Stand-up paddle-boarding (SUP) can look a little tame. Tranquil backdrops, lapping waters, a lone paddler gazing into the middle distance: it’s basically canoeing for the Instagram influencer. But there’s another kind of SUP that burns your core, leaves your shoulders in bits and tests your balance, coordination and stamina. This is the world of SUP racing, and I am its newest inhabitant.
Balancing at the tip of a four-person board, I’m jostling for position with hulking eastern Europeans at the Dragon World Championships on Lake Annecy in south-eastern France. More precisely, I am up the proverbial creek de merde. Before I arrived a day ago as part of Team Nike Swim, the championships’ headline partner, I’d done a bit of paddle-boarding – but the 30 minutes I spent floating across the Swan River in Perth don’t seem relevant in this semi-final. Instead, it’s the advice of Martin Letourneur, a Nike Swim paddle-boarder and the anchor of our team, that I try to remember: “Whatever happens at the start, you must give yourself room to paddle.”
In an attempt to secure myself some space, I nudge the Team Latvia board a few centimetres with my paddle. Bad move. My bulkier Latvian opposite number is staring at me. “Don’t push me,” he intones, “or I’ll push you.” But more about him later.
SINKING FEELING
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s all being taken so seriously. SUP is suddenly making waves. The Statista Research Department estimates that the industry will be worth as much as R155bn by 2020, double its valuation just four years ago. And according to a Royal Yachting Association survey, in places such as the UK, more than 600,000 people tried paddle-boarding in 2018, an increase of 53.5% since 2016. And that’s minus the better weather we Saffers enjoy.
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Men's Health South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CAN YOU REMIX YOUR MINDSET?
YOU KNOW MUSIC ALTERS MOOD. NOW A NEW APP PROMISES THE RIGHT TRACKS CAN SOOTHE STRESS, BOOST PRODUCTIVITY AND LEVEL UP YOUR GYM GAINS.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET REALLY SO ?
AND DOES IT REALLY FIGHT OFF DISEASE? WE LOOK AT THE DATA.
THE SEMI-COMPLETE USER'S GUIDE TO...YOUR LUNGS
THEY POWER A WORKOUT, FILTER OUT INVADERS AND WORK FOR US 24/7-UNLESS GERMS, POLLUTANTS, BAD LUCK OR OUR OWN NEGLECT GETS IN THE WAY. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND DISCOVER HOW TO HELP THEM OUT.
ACTION MAN
THERE WAS NO MIRACLE FIX FOR TIMOTHY FAIRWEATHER'S HEAVIER PROBLEMS. THE SECRET: TAKING SMALL ACTIONS EVERY DAY TO BUILD UP TO MASSIVE RESULTS.
THE MUSCLE SPRINT
CRUSH ALL MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS, BLAST CALORIES AND SUPERCHARGE YOUR CARDIO WITH THIS DUMBBELL WORKOUT, WHICH HAS AN INTENSE 55-REP LADDER SCHEME THAT MINIMISES REST AND MAXIMISES FUN.
THE ULTIMATE SUMMER BODYWEIGHT BURNER
BUILD MUSCLE AND STRENGTH AND CHALLENGE YOUR COORDINATION AND ATHLETICISM WITH THIS NO-EQUIPMENT WORKOUT.
RISE OF THE BEASTS
THIS YEAR'S MILESTONE TENTH EDITION OF OUR COVER GUY SEARCH DREW 413 GUYS WHO EMBODY SELFLESSNESS, GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE. THEIR ANIMALISTIC DEVOTION TO FITNESS AND TALES OF TRIUMPH WILL INSPIRE YOU TO GREATNESS.
...I LOSE MY COOL?
DON'T WHITE-KNUCKLE IT. LEARN TO UNDERSTAND, OWN AND ULTIMATELY TAME YOUR OUTRAGE WITH OUR EXPERT POINTERS. DEEP BREATH, NOW...
MOVING MOUNTAINS
LONG HAULS, STEEP CLIMBS, EXTREME COLD AND OTHERWORLDLY LANDSCAPES IN THE CEDERBERG-OUR WRITER TAKES ON THE ELEMENTS AND UNEARTHS A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON A FIVEDAY TREK ALONG PHANTOM PATHS CUT THROUGH BEWITCHING SCENERY.
THE NEW PLYO POWER-UP
HOW MODERN TAKES ON AN OLD FITNESS FAVOURITE CAN CALIBRATE YOUR TRAINING FOR AN INSTA-BOOST OF ATHLETICISM AND STRENGTH.
