The Middle of the Stroke Self Check: Are You Paddling With Your Arms?
Better Paddler series, part 2 of 4: the middle.
You have legs. Most paddlers barely use them. If your forearms and shoulders are cooked at the end of a paddle and your legs feel fresh, the middle of your stroke is where it is going wrong. Five 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 middle matters
Paddle. Through the middle of the stroke the blade has to travel diagonally, out and away from the boat. Moving like that it works as a wing. It creates lift, it holds the water, and you lever yourself past that point. Pull the blade straight back beside the hull and it stalls. A flat blade dragged straight back does grip the water, the same way a flat rudder does turn a boat. Neither is efficient.
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. Drive your leg, rotate from the hips and the abs, and what you produce is a twist. A twist sends the blade out to the side, which is exactly where the paddle wants to go. The only part of your body that can pull a paddle straight back beside a boat is your arms and shoulders. So a blade that stays tight to the hull is the sign that your arms are doing the work.
The self check
Answer yes or no. A clip from above or from directly behind makes the first one easy to judge.
Does your blade finish well out from the boat, not tight beside the hull?
Are your legs working, with the leg on the stroke side driving the footplate?
Does your chest turn so your body rotates past the blade?
Do your arms act as levers, holding their shape instead of bending to pull?
After a hard effort, are your legs and trunk tired before your forearms and shoulders?
Failed a check? Here is the why and the fix
No to 1: your blade is hugging the boat
This one starts at the catch, and it comes down to the feather of your blade. Picture it from above. If the blade goes in square, at a right angle to the boat, it naturally slides out to the side as you unwind. What I usually see is the blade going in open. An open blade cuts in towards the boat, and from there it has nowhere to go but straight back along the hull.
So check the blade before you check anything else. Set it square at the catch and let it go where the rotation sends it. Do not steer it.
Drill: three and three. Take three strokes on the left only, then three on the right only, and keep swapping. Paddling one side at a time really emphasises the blade moving out and away from the boat. Watch the blade on every stroke.
No to 2 or 5: your legs are passengers
Your legs are the biggest muscles you own and they start the stroke. The leg on the stroke side pushes the footplate, the hip goes back, and the trunk follows. If the legs stay still, the load lands on the smallest muscles in the chain and they run out early.
Drill: knee to opposite elbow. As you paddle, bring your knee up towards your opposite elbow so your arms cross the front of your body on every stroke. Exaggerate it. It forces the legs and the abs to do the job. Two minutes on, two minutes normal, and keep the feeling.
No to 3 or 4: your arms are pulling
If your bottom elbow bends early, your arm is pulling the blade to you instead of your body moving past the blade. Think of the paddle as planted in wet concrete. You are not moving it. You are moving the boat past it.
Drill: fist on the shoulder. Keep the fist of your top hand against your shoulder and take the stroke by rotating your body past the blade. With the top arm locked away there is no arm to cheat with, so rotation has to do it. Twenty strokes each side, then paddle normally and keep the same turn.
How to use this on your next paddle
Run the five questions over five easy minutes.
Pick the first no and do its drill for five minutes.
Finish with three hard efforts of one minute and notice what gets tired first.
Legs and trunk first means it is working.
Come and feel it with the crew
The Friday technique paddle at Hillarys is where we work on this every week, on the water, with coaching as you go. New to the crew? Your first session is free with the code firstsessionfree when you book.
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: the exit, and why your shoulders are sore after every paddle.
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