Stand Up Paddling Fitness

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!

Casper

Kody Kerbox

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!

Casper his beach back home!

Kody Kerbox