FREE SKYPE Session with Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trains Maui
March 16th, 2013
Here’s your chance to train with the best! Improve your stand up paddling now! Increase your core strength, leg strength, reduce foot and leg fatigue, catch every wave, bump and glide, step up your game now! With the purchase of ANY piece of Indo Board Balance Training Equipment, through this website, you will also get a FREE 15 minute SKYPE training session with
Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui
Hurry, deadline for offer ends June 16th, 2013
Suzie Cooneyis an Indo Board Team Rider, a professional fitness expert, sponsored SUP Team Rider for Naish and can help you take your training to the next level. You’ve seen the videos and nows your chance to get your best game on and learn all of her jewels specific to your training needs.
For stand up paddling, learn all the cool tricks and how to be more powerful and ready on your feet! Have your questions answered, watch do and learn! Don’t miss another wave and learn how you can reduce foot and leg fatigue, improve your balance, strength and confidence.
Her suggested gear is the Indo Board 24″ Gigante Flo Cushion combined with either the Rocker Boardfor beginner to intermediate use and/or the Kicktail Pro, her favorite for the more advanced training. She believes this premium combo offers the best in all dimensional training. Pictured left to right: The Indo Board Gigante Flo Cushion, The Pro Kicktail and the Rocker Board.
Suzie’e favorite! Pro Kicktail See photo above.
To learn more about how you can increase your SUP Performance with the Indo Board Balance Training Equipment and train like the pros, check out our videos and past articles:
These exercises will help you increase your overall SUP performance. They are presented with a clear progression from easier to advanced. All levels of paddlers can take away a few new training tips and techniques here.
As a trainer and paddler, I want to introduce a new concept that will help keep your brain and stand up paddling skills extra sharp in all dimensions.
What I mean by this is that we live and paddle in one dimension. We walk forward, we swim forward, we surf forward and we all can say we paddle forward. Sure we turn, we cut back and I have seen some paddle backwards to goof off, but we usually train and paddle in one dimension.
Now I have experienced, not on purpose; the act of sliding sideways on a big downwind glide. It’s almost like drifting in a racecar or doing what we call in the rally world, a 4-point drift! (Best freak’n, exciting rush ever!) Have you ever felt your board skid sideways? What did you? How did you react? Did you fight it or did you think it was way cool and go with it?
Have you practiced time and time again to step up; hop up over that small or medium sized wave or beach break attempting to get out, only to find yourself quickly stepping off the nose or back of board? These exercises will help you get up and over that small or medium side chop or wave.
Do you know how to brace yourself with your paddle before you fall? Can you instinctively plant your paddle without looking and confidently know it will be exactly where you need it, without falling off your board? Are you having trouble with quick turns into a wave or around a buoy? If so, these exercises will help you improve those skills too.
I want to tune you in to something that I do here in the studio or at the beach with some of my SUP folks and they don’t even know it. I’m training their brain to paddle and be in all dimensions at every moment. It’s not voodoo or island magic, it’s called training in different “dimensions or planes” of motion. I do this with force, no force, with weights or without weights.
For example we paddle forward on the right or left side of board in the sagittal plane, then we look and twist with our lower body to catch a wave or turn around a buoy in the transverse plane or lower superior of body. Sometimes when you’re doing a cut back, you’re paddling in all planes at once. As your board is sliding or floating across the lip of the wave you are now in the coronal or frontal plane.
This is trainer speak for and illustrated like this:
3 primary planes – transverse plane, frontal plane, and the sagittal plane.
Sagittal plane: divides body into right and left sides – We paddle left or right of board. Bracing with paddle lands us here.
Frontal plane: divides body into front/back – We respond, react and shift our weight as needed to recover, catch a bump or catch a wave here.
Learn Advanced First Aid for SUP Surfing – Prepare Yourself For Open Ocean Endurance / Safety – Learn Wave Etiquette & Board Handling – Gear Review -Downwind Paddling Tips – SUP Fitness Training Tips Watch on all mobile devices: iPad, Smart Phones, LapTops Desk Tops
Last week, we introduced you to Brian Coppedge of Haiku Maui, who was taking on the challenge of learning to SUP. Read all about his first experiences here. Brian has been hard at work (and play) this week and has more insight to share!
“Week of one of my SUP training is now in the book that means it must be time to bare my soul to all of my new friends. I was excited to get in the water on two back to back days this week and really saw a marked difference in my confidence and basic board handling skills. I can already see that my biggest challenge to meeting my goal by the May 12 event is going to be carving out enough time in my week to make sure I have ample board time.
