You could opt for the athletic ‘surfer’s pop up’ whereby you squat through from your knees, and using your hands, push up and bring your legs in line with shoulders, aiming to plant your feet in the correct paddling stance.
For those less agile a slower ‘pop up’ is absolutely fine with the aim still being to get to your feet in the correct position (parallel offset) to be ready for SUPing proper. Ultimately keeping your iSUP as steady as possible (rail to rail) will pay dividends. Keeping your weight over the board’s centre line with your head up will definitely help. Once standing begin paddling again straight away to keep speed up and therefore increase stability.
A key tip when on your feet is to NOT break at your core (bend). If you do then chances are you’ll take a dunking. You may have heard about stand up paddle boarding being great for core strength and this is why. A tight core when SUPing is key. Also, knees should only be slightly bent; your upper body (head, shoulders, chest, torso) reacting to minute changes in your boards’ trim (rock ‘n’ roll). Soft, flexible ankles and hips will also help. As you progress your body’s muscle memory will kick in, with all of the described becoming a subconscious act.
To download a PDF of this article hit the link below –
Don’t forget to check out the rest of McConks’ SUP User Guide here.
And fo further reading on ways to imorove your stand up paddle boarding why not check out the article below.
Subscribe for our carefully curated two weekly newsletter with tips, tricks, giveaways and competitions.
We promise not to spam you.
