Kayaking: Strong Shoulders

Repost from Brad Ludden

It's that time of year when the snow starts melting and the rivers start running and that means you need to be getting in shape for an epic paddling season.

As we all know, strong shoulders are key to a successful paddling season! There are a few simple movements you can be doing now to get your shoulders in peak shape for paddling this year.

1. The hand stand push up is a great movement that can be done at home or in the gym. There are several variations of this movement ranging from relatively simple to quite difficult. Here is a LINK to a video showing some of those variations.
2. Overhead squatting- depending on the weight you're using, you can do this at home with a broom stick or at the gym with a fair bit of weight on a barbell. Here's a LINK to a video showing the exercise. One note of caution- please start really light on this as you don't want to blow out your shoulders in the gym.
3. If all else fails, JOIN YOUR LOCAL CROSSFIT AFFILIATE! This is the best way to get in the best shape of your life in a short period of time.

If you're looking for a goal and want to help a good cause, I always recommend signing up for a TEAM FD challenge to challenge yourself and raise money for First Descents. By doing so, you'll pay it forward to a young adult with cancer so they too can paddle!