Kayaking Class: Why do I seem to be working twice as hard and only getting half as far?

I’m taking a kayaking class for school and there are 12 or 13 other kids in the class. We went out on a lake for the first time today and learned the strokes. I know about body rotation and stuff, but for as hard as I tried when we did a lap around the lake, I could not keep up with the rest of the class. I was a good 30 or 40 feet behind them and couldn’t catch up. Now, my arms, shoulders and lower back are killing me and I just have to get back out and do it again tomorrow. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix it? Could it have anything to do with the boat or am I just really weak?

Talk to your instructor. He or she is the one who can actually see what you’re doing and should be able to provide appropriate feedback on what you could be doing better. That said, here is some general advice based on common mistakes I see beginners make:

First, sorry to say, but it’s probably not anything wrong with the boat assuming everyone in the class is in similar boats. But don’t worry about it; it’s your first day. In fact, while you’re learning, don’t concern yourself with how fast you’re going.

If you start thinking about trying to catch up to the other kids, you may end up making more mistakes. Beginners often try to take longer strokes to go faster, which is generally the wrong thing to do. Once the paddle blade gets behind your hip, there is a strong tendency to stop rotating and start pulling the paddle up with your arm. That extra bit in your stroke doesn’t do anything to move you forward since you’re scooping water up, and it will wear you out quickly.

Keep your strokes short and well in front of you. Sit up tall, maybe lean forward slightly, and plant the paddle blade all the way in the water near your toes. Take the blade out when it’s even with your hip, or try shortening up your stroke even more. If you want to go faster, you’ll just take faster strokes, no longer ones (but again, don’t worry about speed just yet; first focus on getting a good stroke down, and you may just find yourself going faster without thinking about it).

Most paddlers know about torso rotation but still don’t do nearly enough of it. Try this experiment on the water: grip the paddle with your hands as far apart as possible so that your arms are spread out and locked in a straight position. Now try to paddle. It will look and feel very awkward, but with your arms in this position, you’ll have no choice but to move the paddle by rotating your torso. This will give you an idea of what it will feel like when you properly rotate your torso.

Kayaking: Basic Strokes

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