The Exit Self Check: Why Your Shoulders Are Sore After Every Paddle
Better Paddler series, part 3 of 4: the exit.
Sore shoulders, tight traps, a grumpy elbow or wrist after every paddle. Before you blame the distance, watch how your blade leaves the water. The exit should be the lightest thing you do. Six questions, then the fixes.
This is the written version. The video for this part of the stroke is on our Instagram and Facebook. Watch it there to see it moving, then come back here and run the checklist.
Why the exit matters
Paddle. Exit problems usually start earlier. If the middle of the stroke was good, the blade is out wide at your hip and it comes out of the water on its own. If the blade stayed tight to the boat, it is stuck, and you have to get it out somehow. So you lift it with your elbow. Or you shrug it out with your traps. Or the stroke runs long past your hip because you are still trying to free it.
Body. If I asked you to lift the heaviest thing you could, you would deadlift it with your legs, hips and back. You would not shoulder press it. Lifting a loaded blade out of the water with your elbow and your traps is a shoulder press, repeated thousands of times a session. That is where the soreness comes from.
The trap is thinking effort equals speed. It does not. Any extra work at the exit, or at the catch, works against the boat. Keep both ends of the stroke light and put the effort in the middle.
The self check
Answer yes or no. Film from behind if you can, it shows almost all of these.
Does your blade come out by your hip, not behind it?
Does it leave the water wide of the boat?
Does your hand lead the blade out, with your elbow staying in?
Do your shoulders stay down, with no shrug?
Does your bottom hand come up high after the exit?
Does the exit feel light?
Failed a check? Here is the why and the fix
No to 1 or 2: the problem is in the middle
A blade that exits late or tight to the hull was never sent out wide in the first place. No exit drill will fix that. Go back to the middle of the stroke self check and work on the blade tracking away from the boat. Fix that and this one tends to fix itself.
No to 3 or 4: you are lifting the blade out
An elbow that flares up and out, or a shoulder that hikes towards your ear, means you are carrying water up with the blade. The stroke is finished at the hip. From there your hand leads, the elbow stays in, and the blade slices out with nothing on it.
Drill: miss the stroke. Every third stroke, do not put the blade in. Swing right through in the air, bottom hand up to meet the top hand, and let the boat glide. With no water on the blade you feel exactly how light the exit should be, and it sets you up perfectly for the next catch.
No to 5 or 6: you finish low and heavy
If the bottom hand stays low after the exit, you are not set for the next catch, so the next stroke starts late and short. The bottom hand should come up high to meet the top hand. That is the exit and the set up in one move.
Drill: pause at the exit. Blade out at the hip, hands together and high, count one, glide. Then take the next catch. Twenty strokes, then paddle normally and keep the hands finishing high.
One caution. If a shoulder has been sore for months, see a physio as well. Technique takes the load off, but it does not replace getting an injury looked at.
How to use this on your next paddle
Run the six questions over five easy minutes.
If 1 or 2 is a no, work on the middle first.
Otherwise pick the first no and do its drill for five minutes.
Finish easy and check your shoulders the next morning. That is the real test.
Get your stroke looked at properly
The exit is the hardest part of the stroke to judge on your own, because the cause is usually somewhere else. One on one coaching puts a coach in the boat beside you. If you are not in Perth, send me your footage and I will break it down for you with a virtual technique analysis and feedback.
Prefer the water? Book one on one coaching here.
The fastest way to get ahead
If you want a big jump in a short time, come on a camp. It is a proper getaway where all you think about is paddling. You get lots of video feedback on what your stroke is doing and how you are catching waves, and you put it into practice straight away, in conditions made for it, with like minded people. That is where the massive gains happen.
Not ready for a camp? Come to a session or clinic, your first one is free with the code firstsessionfree, or send me your footage for a virtual technique analysis.
Next in the series: rhythm and recovery, and why your boat stops between strokes.
Comments