Rowing Rundown: Make the Most of Your Stroke

(Editor's Note: This is part 1 of a 2-part story about the proper technique for paddling a kayak.)

The kayak-fishing craze is steadily gaining momentum throughout the country. With each passing week hundreds of new recruits enlist into the ever-growing ranks of the 'plastic navy'.

A big reason that the sport of kayak-fishing is growing at such a rapid rate is the fact that it's simple and affordable. Just a few hundred bucks can get you on the water with everything you need, and a grand can have you paddling in style with top-of-the-line equipment. 

There's no expensive insurance policy, no gas to buy, no fancy outboard motor or electrical equipment that needs constant maintenance - no worries.

But buyer beware. The relative simplicity of kayak-fishing can be deceiving. Many newcomers to the sport get their yak on the water only to realize the experience isn't nearly as enjoyable as they thought it'd be. Remorseful customers return to their local paddle shops with reports of back pain, neck pain, arm pain and pain in muscles they never even knew they had.

According to Scott Null, a kayak-fishing veteran, full-time fishing guide and co-author of Kayak Fishing: The Ultimate Guide, one of the biggest reasons many would-be kayak anglers give up the sport is because of pain, discomfort and fatigue they experience due to poor paddling technique.

In this 2-part series, Null gives you the head-to-toe rundown of how to reduce the stress on your body and make the most of your stroke.

Heads Up

Like most any activity that requires balance and coordination, a well-executed paddle stroke starts with your head.

"It seems really obvious, but you always want to have your head up and your eyes forward," Null said. "Most people start out paddling that way, but I've noticed as people start to get tired, they'll drop their head down. I've also seen when people try to paddle really hard, they'll put their head down, grit their teeth and try to dig in.

"Your head is key for maintaining your balance, and balance is a huge part of paddling a kayak. Pay attention to what your head is doing as you paddle and you may be surprised. When you're on a long paddle it's easy to start daydreaming and you start looking down or your posture gets sloppy. Try to stay focused and keep that head up."

Shoulders, Arms and Waist

The shoulders and arms are the two primary areas that Null identified as being most problematic in new paddlers. Contrary to how it may look, the arms play only a small role in generating power on the forward stroke.

"Most people think paddling is an activity that involves pulling with your arms, but that's not it at all," he said. "There's absolutely zero arm-pulling on a properly executed stroke. When you just glance at someone paddling, it looks like they're using their arms. But if you look closely at a well-trained paddler, you'll notice the arms don't have much to do with it."

Instead of bending at the elbows and pulling the paddle towards you, he said to pivot at the waste and rotate your shoulders to generate the back-and-forth motion of the stroke.

"The best way to think about it is to envision that you're trying to scoot your kayak across wet cement," he said. "You're not pulling water with the paddle, instead, you're inserting the paddle in the water and bringing your kayak forward to that point. That's not achieved with the arms. It's done with the waist and shoulders."

He noted that the arms should never bend beyond the 90-degree mark, neither inward nor outward. A good way to do that is to envision you're cradling a beach ball between both arms.

"Try to paddle without squishing or dropping the beach ball. The only way to do that is to keep your elbows and wrists locked. If you're extending one arm and reaching way out in front of you, the beach ball is going to fall out.

"The basic idea is to restrict movement in your arms while rotating freely at the waist and shoulders," he added. "I'm not saying to keep your arms tensed up. Staying relaxed in all your muscles is very important. But stay focused on using your waist and shoulders to move the paddle, not your arms.

"It's easy to just reach out there with your arms and grab water. That's usually what comes naturally to most people, but that's certainly not the most efficient way to do it. Your arms will wear out quickly. But if you use the big muscle groups - your abs, your shoulders and your back - you can paddle all day with less fatigue."

On the issue of fatigue, he said it's important not to lift the off hand too high during the stroke. A common mistake is for paddlers to lift their off hand high over their head and dig in with their other hand. He said the off hand should never go higher than the chin during a proper stroke.

Another important mental note is to not think of the paddling movement as single strokes on each side of the kayak, but rather one complete fluid motion, with each stroke leading into the next.

Details:

- Look for part 2 of this story tomorrow at EarthSports.com

- Kayak Fishing: The Ultimate Guide, now in its second edition, covers every aspect of kayak fishing from proper paddling techniques, to safety information and tips for fishing in a variety of conditions. The book also features top-notch photography that the authors use to illustrate the finer points of the sport.

- Null co-authored the book with Joel McBride, an experienced whitewater paddler from Colorado.

- You can order the book and DVD online. Click here to check it out.

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