Kayaking & Paddling

Move · Cardio · Movement, Typed Supps

Almost the only common cardio driven mainly by your upper body.

Stage by stage

Warm-up (Shoulders and trunk): Warming the shoulders and trunk matters, since both take repeated rotational load.
During (Torso rotation drives the stroke): Power comes from trunk rotation, with the arms acting as connectors rather than generators.
Effort ceiling (Smaller working muscle mass): Upper body exercise reaches only 70 to 80% of the oxygen uptake achievable with the legs, so heart rate runs higher for a given effort.
Days later (Upper body and trunk endurance): Aerobic fitness improves alongside upper body and trunk muscular endurance.

Muscles trained

Primary: lats, shoulders
Secondary: abs, biceps, heart

Intensity

5 METs (Kayaking, moderate effort).

Time to effect

Weeks: Aerobic fitness and upper body endurance improve with consistent paddling.

Related supplements

Common myth

“Paddling is an arm workout.” In reality: Torso rotation supplies most of the power — arm-dominant paddling fatigues quickly and is the main source of shoulder problems.