraderie, and the marine life she sees out on the
open ocean. While paddling, Clark has been accompanied
by a pod of spinner dolphins, turtles and manta rays,
and witnessed beautiful sunsets and stunning moonrises.
On weekends, Clark gets together
regularly with a group of friends for distance-paddling
sessions throughout Oahu. They have paddled from Lanikai
beach to the Mokulua isles, Flat Island and Kailua Bay;
from Sunset Beach to Haleiwa on the North Shore; and
from Hawaii Kai to Kahala.
Stand-up paddling has made a comeback as a sport over
the last few years but is also gaining traction as an
everyday fitness trend.
It requires a surfboard, a paddle
and other simple gear like a leash, but that's it. |
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Stand-up paddling can also be done
in a wider ranger of venues because it doesn't require
waves. It can be done on lakes and rivers, but if you're
looking for some action, you can also surf the waves.
Carol Naish, owner of Naish Hawaii
in Kailua, which has seen a significant jump in stand-up
paddle-board rentals, says the sport appeals to a
broader range of people than conventional surfing. Naish
carries boards of all types.
It appeals to men and women of all
ages and sizes, ranging from pint-size petite to larger
individuals, as well as those who have back and knee
problems that make it hard for them to get up from a
prone position.
FOR THOSE WHO want to lose weight,
the sport is a blessing. Just ask City Councilman
Donovan Dela Cruz, who has dropped 60 pounds since he
made stand-up paddling part of his overall fitness
regime, along with a change in diet. Or longboard surf
legend China Uemara, who lost 50 pounds after he started
and now offers free lessons at Ala Moana Beach Park.
"For a lot of our customers, it's a
way of getting back in the water," Naish said. |
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Instructor Casey Brown, center, gets in the water with
Fatmir Dana and Miho Masuda. |
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Stand-up paddling is also gaining
popularity among visitors. Practically every surf school
now offers it, along with traditional surf lessons.
Girls Who Surf offers rentals and
lessons in stand-up paddling to meet the demand,
especially among international visitors, says owner
Cherry Fu, who has had a growing number of clients from
Japan to Europe and the mainland inquiring about
stand-up paddling.
Reid Inouye, founder of Paddle Core Fitness and Standup
Paddle magazine, launched classes specifically catering
to those who want to get in shape through paddling at
Ala Moana Beach Park.
He offers two programs: a 55-minute
power workout for beginners that focuses on turning
techniques, and an advanced burn workout focusing on
race techniques. The workouts cost $15 per session ($10
if you bring your own board).
Inouye, 54, used to be a runner but
now says stand-up paddling is his life. His first trek
was from Hawaii Kai to Kahala on a 12-foot, 50-pound
board shaped by Ed Angulo on Maui. He was hooked the
minute he stood up on the board. He compares it to
walking on water and says long-distance paddling gives
him a cardiovascular workout while burning calories
easily.
He took up the activity after his
gym went belly-up in August 2006. He made a commitment
to stand-up paddle from one end of Waikiki to the other
as a way of staying fit.
"I was totally exhausted every
night from paddling for three hours a day, just about
every day for a year and a half straight," he said.
"Almost an obsession."
But it paid off. He dropped from
235 pounds to 193 pounds — a loss of 42 pounds — in just
three months. His blood pressure, which was high,
dropped immediately.
With a schedule of 10-mile paddles
and sprint races, Inouye now stays at a healthy 185 to
190 pounds, and he's getting ready to drop about 10
pounds more in preparation for the Molokai crossing.
His workout sessions have been
popular among surfers as well as runners, triathletes
and mixed martial artists. Inouye's son, Matt, a former
professional baseball player, is now Paddle Core
Fitness' lead instructor.
Inouye's classes teach isolation
strokes that work everything from tricepses to
shoulders, laterals, the lower back, abdominals and all
the leg muscles. But most of all, he says, it works your
brain.
Stand-up paddling is also good way
to regain strength after an injury, according to Inouye.
"It's running without the pounding," he said. |
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It's smooth paddling
for Miho Masuda,
with a little help from instructor Casey Brown. |
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