New SUP'er pulling muscles

[dabigkahuna]

I'm 58 yrs old and a life long prone surfer.  Besides surfing, I do a bunch of other water sports (kayaking, kite surfing, etc.) and I also paddled canoes as a kid.  I started SUP on flat water a few weeks ago and am still paddling on flat water.  I try to paddle for about an hour at least every other day.  I think I'm progressing in the sport OK, but I seem to be having muscle injuries I've never had before.  The first was a pulled shoulder muscle that I nursed for a couple days until it felt better.  Then an elbow pain that has taken over a week to get better.  Yesterday I pulled a muscle in my back, which fortunately is feeling better today.

My problem is that I'm not accustomed to having injuries like this and I don't know what's causing them.  Seems like every time I SUP, I pull a muscle.  I can prone surf for 4 hours in over head surf without a single pulled muscle, but an hour on flat water at a reasonable paddle rate and I end up with a pulled muscle.  I'm frustrated. 

My guess is that one of these are the cause:

1.  I'm not warming up enough?  I don't typically warm up before exercising, but maybe I should start.
2.  My paddle isn't long enough?  I'm 6'5" and my paddle is 86" long (the longest I could find).
3.  My form isn't correct?  I've not taken any lessons, but have watched some youtube tutorials which all seem to contradict each other.

[PonoBill]

Go to Dave Kalama's site and watch his paddle technique videos--you'll have to dig around a bit, they're old.

Make sure you are not pulling past your feet. If you stroke past your toes you'll be lifting water--that kills your back and elbows.

I don't know what you got for a paddle, but there's a few of them that I can't paddle with for more than 20 minutes without shoulder of elbow pain. Most of the popular paddles aren't a problem. I use Ke Nalu paddles with the xTuf(s) shaft and it actually seems to help my shoulder pain--meaning, when my shoulders are aching and I go paddle with it, my shoulders feel better. YMMV.

86 inches is probably fine--it might even be too long, but it depends on your body proportions and your technique. If you get the extended Ke Nalu shaft and the extended ergo-T handle you can go to about 94 inches (as I recall), though the extended shaft is only available in the 100 Flex, which might not be good for your joints. I think an xTuf(S) and extended handle will take you to 91. I think Lane has even longer extended handles now that he's come out with an adjustable paddle. Have someone look at where your arms are when you reach out in a normal stroke. If your upper arm is pointed upwards at an angle, your shaft is too long.

You probably don't want to hear that you need a new paddle, but there's probably about a hundred people on this forum that would tell you that prescription helped them.

[Bulky]

Bill's the expert on Paddles, but I'll second that--they make a big difference--and a nice one makes things really enjoyable.

Other things I'd (some of which you may already have seen on some of the tutorial) are be sure not to bend your elbows too much during your stroke--especially the lower one.  The fact that your elbows hurt might indicate that you're bending them (did with me).  I think of my arms and the paddle blade as a big triangle.  Without being too Frankenstein-like, try to keep that triangle solid as you stroke with the blade completely vertical (like you're trying to pull your board past a post sticking out of the water).  This tends to get you paddling with more of your muscle groups than just your arms.  You're not pulling the paddle toward you with your lower arm; you're more pushing the top handle away from you while utilizing your lower arm as a fulcrum.  Only time you should bend your lower elbow is when you're taking the paddle out of the water.

Given your size (and I'm a big guy too) you might be guilty of too much muscle.  I've discovered that light, steady quick strokes propel me better than big monster ones, which take longer and end up disturbing the forward motion of the board lots of times (and like Bill said, often go past the foot).  Practice quick, lighter, short strokes.

Hope that helps.  Lots of good videos out there.  The photo set Larry Cain has on the right side of this page shows how little he bends his arms. http://www.larrycain.ca/sup.html

[dabigkahuna]

The photo set Larry Cain has on the right side of this page shows how little he bends his arms.

I think I pulled a muscle just watching that video.  LOL    One thing I've noticed is how far forward the paddler bends at the waist.  I do that a bit, but not nearly as much as in that video.  Might try to get my wife to video tape me paddling.  Might be helpful to spot errors in my form.

[DavidJohn]

The photo set Larry Cain has on the right side of this page shows how little he bends his arms.

I think I pulled a muscle just watching that video.  LOL    One thing I've noticed is how far forward the paddler bends at the waist.  I do that a bit, but not nearly as much as in that video.  Might try to get my wife to video tape me paddling.  Might be helpful to spot errors in my form.

I'm no expert.. but I'm also not liking the big rotation of the upper arm when viewed from behind.. and paddle looks a little long..

I'm 6'4" and my paddle is  83" long.. (7 1/2" wide blade) ..

I try and keep my top hand moving up and down [or small ovals] rather than big looping circles..

The few strokes at the 2.12 mark in this vid are what I'm aiming for.. How does this compare with how you paddle?

[Bulky]

I try and keep my top hand moving up and down [or small ovals] rather than big looping circles..

In my paddles over the weekend, I was trying to note other stuff I do, Kahuna, and I agree with what DJ pointed out.  I also wouldn't worry about doing as pronounced a back bend as Cain does--we're not trying to set speed records--just go easy for starters.  Economy of movement helps minimize repetitive motion injuries.

A couple other things I've noted--don't grip the paddle too tight.  We tend to think equate a powerful stroke with that, but I try to keep my hands and arms "rigid but relaxed" during the stroke.  (that might be one of those frustrating oxymorons people tell you when you're trying to learn something).  This comes back to PBill's comments on your paddle. What are you using?  A good paddle has a way of finding it's own way in the water which means it doesn't need to be gripped as tight or held in place.  With my KeNalu, my lower hand is very loose.

Hope the pain's going away as you develop muscles and coordination (and STOKE!)

[Board Stiff]

Paddle length could be a factor.  I don't know what an appropriate length for you would be, but I recently found that taking a few inches of my paddle made it much easier to take shorter,  quicker strokes. OTOH,  I recently cut another paddle a lot shorter and found that it really hurt my shoulders. 

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