Improving your balance on a paddle board

Jo from the Paddle Cabin gives us some great tips on improving your balance while stand up paddle boarding. Even if we’ve been paddling for a while, we can always learn some new tips and tricks to help us be better, paddle faster and paddle longer. Watch below and see you on the water.

Hi I’m Jo and I’m a SUP coach here at the Paddle Cabin. Today we’re going to be talking about tips for improving your balance whilst you’re out paddle boarding.

Where to look

So the first tip is around where you look. Often you look down if you’re feeling a bit unsteady or a bit nervous, but if you keep looking ahead and keep looking where you want to go, that’s going to really help improve your balance.

Body position

Next it is about your body. Try and keep your knees really soft when you’re paddle boarding. It can be really tempting to lock out your legs and lock out your body, but that can make you a bit more unstable, so just try and keep your knees soft and that will absorb the motion of the water underneath your board.

Rock the board

Whilst we’re paddling, I want you to have a think about rocking the board underneath your feet a little bit, so it’s just getting a bit of movement in your legs and getting you used to the motion of the board moving underneath you. But you’re in control of it this time. This can help build your balance up over time and you get more comfortable and confident on the water.

Using your paddle

Another tip is around using your paddle. If you’re feeling a bit unsteady or you lose your balance, your natural reaction can be to put your hands in the air and that brings your paddle out of the water. If we try and paddle through it and keep our paddle moving through the water, and moving at speed, it will keep you more stable because your paddle is a third point of contact that you have with the water. So this is about trusting your paddle and using it to help stabilize you.

So there we have a few things to practice there next time you go out. If you’re still researching your board and feel like you’ve now got enough tips and tricks and you’re ready to hit the water, have a look at all the all round inflatable SUPs we have available.