I think the best way to approach covering this past week is to break it down into two parts; Part 1 “Water Training” and Part 2 “Land Training”
Part 1: Water Training
My partner Max and I headed out to a beach in Kihei near the 5 Palms Resort. The weather was perfect, sunny, fairly glassy conditions with just a little bit of wind to mix things up slightly. The first day’s goal was simply to get use to our new (used) 16ft board. The big challenge for me was that the board was much narrower than the board I had used when I went on my first lesson with Suzie. At just over 27 inches wide the board did not leave me much room for error.
After paddling about 100 yards out from the beach on my knees I started the process of trying to get up and stay up on the new board. First attempt went well, as I got up and managed to get in a good 10 or so paddle strokes before I leaned too much to the left and went Continue reading Brian Coppedge’s Downwind SUP Training and Fitness Blog Entry Two
Stand up paddlers of all skill levels gathered on the serene grounds of Lumeria Maui on November 3rd for the SUP Pro Talk Workshop with Suzie Cooney. The educational (and fun!) land-based event touched on many important topics for paddlers, including the health benefits of SUP, water safety and ocean preparedness, SUP fitness techniques and training demos, and equipment reviews.
Clay Everline, M.D., co-author of the Surf Survival Health Hand Book, was on hand with a valuable lecture on First Aid, and pro paddler, Jeremy Riggs, heated the afternoon up with his tips on downwind paddling. Suzie Cooney, as charming as ever, kept the crowd entertained and engaged with her informative and “hands on” teaching style.
The big winner of the day was the organization Bring Change 2 Mind, as 90% of the event’s proceeds went to supporting the group’s fight to erase the stigma and discrimination of mental illness. The organization, founded by actress Glenn Close, provides educational material and a meeting place for a broad coalition of organizations that provide service, screening, information, support and treatment of mental illness.
Suzie shares:
“We were thrilled to sell out three months in advance. That really confirmed to me that people are eager to learn and support the sport. I’m a big advocate of those dealing with mental illness, so I wanted to spread the word about the organization I support, Bring Change 2 Mind.org.
Clay Everline, M.D. was very informative and entertaining, as was Jeremy Riggs, our local downwind pro who shared some of his helpful tips. The participants had great questions, which was helpful for the entire audience!
For more Stand Up Paddling Fitness Techniques, Success Stories, Workouts and Upcoming Events, visit: standuppaddlingfitness.com
Stay tuned for the soon to be released educational video of this SUP Pro Talk Workshop. This will be available to download on all platforms in December 2012.
WOW, DON’T MISS OUT ON THE GENEROUS OFFER! FREE SHIPPINGTHROUGH DEC 17TH
“The most fun you’ll have off the water, I promise. You won’t even know you’re working out!”
For the BEGINNER to ADVANCED STAND UP PADDLER, This on-land training gear will totally increase your core and paddle power, leg strength and endurance, seriously improve your balance and reaction time.
Everyone knows that you’re coming to the Suzie Trains Maui studio or even at the beach, each session includes some serious time on the Indo Board line of training gear. For the beginner paddler, I may suggest the 24″ Gigante Flo Cushionthat compliments theRocker Board very well. For the intermediate to advanced paddlers the 24″ Gigante Flo Cushioncombined with the Kicktail Board is also a very fine choice.
In the photo above, I’ve placed my 9’0″ Naish Mana atop of the Gigante disc. More air or less air in the disc changes the exercise. ( don’t forget to removes fins )
In this photo, I’m “loading” my hips, legs and ankles with a 15lb kettle bell resting on my shoulder while I perform leg squats with 3-5s hold. WOW, burn. This helps increase total body and SUP board endurance. ( I’m on the “Kicktail” with just a little air in the Gigante to really make it work. )
I have so many videos on this website and articles that will help you advance your SUP skills and performance. So check them out!
The Indo Board Company stands behind their products and so do I.
Hop aboard and order yours today! If you need help deciding on what you may need for your health and training needs or for someone else on your list, please feel free to contact me through this website. I’m happy to help.
Maui, Hawaii: Suzie Trains Maui Studio
November 8, 2012 ( photos below of Kody & Casper training )
Kody Kerbox
You think you can keep up with these two on and off the water?! Good luck! Kody is wearing out the podium and Casper too. From big wave charging to long distance to sprint racing, the training today was TABATA! I chose these exercises to help express big, explosive power at the start, core and legs for waves and high speed upper body stuff. We had two Go Pros going!
I get totally fired up training my two Naish SUP team mates , Kody Kerbox and Casper Steinfath. After seeing them both perform at this year’s Battle of the Paddle with my own eyes and following their impressive stats, as a trainer and SUP paddler myself, I’m more impressed. Get used to seeing their names worldwide.
