What's SUP and why you need to try it!

 

This Summer, if there is one thing that you must try to add to your holiday hitlist, it's of the fitness kind that has celebrities jumping on the bandwagon and buffing their bods on boards.

Yeh, I might be a little biased with this one, but it's with good reason why everyone is falling in love with the sport of standup paddling or SUP.

Now, before you think it's not for you, or you've tried surfing and been put off the fact that you didn't even make it to your feet, don't despair.  In flat water, with the right board to suit your ability it's practically foolproof even if you haven't had any experience around the water.

Here's some of the reasons why it's so much fun!

+ It gives you a birds eye perspective of the water below you.  Perfect if your around shallow, rocky areas with reef to spot marine life or just so you can see what is ahead. It is a very cool feeling to be standing on water!

+ It is a great introduction into water sports for beginners.  Surfing can take a while to pick up but it is very uncommon to have anyone that doesn't take to SUP'ing straight away.  There may be a few wobbles to start with but as your body adapts you'll become more confident to try moving around the board

+ It can be done anywhere there is water.  Creeks, damns, lakes, rivers..you don't need waves to paddle and the good part of it is that even in winter you can incorporate it into your training without the worry of getting wet like you do with traditional surfing

+ It is an all over body workout.  You don't get too many sports that can claim this.  From your abs to your arms to legs and butt, there is no muscle that is forgotten once you get the hang of it.  Even if your not actually moving around on the board it is amazing at how quickly your legs with tire and tone up. Stability muscles that you probably haven't used in years will be woken up!

+ It's great for cross training.  As it's low impact it has great benefits when it's added into your normal routine or for those returning from injury.

It's recommended that you get some lessons to begin with when you first hire a board.  This will make the experience so much more enjoyable.  With things like stroke technique, turning skills, how to hold the paddle (it's so not cool holding your paddle around the wrong way..opps!), you'll be best finding a local shop that can steer you in the right direction.  If you live on the Gold Coast head here or the Sunshine Coast here and here

As the sport of SUP grows it is easy to see why it is becoming so popular, don't put it off, get out there and give it a crack, I promise you'll be suprised at how easy it is and find the glide addictive!

Have you tried SUP'ing? Do you want to?

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