What muscles work when paddleboarding?

Paddleboarding is an excellent physical activity for working the muscles of the upper body in depth, toning and strengthening them, without the risk of injury.

• The back is certainly the most stressed part of paddling. Indeed, the paddle movements to move forward require a pulling action that solicits the muscles of the latissimus dorsi, trapezius and rhomboids.
• In paddle boarding, balance is ensured by the contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the abdominal belt. These muscles allow your body to find its balance point on the board. Also, when you’re paddling, your upper body needs to stiffen, and that’s when your abdominal muscles kick in, contracting.
• Strengthening exercises :
  • Plank: To strengthen all core muscles.
  • Oblique crunches: To target the obliques.
  • Trunk rotations: To improve trunk stability and mobility.

• The muscles of the arms and shoulders are also very much in demand during paddleboarding, providing the link between your abdominal and back muscles. Paddling movements transmit effort from your abdominals to your lats and involve the deltoid and pectoralis major muscles, which work synergistically to allow shoulder rotation and paddle thrust. You’ll quickly notice that the paddle tends to pop out of the water when you pull it back towards you. In this case, your shoulders should exert light pressure on the shaft to keep the paddle blade submerged.
• Finally, the arm muscles, especially the biceps and triceps, are also involved in the paddling motion, while the forearms are used to maintain a firm grip on the paddle.

• Strengthening exercises :
  • Pull-ups : To strengthen the back and arms.
  • Bench press: To work the pectorals and triceps.
  • Lateral raises: To target the deltoids.