I had a couple of days on a photo shoot this past weekend with them as we chased a winter swell here on Maui and besides putting up with their usual ( Kody mostly ), comedic antics and talk of zombies and eating chili and rice at the Hana Store, I’m stoked to have had the chance to test them side by side and see what they had off the water with me! I’ve been training Kody a bit and we’ve had some other big wave guests, but I knew this would be extra fun.
I’ve seen Kody over the years develop and push himself and he’s got the Kerbox gene for sure, but observing Casper’s quick and sharp eye and
Casper Steinfath Photo Ian Borland
movements on the water are calculated and quite intense. They are both a perfect, competitive match.
My plan was to structure a workout they’d like as competitors, friends and teammates. Pairing them up for the next hour of intensity and keeping their stats side by side was interesting. TABATA training was my choice in the studio for I had a controlled environment and they were all mine! The exercise selection was purposeful and designed with stand up paddling’s demands in mind. They had never heard of it nor tried and they were game.
After a brief core warmup, my computer was ready feeding the program through the sound system, clipboard, circuit set up and the best part, two Go Pro Cameras mounted and ready. Kody and Casper are for sure competitive.
Tabata training; see my article on shocking your body with interval training here is an extreme challenge of high endurance, high heart rate circuit style training completed in a very short time with long lasting lingering effects. Kody and Casper’s sprint racing, big wave charging and long distance races can benefit from this type of training.
Always starting with an active warm up, advanced core training, balance training on dual IndoBoards on top of the Gigante Flo Cushion coupled with reaction force training and then on to the two Tabata circuit sessions. I kept their score and they were neck and neck in each circuit. Wow. Here are the results if you can read notes.
Stay tuned for the video follow up, but for now enjoy these photos. You can see that when I was busy taking notes, Kody is busy taking jabs at Casper! And Casper had a few moments of comedic performances “ON” camera, thanks to two mounted GoPro cameras here in the studio. Got ya!
Give a shout out to Kody and Casper next time you see them at an event or race or even here. Please leave a comment and wish them well. You can be sure you’ll be seeing them often, everywhere!
Check out the Naish Gear at http://www.naishsurfing.com. The selection is endless and will suit all levels of paddlers!
Also if you want to train like a SUP star, you can order your IndoBoard Balance Gear through my websites, or click here. My favorites are the IndoBoard Gigante Flo Cushion, used for SUP training in combination with the Kicktail Board or Rocker Board. Keep in mind, if you take out your fins on your board, you can put your SUP board directly on top of Gigante Cushion.
I hope this inspired you to get out there and shred. You too can be paddlers like Casper and Kody if you plan your training and that includes rest and recovery. Don’t forget to add balance and reaction force training; one component that is an absolute must if you’re going to stick big waves or go for distance.
Thanks guys! See you back in the studio soon and on the next swell.
Aloha, Suzie Cooney, CPT Owner of Suzie Trains Maui, LLC and Naish SUP Team Rider Share and care out there!
By Suzie Cooney, CPT owner of Suzie Trains Maui, LLC
It’s no doubt that Hunter Joslin, Indo Board Balance Trainer’s Founder and developer of the popular Gigante Flo Cushion, entertains and trains with me at this year’s Battle of the Paddle at Dana Point. Hunter was wowing the crowd with some tricks this weekend as Chip Martoccia, VP of Operations, and I cheered on.
Hunter Joslin and Suzie Cooney having Gigante fun at 2012 BOP, Dana Point
I’ve been a team rider and ambassador for Indo Board Balance Trainer for some time, and thoroughly enjoy my time with Hunter and crew. We never miss an opportunity to play around and challenge one another. He’s quite the surfer and in very good shape. We’ve shared a few waves together on Maui, and I can say he is just a little competitive!
As a SUP Team Rider for Naish, Hunter asked if I’d do this photo shoot and share some new tricks I’ve been working on in my studio here at SUZIE TRAINS MAUI to improve people’s stand up paddling strength. Of course! Turns out he had never tried or seen any of these so I was stoked but under the gun to give him my best.
These exercise are a bit advanced, but I encourage everyone to try them.
As one advances in stand up paddling technique, racing long distance or sprint racing or those who charge JAWS and other big waves, these folks understand already “where” their power is coming from.
September 30th, 2012: I’m posting this on the last night of Battle of the Paddle in Dana Point, CA. It was super fun but really hot and great waves! This weekend I witnessed the pros and the weekend warriors and you can bet these folks will have some sore muscles. From the intense levels of adrenaline and short interval sprints, to the the long distance race, some will recover faster than others.
Hydration, preparedness, planned training and proper rest are all important factors that really matter and determine how well you do on the big day or if you’re just cruising. So learning how to prepare your body before a session but more importantly, what you do after will allow you to get back on the water and recover more quickly.
