Hey TotalSUP readers! It’s Robert Norman AKA SUPerman here with a fun paddle tip. Today’s subject matter is beach starts. This is applicable for a race situation…or just trying to look smooth when you go on your next paddle adventure.
The first clip is primarily how many people look, very timid, cautious and unprepared. A slow walk to the water and NOT utilizing the foreward momentum onto the board. Fin gets stuck in the sand. Having to paddle while kneeling. Switching sides after only 2 strokes. Overall a very slow start.
With a few cues in mind and some practice you can fly into the water like in the second clip.
The first step is determining where you are placing the board. Make sure you don’t drag that fin, or a faceplate is imminent.
Next is how you’re going to transition from pushing the board off to standing on your feet. You don’t necessarily need to belly down (although it looks the coolest and provides the most glide.)
You can also push off and throw your knees onto the board so you’re in a kneeling position before standing. This is beneficial since transitioning to your feet is slightly quicker.
So you have less board glide from the run, but you start paddling faster. The decision is up to the paddler. My transition on this board isn’t as graceful since I have a recessed deck here… so I usually belly down!
Either way, this is crucial, the entire point is to gain forward moment and project it into free board glide. A good transition will be 20-30 feet of glide on the water without even paddling.
Third, have your paddle securely on the shaft on the exact position and side you’re going to paddle on. This way, when you stand your opposite hand simply goes to the top handle you begin paddling.
You’ll see in clip one I don’t have my paddle where I want and the first thing I do when I stand is switch sides. This is the worst time to switch! Be ready to paddle immediately when you stand by having that hand ready. The less time spent switching sides the more time spent going forward!
Start by practicing going a walking speed and deliberately think about each move here. Over time you can start to accelerate and make it all seem very seamless each time!
Thanks for reading! Right now through TotalSUP I’m offering a special for online coaching. A video analysis and a month’s worth of on the water workout routines for 25$! If you are interested contact me through [email protected]
Hello again TotalSUP readers! It’s SUPerman back with a new paddle tip. This is another simple tip that will help you maximize your body to paddle better. Many of these paddle tips are going to be on better muscle engagement and postural cues to help athletes. Let’s talk about hip engagement and how crucial it is to SUP success. Now, I’ve talked to a […]
Hello again TotalSUP readers! It’s SUPerman back with a new paddle tip. This is another simple tip that will help you maximize your body to paddle better. Many of these paddle tips are going to be on better muscle engagement and postural cues to help athletes. Today, let’s take a step back from our stroke and just look at where we are holding the […]
Hello again TotalSUP readers! It’s SUPerman back again with a new paddle tip. This one is another simple tip that will help you maximize your body to paddle better. Many of these paddle tips are going to be on better muscle engagement and postural cues to help athletes. Today, let’s look at the reaching phase of the stroke. Reaching is […]
Hello again TotalSUP readers, it’s SUPerman back with another paddle tip! This one isn’t exactly a “right or wrong” type of paddle tip… more of something to think about and experiment with. Today we are talking about stroke speed (the time and length your paddle is in the water), and understanding your boards glide. The […]
Hello again TotalSUP readers! It’s SUPerman back again with an other paddle tip. This one is a simple tip that will help you maximize your body to better paddle. Many of these paddle tips are going to be on better muscle engagement and postural cues to help athletes. Today we are talking about upper back […]
Hey TotalSUP readers! It’s Robert Norman AKA SUPerman here with another paddle tip! Water starts are a prominent feature in SUP races. Two easy tips to get ahead of the crowd in your next race or your next friendly sprint with a friend. In the first clip, I take three full strokes then switch sides. […]
Hey TotalSUP readers it’s Robert Norman AKA SUPerman back with another paddle tip. This one is a really easy one to implement into your stroke. Simply looking at your paddle blade will let you know you if you are doing this. I’m talking about having a clean catch. The catch is the initial entry of […]
Robert Norman, the new (and first) Men’s 24 hour SUP Guinness World record holder received a little surprise from QuickBlade’s very own founder Jim Terrell yesterday: a superb commemorative paddle, with the SUPerman sign (SUPerman being Robert’s nickname). Also on it, the inscription “Robert Norman, World Record, 24 hours, 111,8 miles”. Here is what Robert said on his […]
By Robert Norman Greetings again readers! I’m Robert Norman, SUP paddler from Florida and today we will be delving into my training and supplies for the Guinness World Record attempt on Feb 10th-Feb 11th at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. The current number to beat to be put into the men’s record is 99.4Mi or […]