Hip strength to improve your skills

by samantharuppelt | Nov 15, 2018 | Fitness, Instructional, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

To the general public, and new boaters too, the thought is that kayaking is back dominant. It’s not until you start to navigate whitewater rivers and you start spending more time on the water that you realize kayaking is, in fact, a full body activity. Maintaining hip...

Kayaking and Concussions Part 1: What is a concussion?

by Jessica Yurtinus | Aug 16, 2018 | Fitness, Whitewater

In the past couple years, the word concussion has become an increasingly prevalent term.   Mainstream awareness of the true long-term impacts of concussions may have started in April 2011 when several NFL players sued the National Football League for knowing...

Kayak Cross Fit

by Tom Potter | Jul 25, 2018 | Fitness, Video, Whitewater

Over the years that I have been involved in kayaking, mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing, and other adventure sports, training usually meant to simply go do the sport. Of course I spent plenty of hours in the pool in my kayak, or at the rock gym climbing on...

Shoulder injury prevention and recovery for athletes

by Bennett Smith | Jul 19, 2018 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Fitness, Instructional, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

https://youtu.be/borl8FCZJEo ACTIVE PREVENTION and recovery from shoulder injuries: First of all I would like to say thank you SO much to all the people that helped me get to the World Championships. I could not have had such an amazing experience without everyone who...

How to BEAT the weekend warrior!

by Mathieu Dumoulin | Apr 30, 2018 | Antix, Fitness, France, Instructional, Internationalisation, rivers, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

Last year I had big changes happening in my personal life. I went from full time kayaker based in France and traveling 8-10 months out of the year to getting married, and settle down in Colorado with my wife. Domesticated, stuck and assigned to a job, there was a lot...

Back Basics

by samantharuppelt | Apr 22, 2018 | Fitness, Instructional, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

You know that moment when you hit a sweet boof… and then you land on a rock? What about that moment when you go to do a splat…. and then just plow your bow straight into a rock and jolt forward? (Oh that’s just me…) What abouttttttt when you go to load your boat on...

Injury Prevention and Rehab: Shoulder Stability

by samantharuppelt | Mar 29, 2018 | Fitness, Instructional, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

Shoulders tend to be the most common body part injured in the whitewater kayaking world. If you haven’t hurt your shoulder and if it doesn’t give you issues then chances are that you know someone who has had or is having shoulder issues. Labral tears, subluxations,...

Body Care and Maintenance – The QL and how it relates to paddlers

by isaaclevinson | Mar 11, 2018 | Fitness, Whitewater

What is the QL? The QL or Quadratus Lumborium is a deep muscle in your low back that extends, stabilizes and laterally flexes your low back. It also aids in breathing and lifting your hip.      I think this is a muscle that kayakers often overlook until...

Maintenance off of the water- stretching out the spine

by samantharuppelt | Jan 24, 2018 | Fitness, Instructional, Video, Whitewater, Whitewater Instruction

I’ve been seeing a lot of questions lately online about injuries, pain, and tightness in the body and how it impedes performance on the water. In response to this I wanted to do a series on ways to maintain the body while off the water. I, like so many of you, have a...

Fit to Kayak Fish – Shoulder Sweep

by ericboyd | Dec 30, 2017 | Fishing, Fitness, Internationalisation, United States

Kayakers and kayak fishermen experience shoulder and upper back stiffness from time to time – or all the time. I love kayaking and fishing with my brother. But at times the pain during these activities gets a lot due to one of the reasons being my week...

Kayaking When Life Gets in the Way

by Mike McKay | Aug 22, 2017 | Canada, Creeking, Fitness, Internationalisation, rivers, Whitewater, WW Disciplines

Most people I know aren’t like me. By that I mean most people don’t base their lives around kayaking. For me this is something I have spent the last 10 years doing nearly year round and have found a way to base my career around it. Therefore, it is quite often that my...

Boating Injury and Rehab

by Greg Parker | Jul 27, 2017 | Fitness, Internationalisation, Trip Reports, Trips, United States, Whitewater

I was really excited to kayak last week. My dad took a week off of work and was in Colorado to kayak. A few other Wisconsin friends were on vacation as well. Salida was at 1,400 cfs and slowing dropping. Perfect. A group of us paddled hard on Sunday morning and then...