Mountain High Outfitters

Wassup? While your first reaction may have been “what do you mean “what’s up” were actually referring to the newest craze in waterports.

SUP stands for Stand Up Paddling or as it is commonly called SUP.
SUP is one of the safest approaches to water sports and is the fitness frenzy of the summer and is best used in bodies of water without surf such as: lakes, rivers and bays. However, if you are a surfer you can challenge yourself to paddle into waves. Novices will rush into learning this sport to get better at it and experienced surfers may never go back to just surfing.

If you’ve always been fascinated by surfing but were a bit apprehensive SUP just may be the water sport that will satisfy your recreational and fitness needs.

The SUP trend is catching up all over the world and especially in the US. It is an old sport (started in late 60s in Hawaii) which has a deeper root in Venice, Italy where the gondolas were moved using long paddles. Granted the gondolas are easier to handle compare to the boards used in SUP, but the idea comes from one of the oldest modes of transportation.

This fad has generated interests in all age groups, from toddlers to people in their 60’s and above. Although requires skills and stamina it seems to have picked the interests of many who love the water and have experienced kayaking and surfing as well as those who never even tried any of the comparable sports before.

SUP

Need a workout? You can trade your gym membership and yoga class or at least enhance them with this sport. If you need a full body exercise while really having fun stand up paddling is a great way to strengthen and tone any and all muscles. Since humans are made to stand upright; stand up paddling leads to less muscular imbalance than regular surfing. The position of standing parallel on the board works the legs more and the pivoting and leaning work the abs. All this leads to better conditioning for other sport activities. Paddling exertion will also benefit the arms, back, shoulders, abdomen and legs. All in all, mixing fun and cool water with a workout also increases success probabilities.

Americans in large numbers are standing on boards and paddling, a balancing act that strengthens the muscles of the legs, buttocks, back, shoulders and arms. Paddle boarding requires constant balance and with that comes a great amount of core strength which is essential for everyone. Paddlers stand with feet apart and knees slightly bent. Newcomers should first kneel on the board and paddle before trying to rise to a standing position. Once standing, it’s pretty easy to stay that way. Larger boards can accommodate two people for a combo ride.

Now, one may want to know how much does one of these boards cost. The new custom SUP board prices range from $600 to $1500 and most use Glass-Reinforced Plastic. Other SUP boards are made from hallow wood that are treated with epoxy resin and some are made from foam.

The board sizes range from 9 feet up to 12 feet and require paddles that are 6 to 8 inches longer than the paddler. And in case you want to know US Coast Guard now considers the Paddle Board as a vessel which required the paddler to wear a Personal Floatation Device (PFD) in some regions.

So jump in, get wet and fit and enjoy the ride and never let anyone tell you again, you can’t walk on water.