Are Inflatable Paddleboards Better Than Hard Ones?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - small paddle board has surged to a fast-growing water sport that fitness experts say delivers a full-body workout to anyone exercising on an ocean, lake or river.

About 1.2 million people tried mini stand up paddle board in 2011, up 18 percent from 2010, according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2012 report, and nearly 60 percent of SUP enthusiasts tried it for the first time in 2011.

Carey Bond, an instructor and guide at Manhattan Kayak Company in New York City, co-founded the Suplogix research group to explore the biomechanics of small inflatable paddle board.

“The health and fitness benefits are proving to be quite significant,” said Bond, whose company uses biotechnology to measure muscle activation during SUP.

“All of your stabilizing muscles in hip, lower leg, knee joint are activated in a therapeutic way to stabilize balance on the unstable surface,” he said.

The intensity of the workout also depends on the body of water, according to Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise.

“Knowing how to swim is a good idea for everybody, especially for people who want to engage in water sports,” Henriksen said. “But Eskimos didn’t know how to swim, that’s why they had kayaks.”

Stand up rescue inflatable paddle board is a rapidly growing sport and recreational activity where anecdotal evidence exists for its proposed health, fitness and injury rehabilitation benefits. While limited scientific evidence exists to substantiate these claims, previous studies have shown that high levels of fitness, strength and balance exists amongst participants of this sport. The purpose of this study was to conduct a training intervention on a group of previously untrained individuals to ascertain the potential of SUP on various health parameters.Stand up 10 foot inflatable paddle board is a physical activity in which the participant maintains a standing position on a board similar to a surfboard. However, stand up paddle boards are longer in length (8–15', 2.44–4.57 m), thicker (4–8", 10.16–20.32 cm) and wider (26–31", 66.04–78.74 cm) than traditional surfboards. Stand up paddle boarding involves a participant getting to their feet on a large board before using the long paddle for propulsion with strokes on either side of the body [3]. Paddling involves the similar biomechanics of dragon boat racing which has the paddling mechanics of an entry, drive and exit of the paddle from the water [4]. It requires a rhythmic alternating paddle to propel the craft through the water. Isometric contractions of the entire trunk, gluteals and lower leg musculature are required to counter the rotational forces from the pull phase of each paddling stroke [2].