Inflatable Kayak Blog

It’s been a very hot summer and, hopefully, you’ve managed to avoid the heat related maladies that accompany this time of year, heat stress, dehydration and sunburn on your paddling adventures.

There are some other things to keep in mind to avoid injuries that can occur with the repetitive motion used to paddle a kayak. Often when it’s hot and your body seems to feel loose and ready to go, you’re tempted to just jump in the kayak and paddle away. Not a good idea! Even at this time of year, you should do some stretching before paddling. Get those muscles loosened up and ready to work. You can still get tightened up in your kayak, especially on a longer paddle trip, where you’re in the same position for quite awhile. Even though I use an inflatable kayak, which has no deck or cover over my legs to restrict movement, and I can move my legs around a little, I still find that when I stretch first, I don’t get nearly as tight as when I don’t. In a hard shell or folding kayak with a deck, it’s much more confining and the need to stretch out ahead of time is even more crucial.

Kayaking should be fun and not add to your aches and pains or cause you any unnecessary injuries.