Usain Bolt was considered not the fastest starter or accelerator , yet he often finished first . His success came from his ability to maintain his peak speed for longer than his competitors
32 is a great place to start . Moving your bottom hand changes the leverage point on the shaft and blade , allowing you to put more power through your paddle stroke , typically unlocking more speed over a short distance .
Reach point and shortening your stroke One of the most common misconceptions about sprinting is that you must shorten your stroke to paddle fast and start sprinting . Now , whilst this statement is true , which goes against that very statement , how we apply that principle is the key part . You should maintain your normal reach point , out in front of you , without overstretching too far . Shortening your stroke in sprinting usually means exiting earlier and achieving a shorter stroke length this way rather than putting the paddle in closer to you and still exiting close to your feet . The goal is to have an efficient yet shorter stroke to allow for a higher cadence .
What is cadence ? Cadence is the term used to understand how many strokes you take per minute when paddling , sometimes called stroke rate . Typically , when progressing , a higher stroke rate or cadence will allow you to achieve higher speeds by increasing the number of strokes you are taking per minute over your normal paddling style . As you progress further , there is a balance between speed , power , and cadence , but we will come to that later . Typically , achieving 60 to 70 strokes per minute is a great baseline to aim for when looking to sprint .
Getting faster – unlocking progression So now that you understand sprinting and its fundamentals , how do you progress ? Several advanced techniques and skills come into play to get faster at sprinting , and for this , we will focus purely on the straight-line elements and miss out on more tech sprint-based elements such as beach starts and buoy turns .
Getting off the line Simply paddling faster and with more power will allow you to start sprinting , but a key element to progression is getting off the line quicker and more efficiently . Returning to our track sprinters , especially in the shorter distances of 100m and 200m , the athletes have a starting phase where they drive out the blocks at the starting gun . The same goes for SUP in that you can ’ t reach peak speed immediately and must drive away from the line as quickly but as efficiently as possible to achieve your best start .
A great way to achieve this is to start with your paddle out in front of you ready , and at the start , single bury the blade deeper than normal to get hold of the water more effectively . Your goal is to initiate forward momentum in the most efficient way . What you want to avoid is a great big splash but smacking your paddle into the water surface , almost like the wheelspin of a car - lots of smoke and style but minimal forward momentum at first .
Adding power Paddling at a higher stroke rate alone won ’ t necessarily make you start sprinting . Combining the bottom-hand placement and an increased cadence will start the process , but you will likely need to increase your power .
So what is Power ? Put simply ; power can be defined and measured as an increased output or effort over your normal baseline levels of effort when paddling normally . Increased power comes from a harder pull through your bottom hand , engagement of the core muscles and use of your body weight to drive the board forward quicker .
An excellent way to think about this is opening a heavy door . Pulling gently on the handle while standing square to the door will make it difficult to open . However , if you reach forward with your bottom hand and then engage your core to pull harder on the handle or even rotate your body while pulling , you will be able to open the door more easily .
Usain Bolt was considered not the fastest starter or accelerator , yet he often finished first . His success came from his ability to maintain his peak speed for longer than his competitors