In this video I wanted to share with paddlers of all levels, how to increase your performance and recovery time by resetting the muscle patterns we use most for paddling, to their natural state. By this we can increase blood supply for cell recovery, remove lactic acid and get you back on the water and help you feel energized and not do depleted and fatigued.
Paddle and train like the pros:
Let me know what you think and share what you’ve experienced with muscle soreness and recovery.
Suzie Trains Maui – and Eddie! Get Inspired and set your SUP fitness goals.
I have the pleasure of meeting people from all over the world who are full of Aloha and who want to conquer our famous 8 mile stretch of downwind stand up paddling, known as Maliko. We are approaching OluKai’s 5th Annual Ho’olaule’a SUP & OC1 Race in May of 2013 and there will be one more competitor to add to the line up, Eddie from Bend OR. Mark your calendars: Saturday, May 11th, 2013.
Follow his journey here as he prepares his body and mind for this monumental physical SUP adventure. Judy, his adoring fan and lovely wife and bad ass paddler, will document his training and preparation.
Together with Judy and a little guidance from me, Eddie will go!
Back in the day – 1967 to be exact – Ed and I were playing at surfing the mushy calf-high waves we had in balmy South Florida. From 1970-2007 we didn’t surf, using our ocean time to sail, scuba, windsurf, fish and raise the family. 2001 found us moving life to Oregon, and by 2007 we discover standup paddling and were back in the surf 4 decades later!
In the natural progression of things, two diverse events influenced our Summer 2012. One was Ed’s second rotator cuff surgery (yes, he was brave enough to go through that torture twice) and our trip to Maui to try the short version of the Ho’olaule’a event. Four days after the coolest downwind adventure either of us had experiences poor Ed went under the knife. But not before we were hooked on downwind, open ocean fun!
In the pictures above, it’s easy to see we are still the happy ocean-loving “kids” we were back in 1967 but it’s also easy to see that our abs are a bit worse for wear at age 63. Fortunately, just before the start of our event, Maui local and globally respected standup paddler/athlete, Suzie Cooney, provided a pre-race warmup. That gave us a chance not only to meet Suzie but to get to know a bit about her dedication to training a diverse group of clients from the casual paddler to elite athletes. As Ed went from wearing a sling to hefting the 3 lb weights he’s now using in PT we both made a commitment to getting into our best functional fitness over the next 8 months.
As much as we already know about exercise and nutrition, we realize that insights, motivation and programming provided by a respected professional is mandatory, especially as we embrace our seventh decade. Over the summer, Suzie Cooney has been kind enough to listen to our plan to follow her training “at a distance.” Nothing can replace actual time at her training facility with her customized training delivered face to face. Just the same, we have made a decision to glean as much as we can from her blog and conversations. We have a solid goal in mind. We plan to be at the start line on May 11, 2013 ready to enjoy the full Olukai Ho’olaule’a downwind run from Maliko Gulch to Kanaha.
“Pie in the sky” – This Saturday I plan to join other hopefuls as I buy a couple of lotto tickets – would be cool to win $5000 or so. We’d probably jet off to Maui in November and prepare for Maliko at Suzie’s upcoming clinic. Meanwhile, training in Oregon is underway. The “training table” is becoming ever more healthful and an Indo Board is on its way to our home. The digital age could very well allow us the best connection with our partner in preparation, Suzie Cooney. Most watched film this week – this training session from the Suzie Trains Maui blog. YES! We want endurance, core strength and balance. This is an excellent overview of some training options. Bring it, Suzie!
Please feel free to leave your comment for Eddie. Eddie and Judy, thank you for sharing and I’m looking forward to hearing the latest after his course of physical therapy. I know Eddie will come back stronger!
![OluKai_hooregist2013_300x250_comp01[2]](http://www.standuppaddlingfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/OluKai_hooregist2013_300x250_comp012.jpg)
Session with Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trains Maui
![STMplanesofmotion_final[1]](http://www.standuppaddlingfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/STMplanesofmotion_final1.jpg)
For more information about Bring Change 2 Mind, visit: 
In this photo, I’m “loading” my hips, legs and ankles with a 15lb kettle bell resting on my shoulder while I perform leg squats with 3-5s hold. WOW, burn. This helps increase total body and SUP board endurance. ( I’m on the “Kicktail” with just a little air in the Gigante to really make it work. )
results if you can read notes.
September 30th, 2012: I’m posting this on the last night of Battle of the Paddle in Dana Point, CA. It was super fun but really hot and great waves! This weekend I witnessed the pros and the weekend warriors and you can bet these folks will have some sore muscles. From the intense levels of adrenaline and short interval sprints, to the the long distance race, some will recover faster than others.
![OluKai_hooregist2013_160x600_comp01[1]](http://www.standuppaddlingfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/OluKai_hooregist2013_160x600_comp011.jpg)
