Ok, why do I see SUP as one of the most functional activities we can engage in?
Mainly it is about how we are provoked by an activity, both consciously and unconsciously. From what we can see, Stand Up Paddling (SUP) challenges us in a way that few other activities do. The advantage of this activity is that it is basically risk-free and incredibly effective as a form of exercise. Let's take it from the beginning -
The explanation is partly based on the results of the first studies of SUP that I carried out around 2012. At first we could establish that sitting and standing paddling are two completely different activities. The only similarity is that we have to propel a craft on water with the help of a paddle. The difference lies in how we use the body and how it is affected.
To better understand what it takes to paddle SUP, we started looking for other activities that had similar movements and impact forces. Here, of course, we looked at other types of paddling that use single-bladed paddles as canoing, outriggerand dragonboat, but also at rowing, kayaking and "prone" paddling. However, all of these make us sit, kneel or lie down,which imposes certain limitations when it comes to movement ability and how we can develop power.
The problem is that we are not designed to move into these positions in the first place. The function of our large musclegroups and the way our body is constructed is based on us moving upright with the help of our legs. The question thenbecame whether there was any more suitable activity to study? Relatively soon we realized that the activity that shouldbe scrutinized more closely was of course – cross country skiing! Probably most logical for Scandinavians.
Fittingly, I had also worked with skiers before, so the step there wasn't that far. The advantage of cross country skiing in particular was that here there was already a lot of research and studies to help. Here, i.a. several of the Swedish professor HC Holmberg's publications are mentioned.
What later came to reinforce this was the work of another Swedish professor, Johnny Nilsson and his studies on the development of the new double poling technique in cross country skiing. Johnny also had experience in developingcanoe/kayak paddling and became one of the key people in this project.
With professor Nilsson's help, we were now also able to start using elektromyografi (EMG) to analyze which muscles wenormally use during SUP paddling and also which effects occurred if we instead used other, better suited muscles. The study resulted in Johnny taking up SUP paddling himself and I started paddling around with an extremely long and stiffpaddle - 232 cm?
The reason for this long paddle was that they had seen the advantages of using longer poles in skiing and being able to activate the abdominal muscles to a greater extent. In the same way, I was now able to learn how I could activate the abdominal muscles myself directly at the catch. The fact that this paddle length was not particularly functional for general SUP paddling perhaps does not need any further explanation...
The connection between SUP and cross-country skiing shows, among other things, that we mostly use the same musclegroups, the same muscle activation patterns and the same movement frequencies. During the further development of the competition technique in SUP, the one we chose to call "Nordic stroke" and where we work with a lower center of gravity, we saw that this then also correlated with alpine skiing...
What we also realized from both the EMG measurements and the cross-country skiing and specifically the new double-stake technology, was that the absolute most efficient and ergonomic way to propel a SUP board is with the help ofgravity and our body weight…
How we can use this to power a SUP board is thus what the paddling technique - "Nordic stroke" is all about. The development of this and how we can design equipment most suitable for functional and health-promoting SUP paddling is the passion and constant pursuit of me and my colleagues here at Kona Sports.
More on this and why SUP training is so beneficial to other sports comes in "SUPerior insights" - Part Three
"Stand Up for your health and functionality"
/Magnus R Lindstedt
Magnus 18/03/2024 15:28