How To Get Ready for Paddle Boarding: 7 Vital Basic SUP Tips

If you have made up your mind to take the hard SUP plunge, you need to know how to prepare for paddle boarding.

But just how hard is paddle boarding? Well, we can say quite, until you actually get to learn SUP techniques.

Well, it depends on many things. One of them is how determined you are to become good at paddle boarding.

The second one is how well you can prepare for paddle boarding. Therefore, if you are asking: is stand up paddle boarding hard?

Everything is hard if you have never attempted it. Therefore, we shall not dwell on how hard it is, but we shall find out how to prepare amply for this enjoyable water sport.

Tips for Stand Up Paddle Board For Beginners

This is where the magic begins. You need to master a few important tips for stand up paddle boarding for beginners.

1. Getting your stand up paddle boarding gear ready

It may look like one of the most simplistic water sports, but it still requires you to have some gear. Here are the things that you need before you can start stand up paddle boarding:

• The SUP – the board itself
• The SUP paddle
• SUP leash
• SUP fins
• A pump if you have an inflatable SUP board
• A flotation device to wear on your person
• A whistle
• Sunscreen

In addition, some people prefer to do their stand up paddling wearing a wetsuit. Others prefer to do it with just a pair of shorts (for men) while women do it in their beachwear. The water temperature should determine what you wear.

Therefore, you will find that paddle board tips and tricks will differ from one person to another depending on preferences.

2. You Must Use A Leash for Stand Up Boarding

The leash is a very important part of paddle board tips and tricks for beginners. However, advanced SUP boarding enthusiasts might not need a calf or ankle SUP leash.

When you are beginner, it is not as if you have many choices in the matter. Therefore, you need to get SUP leash.

Also read: Where to paddle board in San Diego

It will keep you attached to the board even if you hit some heavy waves that throw you off the board.

Because your leg will be attached to the board and you will be wearing a life jacket for SUP, you will just float on the surface of the water. Therefore, it will be easy for rescuers to find you.

Another instance where you need a leash is when you feel too tired and decide to take a rest. If this happens, you can float attached to the paddle board. You don’t want to lose your board because it can be quite expensive.

When choosing the best SUP leash, you need one that is strong enough. In addition, it should come with a leg attachment that is going to be easy to remove in case you have to do it fast.

It is quite possible to get your board snagged on rocks or plants, in which case you would need to remove the leg attachment fast.

3. Learn How To Do Stand Up Paddle Boarding

One of the most important things about any water adventure is to learn from seeing other people do it.

Also read: Where to paddle board in Santa Cruz

Thankfully, there are hundreds of resources online that teach you among many things:

• SUP basics
• beginner SUP tips
• How to get on a paddle board
• How to get on a paddle board after falling
• How to steer a paddle board
• Where to stand on a paddle board

And so on.

In addition to blog articles and eBooks, there are also many video resources. Therefore, before you go to find an instructor at the shore, look up as much information as you can find.

For instance, you can watch the video below on how to paddle board for a beginner:

Reading or watching videos is really not going to give you much. However, it removes the “green behind the ears” label and makes you conversant with the gear. That way, even when you get your lessons on how to ride a paddle board from an expert.

4. Get Trained for Paddle Boarding

People will train for scuba diving, swimming and other water adventures. However, rarely will you find information regarding training for how to SUP.

All the same, that does not mean that training for how to SUP is not important. Indeed, it is.

You can seek out any available stand up paddle boarding trainers on the shore where you intend to learn this interesting sport.

But finding stand up paddle boarding trainers is not easy either. However, you can start by joining a club.

If we have mountain biking clubs, mountaineering clubs, hiking clubs, scuba diving and so on, you can be sure that there are clubs for stand up paddle boarding.

For instance, stand up paddling seems to be very popular in the United Kingdom. If you are from London, Manchester, Liverpool or any other city there, you can look up British Stand Up Association (BSUPA). You will find clubs registered with them. You can also check out Bray Lake’s SUP Club.

If you are in the USA, the Professional Stand Up Paddle Association (PSUPA) is your go-to resource. There, you will find many SUP trainers listed and you can choose the one that is closest to your area.

5. Warm Up Properly

The reason why many people ask: Is stand up paddle boarding hard? is because it involves a lot of standing up.Some people feel exhausted after paddle boarding.

Basically, even the basic SUP tips can show you that this sport involves standing and paddling on your feet.

If you do not want muscle cramps when you are out there on the surface of the ocean, you need to warm up.

You can start by doing stretching exercises. In addition, lunges, squats and even strength training workouts help a lot.

Basically, if you are not fit enough, you need to start lightly.

6. Just Do It!

So you now know the kind of stand up paddling gear that you need. You have also identified the trainer that you want to work with. Now, the next thing is to actually do it!

To learn to SUP is not a one-off thing. Every time you SUP, you learn new things. So, keep learning and keep an opening mind to embrace new knowledge.

If you keep asking how hard is paddle boarding, you might stay stuck at the stage where you keep postponing the starting date.

Once you find out what fun it can be, you will be willing to do it more often.

7. Do Not Go For Paddle Boarding In the Wind

The worst thing that you can do when getting ready to learn how to paddle board is to start when it is windy.

Therefore, one of the most important paddle boarding tips is to choose a calm weather day to start your SUP paddling experience.

Is stand up paddle boarding hard? You will find it close to impossible if you decide to do it in the wind.

After all, your body acts as the sail. Therefore, if the wind is coming from behind you, it will push you at high speed.

However, the wind is coming from the front, it might cause your SUP board to go out of control. That is not good for a beginner.

Therefore, you will find many paddle board tips and tricks advising you to choose a calm weather day for your first stand up paddling lesson.

Conclusion

Those are the five important steps to prepare for stand up paddle boarding. If you are a complete beginner, I suggest you get a SUP trainer.  That way, you get SUP instructions from an expert.

Among the things that they will teach you include where to stand on a paddle board, how to maintain your balance and others.

Most importantly, you need to stand up paddle board more often. The more you do it the better you become.

That is it for how to prepare for paddle boarding. I hope these SUP tips have helped you know how to get started on this very enjoyable sport.