If you have been paddling out on the water for a while, you’ve probably experienced hand cramping and forearm fatigue.

The reason behind it is a lack of grip strength and endurance!

So, here are some tips to,

• Increase Paddle Grip Strength And Prevent Hand Cramping
• Improve Endurance And Combat Forearm Fatigue

How To Increase Paddle Grip Strength And Prevent Hand Cramping?

The Proper Way To Grip Your Paddle

A proper grip on your paddle will give you more grip strength and enable you to paddle efficiently. We may observe the process,

• Place one hand at the top of the paddle or the T-handle.
• Now, use the other hand to grip the paddle shaft.
• Move the shaft grip shoulder wide apart from the top hand.
• When paddling to the right, use the right hand to hold the pole.

There’s an easier way to find your ideal paddle grip. For this method, raise the paddle above your head. Then grip it with both hands by making a comfortable ninety-degree angle.

Make A Fist And Increase Your Range Of Motions

Making a fist will increase your control and give you access to a broader set of motions. Plus, it’s excellent for relieving hand pain.

Let’s take a closer look,

• Slowly and gently wrap your thumb across your fingers and make a fist.
• Hold your fist and wait for half a minute.
• Release your thumb and spread out the fingers.
• Make sure to repeat with both hands.

Do not put too much force into making the fist. After all, you aim to increase grip strength, not to throw boxing hooks!

Practice The Finger And Claw Stretch

For beginners, the finger and claw stretch gradually builds up better grip strength. All you need to do is,

• Place your palm face-down on a flat surface.
• Straighten out your fingers as far as you comfortably can.
• Keep the fingers straight for about a minute.
• For the claw stretch, bring the palm in front of you.
• Slowly bend down the fingertips to touch the base of each finger.
• Hold the claw for about half a minute.
• Make sure to practice with both hands.

These exercises require little effort. Yet, with these, you will gain a better grip with stronger fingers.

Squeeze A Soft Ball

Soft ball squeeze is the traditional way of increasing grip strength. You will need a softball for this exercise.

The softball squeeze process is,

• Place a soft ball within your palm.
• Squeeze with as much force as you can muster.
• Hold for a couple of seconds.
• Repeat 8-12 times with each hand.

This method is quite effective for increasing grip strength. However, take care not to overdo it.

Wrist Exercise With Lightweight Dumbbell

Another way to improve your paddle grip is to do wrist exercises with lightweight dumbbells.

For instance,

• Sit in a chair and use your legs as support.
• Grip the dumbbells and hang your wrists with palms facing down.
• Gently flex your wrists and make the knuckles point up.
• Slowly relax the wrist and lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
• Rinse and repeat with both hands.

How To Improve Endurance And Combat Forearm Fatigue?

The Proper Way To Breathe

Due to the ANS or the autonomic nervous system, breathing is second nature to us. However, you can still develop better breathing for more paddling stamina.

Here’s how to breathe correctly,

• Engage your abdomen and breathe in to fill your lungs comfortably.
• Hold for a couple of seconds for a better exchange of O2 and CO2.
• Breathe out through your mouth.

Paddle Stroke Recovery Techniques

Continuous paddling can be tiresome. A few fleshed-out recovery techniques can help you to paddle efficiently. 

We can view the process,

• Keep the paddle blade vertical as you pull it up.
• Try to splash as little water as possible.
• Chant a short mantra-like “breathe” in between paddle strokes for rhythm.

Engage The Core

You don’t want to paddle with only the arm muscles. Engage your core to use the bigger muscle groups in your body, and you will not tire quickly.

Engaging your core needs you to,

• Keep your back straight and bend slightly at the waist.
• Push down on the T-handle with upper body weight.
• Rotate the torso with the paddle strokes.

For more details, check out our post, “Is Paddle Boarding Good Exercise?.”

Do Cardio

Cardio is an excellent way to boost your paddling energy naturally. Besides, doing cardio will help you lose weight, improve lung capacity, and so much more!

Here’s what you can do,

• Stand with both feet about three inches apart.
• Slightly bend the knee of one leg and lift it off the surface.
• Hold for about 8-12 seconds.
• Then repeat with the opposite leg.
• Afterward, bend both knees to squat.
• Jump up in the air.
• Land gently on the balls of your feet.

Keep Hydrated

Keeping hydrated will ensure a more extended, practical paddling session. There are quite a few mainstream methods of keeping yourself hydrated.

Let’s take a look,

• Bring water bottles. It’s the traditional method.
• Get a hydration pack. It features a straw and backpack combo.
• If you are going to paddle for long trips, bring a filter.

After Session Recovery And Diet

Contrast Water Therapy

Alternating between warm and cold water while taking a shower will relieve most muscle pains. This hydrotherapy is popular among paddlers.

What you need to do is,

• Use room temperature water to shower for a minute.
• Once your body adjusts, you can turn on the warm water.
• Shower for about two minutes.
• Then, switch over to cold water for about 30 seconds.

While this method is effective, there are still risks involved. Take care not to use this if you have open wounds or other sensitive medical conditions.

Efficient Diet

A healthy diet will result in better metabolism and more strength, stamina while you paddle.

For instance,

• When constantly SUPing for long hours, eat low-fat and high-carb food.
• Limit sugar intake, as it can mess up even experienced paddleboarders.
• Consume 25-35 grams of protein in between 30 minutes of paddling.

Lean meat sandwich, banana, tuna, and chicken are ideal diet options for combating paddling fatigue.

The Bottom Line

A bit of practice, exercise, and following some tips enable you to gain a fantastic paddling experience.

Don’t be frustrated if you make some mistakes during the first tries. After all, persistence and patience is the key to becoming a better paddleboarder.

Once you have mastered the tips and techniques, put them to the test and start paddling!