BIO Alexandra is a paddleboard performance coach at ‘ Up Your SUP ’ and is passionate about supporting SUPers to reach their paddling potential by increasing their fitness , skills and knowledge . She is currently training as a PT and strength and conditioning coach , specialising in pre and postnatal exercise . Alex has been paddleboard racing since 2018 and brings a unique perspective to training from her background as a road cyclist , triathlete and rower . it ’ s easier to break away and invest in more lengthy training sessions to build my endurance . I ’ ve also treated races such as ‘ The Paddle Skedaddle ’ and the ‘ The Norfolk Broads Ultra ’ two-day event as long training sessions - as this removed the self-imposed pressure to perform and , in turn , enabled me to embrace the experience .
The long game
I ’ ve experienced long periods of rehab , which helped me mentally with my pregnancy journey . Instead of feeling limited , I pivoted my thoughts to take advantage of new opportunities , which is how I got into SUPing in the first place .
Pregnancy is very similar to rehab in that if you have a passion and focus , it can help you maintain a positive mindset and help you return to activity after that . Looking beyond the pregnancy , it ’ s essential to consider what you want to do once the baby has arrived ; after all , happy Mum , happy baby .
Becoming a parent hasn ’ t stopped me from training and racing ; it ’ s given me more focus and drive to push that little bit harder . My thoughts around my identity becoming diluted on becoming a parent were unfounded , but it ’ s an absolute that parenting comes first and paddling second .
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