Hello Fellow Paddlers, A friend contacted me regarding a newspaper article she is writing on the health benefits associated with kayaking. She is looking for personal testimony and experiences on the benefits to paddlers' fitness and health resulting from sea kayaking. She will be covering the health benefits of all types of kayaking but would like to hear from seakayakers specifically. If any of you have any comments or experiences you would like to share, you can contact her at modrea_at_onr.com. Her name is Modrea Mitchell-Reichert. Any messages posted here will be forwarded to Modrea. On behalf of Modrea, thanks! Jackie *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 05:26 PM 8/13/98 -0700, Jackie Fenton wrote: > >A friend contacted me regarding a newspaper article she is writing >on the health benefits associated with kayaking. She is looking >for personal testimony and experiences on the benefits to paddlers' >fitness and health resulting from sea kayaking.... Actually, from all I've read on Paddlewise and Wavelength and all I've experienced personally, any health benefits derived seem to be about evenly balanced with the health problems one can create from lifting heavy boats, loading boats up onto racks, paddling too much, using the wrong paddle, using a feathered paddle... and the list goes on. I'd consider it about equal to running: Nice aerobic benefits but costly on the joints. Bill Ridlon Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Bill Ridlon wrote: > > Actually, from all I've read on Paddlewise and Wavelength and all I've > experienced personally, any health benefits derived seem to be about evenly > balanced with the health problems one can create from lifting heavy boats, > loading boats up onto racks, paddling too much, using the wrong paddle, > using a feathered paddle... and the list goes on. I'd consider it about > equal to running: Nice aerobic benefits but costly on the joints. While there is definitely something to this, many joint and muscle problems are the result of improper (or what I like to think of as "immature") technique. Many years ago I tore my rotator cuff deep in the wilderness on a 500-mile river trip. I was paddling a nameless river in the Yukon Territory. It was late in the "afternoon" (about 11:00PM) and getting cold, and we had been drifting for some time on a fast section of the river after having paddled very intensely. We saw an island with great potential for a campsite, and so we began to forward ferry against the strong current (in spite of being cold and stiff). Being young (or at least younger than I am now) I was unconcerned about technique or cold muscles/joints, and just started cranking away, occasionally with elbows high (ouch!), pulling a fully-loaded boat as fast as I could paddle. For those of you who have not yet experienced a torn rotator cuff, it is very painful. Fortunately my paddling companion had brought quite a pharmacy of pain killers, and I was able to fall asleep after about an hour of screaming. (I never claimed to be the stoic type.) I was able to finish the trip in a somewhat crippled (and drugged) state, but ever since I have had a very delicate shoulder, and thus am "well-equiped" to test different paddling techniques in terms of their implications for stress on weak shoulders. My conclusions: (1) Use a short paddle (max 215cm for sea kayaking) with a vertical stroke. I get a pain in my shoulder even thinking about my attempts to use a longer paddle or low-angle stroke. I hesitate to share this with you, because I know that there are some folks with shoulder problems who will refuse to give up a low-angle stroke until their dying days. I usually keep my mouth shut on this issue, but then again... (2) When bracing or rolling, keep your elbows tucked in! (3) When bracing or rolling, keep your elbows tucked in! (4) Pay attention to your physical state. Are your muscles cold and stiff? Do you feel lactic acid building up? Take it easy! And finally: (5) When bracing or rolling, keep your elbows tucked in! Does anyone have anything to add to this list? (An obvious omission is to stretch before paddling, but personally I have never had sufficient discipline to stretch on a regular basis.) By the way, the primary health benefit of sea kayaking (or paddling in general) is in the area of mental health. If you paddle frequently you will remain forever young and happy. Dan Hagen Mazama, Washington (where the rivers are low and dropping fast...) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I'm 46 and have had to give up softball, tennis, running, volleyball and probably a few other things because of the nature of those sports and my own physique. Sea kayaking, when done with the right equipment and the right form, is comparably gentle on the body. And the benefits go way beyond the excercise and extend into contact with the wonder and power of nature. Barbara in Richmond, California At 09:28 PM 8/16/98 -0400, outdoors_at_biddeford.com wrote: >At 05:26 PM 8/13/98 -0700, Jackie Fenton wrote: >> >>A friend contacted me regarding a newspaper article she is writing >>on the health benefits associated with kayaking. She is looking >>for personal testimony and experiences on the benefits to paddlers' >>fitness and health resulting from sea kayaking.... > >Actually, from all I've read on Paddlewise and Wavelength and all I've >experienced personally, any health benefits derived seem to be about evenly >balanced with the health problems one can create from lifting heavy boats, >loading boats up onto racks, paddling too much, using the wrong paddle, >using a feathered paddle... and the list goes on. I'd consider it about >equal to running: Nice aerobic benefits but costly on the joints. > Bill Ridlon > Southern Maine Sea Kayaking Network > >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ >*************************************************************************** > > * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * --*--*-- Barbara Kossy Communications voice: 510-234-3479 fax: 510-234-6615 * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- *--* -- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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