How would you go about increasing strength for the sport of kayaking? What exercises, rep range, etc. Also, what would you do to increase cardiovascular fitness specifically for kayaking? I have a friend who is training for a kayaking trip and would like to know. Thanks.
Hmmm - since “sport specificity” training may be difficult here. Or, is it? It’s really the best way to train for a sport. But, if ya can’t - I’m thinking definitely upper body - but you use your legs as anchors - correct? I’m visualizing rowing and kayaking. I’m more familiar with rowing. However, since you twist a bit while kayaking, I would say training the midsection, especially the obliques may be beneficial. Y’know I have yet to see a mention of Bill Pearl’s book in regards to weight training (the title escapes me) - it has pages of routines for different sports. I wonder if it would be helpful here? Hey, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few websites devoted to kayaking, and talk about training or even have forums available for your question. Find out what other kayakers do.
I do a lot of kayaking, and weight training has been a huge help. One key point is that good form on a stroke uses the abdominals and back as the primary movers, deltoids and traps as secondary. Poor form uses the arms. Brent Reitz has a video. Beginners tend to feel it first in the traps and shoulders, as well as overall fatigue. Any type of cardiovascular training is fine, remember that a kayak tour is as least 3-5 hours of work a day, so long hikes would be better training than 30 minutes a day on a treadmill. Good hamstring & hip flexibility is useful for comfort & getting in and out of the boat. Most commercial tour guides are very conservative in terms of physical expectations for clients. On a private club trip the host should let you know what he or she expects.
I agree with patricia work your rectus abdominus muscles and internal and external obliques do a lot of Medicane Ball passes also. You should also do some reaction drills. The other muscle is your back focus on that to… Rep wise I would go for 15-20reps for musclular endurance. Great sports specific execrise would be a one arm row on a cable machine ect…
Wood choppers, oblique crunches, stuff like that. Anything that works the trunk rotators, abs, and lower back.
I know nothing about kayaking, but as soon as I read your post I thought of the Tornado training articles, since it’s all about trunk/rotation and upper body. The video clip demonstrations of the ‘Tornado Ball’ (on the chekinstitute site) look like a lot of fun too.