Wind sent waves shivering down the surface of Lake Superior on the last day of my overnight sea kayaking trip as I coached friends through their first surf launch. We paddled, half-surfed, around a point and rounded the island as a squall hit. Rain and waves hit our face, and our pace slowed to a crawl. It didn’t matter; when we landed for lunch we were all still smiling.
“At least it isn’t backpacking,” we joked. “Imagine all this, plus carrying the gear on your back.”
Paddlers have long known that a few days with your life pared down to your boat and a few nights sleeping in the sand is the secret to a happy life, but it may be the secret to a healthy one too. Between the steady state cardio of paddling, the engagement of muscle groups throughout the body, and the added workout of hauling gear and packing boats, kayak camping just might be the best way to get exercise outside.
The science behind kayaking’s exercise benefits
It turns out, all of the hours of paddle strokes that amount to rounding an island or crossing a channel are a thing exercise science calls steady state cardio. According to a 2014 study in the Journal of Obesity, steady state cardio, or a low intensity exercise sustained over a period of time generally greater than thirty minutes, has been shown to be more effective than high intensity interval training at improving fat distribution. Additionally, steady state cardio allows for an easier recovery than a high-intensity workout and can be an excellent way to increase overall endurance. The long, meandering miles paddling the coasts when kayak camping generally fall under this umbrella, where paddlers enter their flow state, enjoying the space where recreation meets a workout.
Generally, steady state cardio’s major drawback is often that it can be boring and monotonous. While an hour on a treadmill might be just that, time in a kayak chatting with your companions or watching the coastline change beside you is anything but.
Dr. François Billaut, former head physiologist for the Canadian national kayaking team and exercise physiology professor at Laval University in Quebec, told the New York Times that the fitness benefits of kayaking are twofold. First, kayaking is a good low-impact anaerobic exercise by avoiding engaging the body’s biggest muscles—unlike running, which engages the thighs and buttocks and uses more oxygen. Second, kayaking works the upper body, chest, back, core and abs initially, but is also a full body workout and builds strength.
As many kayakers know, while the upper body is certainly at play in kayaking, proper form distributes the impact of each stroke throughout the body, engaging not only the core but through the body down all the way to the toes. Personally, the fitness benefits of kayaking for me have gone beyond the activity itself. Even when I’m not out kayaking, I’m thinking of how to train for kayaking to support my next trip.
For me, the goal of kayak camping was never explicitly fitness. When I first started working as an overnight kayak guide it was simply the place my body, and mind, felt best. Beyond fitness of the body, a few days immersed in nature with a paddle in hand is good for the mind, and a 2012 study in PLOS found that immersion in nature and the corresponding disconnection from technology and digital media increased performance on a creativity, problem-solving task. Paddlers gain a cognitive advantage from time spent outside and on the water.
Kayak camping vs backpacking
Compared to overnight backpacking, which not only involves carrying your camping gear on your back instead of paddling it in a boat, but engages higher-impact muscles like the thighs and buttocks, kayak camping has been shown to lead to fewer overuse injuries.
A 2009 study in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine found that the most common injuries and medical conditions reported as a result of kayaking at sea were “sprains and pulled muscles’ and ‘cuts and abrasions’, and most respondents in the study reported injuries and medical conditions as a result of kayaking at sea as uncommon and not serious, and reported positive health effects from kayaking. Meanwhile, a 2002 study in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine found that nearly 70% of long-distance hikers experienced illness or injury while on trail, with most commonly reported injuries including musculoskeletal complaints and overuse injuries, diarrhea, fractures, lacerations, and abrasions.
Long-distance hiking and backpacking undoubtedly touts a larger sample size than the long-distance kayak campers, but nonetheless the two studies highlight the contrast between the differing impacts of the sports.
If nothing else, the average kayak camper isn’t constrained by needing to pack only what can be carried on their back; with the ability to pack a larger first aid kit and more robust meals, the kayak camper is better equipped for resilience in the event of injury. Plus, you’ll be hard pressed to find a kayak camper cold soaking their meals.
