Functional Strength Training

[dasunluva]

I was watching a documentary on Laird Hamilton the other day and the guy does some crazy stuff with standing on a ball and specific training for surfing. Does anybody have any specific exercises that they do to specifically strengthen muscle groups for kayaking and that mimic kayaking outside of the "normal" stuff?

Luke

[cecil]

get one of those large excerise balls. sit on it and lift up your legs so you are balancing on it. not only will it drastically improve your balance, it will also strengthen your core. it has helped me out a lot.

[raftus]

Use a swiss ball, a low pulley (cable pull machine) and a 4 foot dowel or body bar. Sit on the ball and hold the bar like a paddle with your feet on the ground. Then place one end of the bar in the handle of the low pulley. You can then pull while rotating your torso like a paddle in the water. You can only train one side at a time, but it is a fair simulation of paddling and it gets the right muscles involved.

I also do a shoulder exercise on the swiss ball. First learn how to balance on your knees on top of the swiss ball. Then advance to doing a shoulder press in this position. After that advance to using a medicine ball and doing the following. Start with the ball in front of your body in both hands with elbows extended and hands at shoulder height. Transfer the ball into your right hand maintaining an extended elbow and more the ball to your right side while also moving your left hand to your left side. Now you should be in a iron cross position with both arms extended at shoulder level with both elbows locked. Then bring your hands together directly overhead and transfer the medicine ball to your other hand. Lower your hands to shoulder level while keeping your elbows extended. You are back in the iron cross now with the ball in your left hand. Now bring your hands together in front of you. That is one rep. Do 2 sets of 15 in each direction. You can also do this shoulder exercise while sitting on the ball; it is more challenging in the sitting position.

[gh]

Damn cecil, thats seriously hard. How long can you maintain your balance that way?

[TimmyHo]

Originally Posted by gh

Damn cecil, thats seriously hard. How long can you maintain your balance that way?

We were doing that last Christmas after a few beers, funny stuff! Mom about took out the tree! Once you can maintain balance, make yourself rock back and forth to make it a little harder

[gh]

I will probably end up with a broken arm