The days are getting longer and warmer and in the morning you leave the house to the lively chirping of birds – when spring is in full bloom, it drives many sun-seekers out of the house. If the winter fat still sits on the hips, the motivation for sporty activity grows. But who wants to spend their free time in the gym when the weather is so nice? Those who like to exercise and enjoy nature at the same time should try their hand at paddling.
Different types of canoes
Paddling or canoeing, respectively, can also be combined with cycling and hiking and thus explore and enjoy nature in many ways. Unlike the rowboat, when paddling the canoeist sits in the direction of travel and also has only one paddle, which is not attached to the boat. There are two types of canoes: the kayak with a double paddle and the Canadian canoe, which is moved sitting or kneeling with a stand-up paddle.
Canoeing: Sport for the whole family
Paddling is suitable for young and old and can be learned at almost any age (children should not be younger than eight years old to sit alone in a canoe). Canoeing is a low-risk, extremely versatile sport. What makes paddling special is its close relationship with nature. Paddling also emphasizes environmental protection. Canoeing is therefore an ideal way to teach young people about a responsible approach to the environment in a fun way, while at the same time promoting fitness.
98 percent of all German canoeists practice canoe hiking. Canoeing usually involves shorter trips on calm waters combined with longer hiking tours, often with camping. Special canoe tours invite to a weekend trip or vacation trip. A special kayak offers a lot of storage space, but canoe rental companies sometimes offer the service of transporting them separately. If you want to combine canoeing with adventure, experienced canoeists can try rafting, whitewater kayaking or canoe slalom instead of canoeing.
Paddling and physical fitness
If you want to go canoeing, you need to meet only minor physical requirements. The first basic requirement is that you should be able to swim well. Mostly, canoeing involves moving the upper body. The strongest load in paddling occurs on the torso and arms. The upper body is dynamically loaded, and there is also a static load on the lower body. If there are pre-existing conditions in these areas, a doctor must be consulted to rule out possible dangers of overuse or other problems. Accordingly, sore muscles occur during paddling, especially in the arms and upper body. Canoeing trains endurance, strength, coordination, and a sense of balance and tactics to varying degrees, depending on the discipline.
In order to minimize possible dangers, one should pay attention to certain measures, even if one only occasionally swings into the kayak. In addition to the obligatory life jacket, head protection is a must – a helmet is not absolutely necessary in shallow, calm waters, but headgear to protect against the sun should not be missing, nor should sunscreen, or appropriate clothing to prevent sunburn. Spare clothes also belong in the canoe.
Canoeing and health
Those who practice paddling regularly as a sport need a strong and flexible back, and the same applies to the shoulders. Balancing exercises are therefore important. There is also a risk of tendonitis due to the constant holding and turning of the paddle when canoeing. Keeping the arms warm and learning to hold the paddle loosely will reduce the risk. Longer canoe trips should be interspersed with frequent breaks to avoid overuse and fatigue and to perform loosening and stretching exercises.
For example, those who engage in coastal canoeing or otherwise enjoy taking their kayak out on large bodies of water easily expose themselves to the risk of hypothermia – and not just during the cold season. Paddling in summer can also be dangerous, especially since the body can only compensate for heat loss at water temperatures of 32 degrees and above. Even at a water temperature of 25 degrees, the body can become hypothermic in the long term, as a person is said to cool down about 25 times faster under the same temperature conditions in the water. On the other hand, when paddling at high temperatures, the risks of heat stroke must be considered.
