>[SNIP] >i need some paddle advice. not as in paddling, but as in buying a >paddle. by profession i'm a violinist so very protective of my >hands (anyone in the sf bay area here, i play with marin, santa >rosa, oakland, and am concertmaster of vallejo sym. c'mon down!). >i'm looking at LIGHT paddles. [SNIP] Kathleen, I also paddle with a Lightning paddle and love it. The light fiberglass layup is light and really nice. Plus, a bit cheaper than carbon fiber. I think one of the most important things next to proper technique is always stretching, warming up and cooling down. In addition to paddling I also rock climb. Both these sports are pretty tough on hands and wrists. I play guitar and when I started climbing I was a bit concerned about my fingers locking up so I looked into some good wrist and finger stretches. Here are a few, I'm sure some people can submit some more. Hold your arm down and straight. Grasp your finger tips and pull the finger gently back while keeping them straight. Hold for 15 seconds and breath. Hold arms to your side and straight. Quickly flick your fingers on both hands 15 times as if you were trying to dry them off. Repeat this with your arms at you out horizontally and pointed upwards. The various parts of the body seems to be somehow connected (muscles or something). Taking care of your wrists is just one small part. Be sure and stretch everything else out as well. One of my favorites is to get in the boat, grab the cockpit combing at the front with my right hand, reach to the back with my left and twist my body. Hold the twist and breath for 15 seconds then repeat for the other side. My upper neck gets really stiff and this works wonders. It also has the added benefit of letting you practice turning around and seeing what is going on behind you. Anyone else have favorite stretches? -Patrick pmaun_at_bitstream.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Oct 21 2000 - 06:26:18 PDT
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