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How would you say canoeing fits into an overall fitness routine?

"You can do it at a lot of different levels—easy flat-water to fitness paddle,” says Bruce. "For example, I have a friend who has someone drop him off at the far end of a long lake about twice a week, and then he paddles the ten miles back to his house. Whitewater is physically demanding; finesse can get you a long way, but getting in better shape also helps. Some people lift, and there are fairly specific weightlifting exercises you can do to train for whitewater. Older canoeists and kayakers especially should be careful to prevent shoulder injuries, since shoulder injuries are one of the most common types of canoeing injuries, so strengthen your shoulders.”

Ryan describes the way he trains his youth paddling team: "The younger kids’ season runs from April til September. It ends with the BC championships. We do off-water cross-training with the older group and cut down on-water time in winter—running, weights, and a bunch of swimming.”

"I do training outside the boat—weights, running, trying to develop all of the muscle groups equally,” says Mike. "In canoeing you use an awful lot of your lower body, all the muscle groups. I hike every day, bike when I can, go to the gym—so do most other paddlers. People with back problems sometimes say that paddling a canoe makes the back feel better. Kayaking is the other way around; it can make your back hurt.”


What canoeing stories would you like to share with our readers?

Bruce says, "We once took a 5 day trip down the Green River. It’s a great example of how people can participate at different levels—our group had 5 kids total, aged 3- 12. We had some serious paddlers in the two front boats; we’d take a couple of kids up in the front boats and paddle hard. Since there were some beginners in the two back boats they went more easy, and we’d meet up from time to time during the day. It’s a nice way to integrate several paddling styles. We’ve been on a number of river trips, and it’s a really formative experience, especially for kids.”

Ryan agrees that canoeing can be a great group experience. "Every year we get a bus full of people who make time trials and do the 32 hour drive to Regina Canada Day (a regatta). It’s a huge bonding experience. I did that trip when I was competing, and now with the team I’m coaching. It’s nice to continue the tradition.” Some team memories are funny: "Once a photographer came to take pictures of us getting into the water. We were all focused on the camera while we were getting boats. One girl walked off the end of the dock because she was focusing on the photographer.”

"I’ve paddled every year on multiple-day trips, as group leader,” says Mike. "We do the middle fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. It’s a 100-mile trip, and takes five days, so we average 20 miles per day. It’s easy; you get into a rhythm of doing it. It’s not work. The river moves at 3 miles per hour, so it’s really not hard to do some of those longer trips. You can have canoes, kayaks, tandems, solos. You can take a fairly inexperienced person in a tandem. Most of our trips have raft support, and they’re good for groups of mixed ability. Recreationally, 5 hours is a normal, fun day. If I go seven, eight, or nine hours these days it starts to seem like work.”


Canoeing Equipment

For the ideal canoeing adventure, it's important to have the right canoe and accessories, and to know about selecting the right location. We have an in-depth article that covers all that and more. Click here to go to Canoeing Right: Equipment, Locations, and Safety.

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