DIET | DETECTIVE^®

Great pun, right? No? Sorry. Anyway, I have a newfound obsession with stand-up paddle surfing, and apparently I’m not the only one.

Basically, paddle surfing is the perfect sport for anyone who wants to be a surfer but doesn’t particularly want to get tossed around in a curl like socks in a washing machine. Plus, it has fabulous street cred—it was invented by the Waikiki Beach Boys as a way to photograph surfers without getting their cameras wet. Riders stand on the board and paddle with an oar—like standing on a very wobbly kayak.

The oar makes paddling faster and easier, which doesn’t initially sound the best recipe for a workout. After all, there’s a reason surfers have insane bodies—the nonstop paddling burns your upper body, while jumping up to catch a wave works your quads. (Avoiding a wipeout tones everything in the middle.) If you need more proof, take a look at some of the best bodies in Hollywood—Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, Matthew McConaughey, Evangeline Lilly, Kate Bosworth in her Blue Crush days. All avid surfers.

But paddle surfing isn’t for the lazy. Put your center of gravity a few feet above the board, take away the momentum of riding a wave, and you’ve got a core workout that’ll beat any balance ball. As for calories, surfing burns around 200 per hour, and kayaking burns around 350; the burn for paddle surfing isn’t available, but figure it falls somewhere between the two (just like the sport itself). And last weekend Jennifer Aniston was spotted paddle surfing in Hawaii —a sure sign that paddle surfing could be the new Pilates.

Want to try it out? Read up on it here.

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written by Allena @ GardenWall, September 04, 2007

Oh my goodness, I can imagine how hard it must be to stay upright- probably does such great things for your abs. It kind of reminds me of people who sit at their desks on those huge balls- just the balance works your abs.