This weekend I had the opportunity to do a canoe race. I did it with my cousin Jr. in a two man canoe from Hanamanu to Kahului harbor. Approximately 25 mi. I rediscovered one of my own best known secrets. Breath. Quite a simple fact. We all need air, we all breathe naturally. Only this race just reminded me how important that simple fact is. All the technique in the world won’t mean a thing if you don’t feed your muscles oxygen. One of the best tips I will ever share with you is this, the harder you work, the more you must breathe. Let’s say we give the work you do a scale of one to ten, and the breathing too. If you are working at a level of 8, you must breathe at a level of 8. You cannot work at 9 and breathe at 6. You won’t last. So today’s tip is simple and short.
Breathe
Here’s how important it is to me
There are lots of breathing articles on the web. Here’s a useful one: Breathing exercises But you should find some breathing exercises that are best for you, and experiment with them.
Aloha,
Dave
I’m loving all the helpful posts Dave. i’m new to SUP but very stoaked. On the subject of breath, i have been doing some research on my own lately and just thought i’d share a few things that i found in case any of your followers are interested. As you said there are many breathing exercises to be found online, including breath exercises using ARDs (air restriction device) which provides resistance training for the diaphragm. there is also a technique developed in the 60s for olympic athletes and respiratory patients called ‘breathing coordination’ developed by Carl Stough aka Dr Breath. it kind of uses sound production upon exhale to provide resistance for the diaphragm in order to strengthen it. just thought i would share in case anyone wants to investigate on their own.
i was wondering, and i understand if this is not possible, but is there any chance of you giving us your take on how to develop rock solid basics and avoid bad habits when learning SUP? it would be nice to hear the ideas of someone of your skill on how to learn it properly and what you would consider great technique or training if you had to do it all over again.
your posts and sharing are very inspirational and helpful, thanks for including us in the loop a bit. peace.
–Chris
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the comments. As far as learning goes I would say don’t worry about it to much. If you get ten experts together and ask them all the same question you’ll get ten different “expert” opinions. I would say just focus on having fun. If you feel that you want to race, that’s the point where you need to concern yourself with technique. As long as you’re standing on a board, your stroke moves you around and you’re smiling, you are doing most of it right. If you get to the point where you want to improve your technique, there is plenty of information on line.
Aloha,
Dave
Hello Dave,
i must admit to having become a bit of a fan of your blog.
What a great surprise when I found today a story regarding one of my life’s paths and passions.
As a yoga teacher I specialize in the art and science of pranayama which you seam to be familiar with.
Through others and lots of personal experience, i know the potential of breathing and the enormous benefits it can bring both in sports and everyday health.
As a matter of fact, I have just returned from a five month trip to India where I furthered my studies with one of the last remaining gurus in pranayama, Sri O.P. Tiwari.
So I would like to thank and congratulate you for bringing this subject to people’s attention and urge anyone who wants to improve their health with some easy practices to read this article.
Pranayama is a huge science of it’s own but even some basic excesises can go a long way. happy breathing !
all the best,
noa
Hi Dave,
I just finished doing the Catalina Challenge, solo for 39.8 miles on an SUP, on the Naish 17′Glide of course! If I didn’t have the concept of how important breathing was, I probably wouldn’t have made it, especially the last 10 miles when your body is exhausted.
I teach a fitness class and it’s the one thing I constantly tell people, “breathe”. People tend to hold their breath when they are doing something strenuous and then they feel light headed and dizzy, not a good feeling. As an endurance athlete you cannot allow your body to go there. Learning to breath properly has helped me excel in stand up paddle racing. Breathing calms the body and allows the oxygen to keep our muscles and mind functioning properly. I learned as a long distance runner how to reverse a side ache through breath and that’s when I realized how powerful just breathing can be.
Keep up the great posts, everyone is enjoying them!
Cheers,
Karen
Hi Dave,
First off: I’m a big fan of your blog and am always looking forward to your new posts.
I’m working on a breathing post of my own for the Zen Waterman blog. I have been asking different paddlers about their breathing patters and was hoping I could get some input from you on how you breathe, i.e. one exhale per pull etc. and if you vary your breathing patterns depending on conditions, stroke rate etc.
Thank you in advance.
Aloha, Robert Stehlik