Kayaking workout: what paddling works, how hard it is, and the gym work that helps

A kayak stroke looks like an arm movement, but the studies of it keep finding the rest of the body in it: the trunk working, and the legs pushing on the footrest. This page covers what kayaking works, from force and muscle-activity studies; how hard it is, as the Compendium of Physical Activities estimates it; what strength training did in two trials of sprint kayakers; a paddle-board section; and a practical week.

Most of the kayak studies here are in sprint and flatwater kayakers, many of them elite or international-level, and one is in recreational paddlers on a machine, so read them as how the stroke works, not as a measurement of a weekend paddle. It's a training page: it makes no weight, calorie or injury claim.

What muscles kayaking works

• Legs. Five elite male kayakers paddled all-out twice, once normally and once with the knees "locked". Without the leg action, mean paddle-stroke force fell 21% and mean kayak speed 16%.¹ In 28 sprint paddlers on the water, the leg push rose and fell through every stroke, and higher speed went with higher leg force; the authors call the cyclic leg movement a key part of kayaking technique.²
• Trunk. In eight international paddlers sprinting 150 m on the water, less rotation of the lower trunk went with a higher peak speed, and activity in the rectus abdominis on the side opposite the stroke went with a higher mean speed, with the abdominals, the external obliques and the rectus femoris (a front-thigh muscle) working together.³
• Back and arms. In 10 elite flatwater kayakers measured on the water and on a kayak ergometer at the same heart and stroke rates, the triceps and the latissimus dorsi (the large back muscle under the arm) were more active on the water, and the front of the shoulder more active on the ergometer.⁴
• Shoulders. In nine recreational paddlers on an ergometer, five of the eight shoulder muscles recorded fired in a consistent pattern across paddlers in at least one phase of the stroke: the upper trapezius, supraspinatus, latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior and rhomboid major.⁵

So, is kayaking an arm workout? The arms are in it, but in these studies the legs, trunk and back carry a real share. The gym picks below are practical matches for each area, not moves from the studies:

Is kayaking a good workout? How hard it is

The Compendium of Physical Activities rates activities in METs, multiples of the energy you use at rest. Some of its kayak and paddling rows, which are estimates for an average adult, not a measurement of you:⁶

The spread is the answer: an easy paddle sits at the low end and a race at the top, so how much of a workout it is depends on how hard you paddle. A moderate paddle at 5.0 is close to the Compendium's slow freestyle laps at 5.8.⁶ The page makes no calorie or weight-loss claim.

The kayaking machine. A kayak ergometer is a paddling machine, and it isn't quite the same as the water: in the elite kayakers above, the lats and triceps worked harder on the water and the front of the shoulder harder on the machine, and the authors say the difference was most likely a result of the ergometer's loading mechanism.⁴ A rowing machine is a different stroke again, both arms pulling together on a sliding seat (rowing machine workout).

Strength training for kayaking

Two trials, both in sprint kayakers:

• Heavier pressing, a faster sprint. In 37 elite paddlers (22 men, 15 women), of the strength tests, the heaviest single bench press predicted a 30-second all-out sprint on the water most closely. Then 26 national elite junior, under-23 and senior paddlers trained for 6 weeks, one group to raise its bench press and one to hold its strength. The training group's bench press rose from 87.3 to 93.9 kg on average, and its 200 m ergometer sprint time fell from 44.8 to 44.3 seconds.⁷
• Adding isometric holds. 20 sprint kayakers, average age 22, did a similar strength program twice a week for 6 weeks. For one group, half the volume of squats, bench presses and prone bench pulls was swapped for isometric versions, each a maximal push or pull held for 3 seconds. That group improved its 200 m ergometer time trial and its strength more than the group that trained the usual way.⁸

Read together: in trained sprint kayakers, getting stronger in the press and the pull went with a faster sprint. Those were racers over 200 m. For anyone else, the practical version is two gym days built on a press, a pull, a squat and trunk work:

More trunk options are on the core workout.

Paddle board workout

Stand-up paddle boarding has two studies of its own:

• Six weeks, from untrained. 13 previously untrained adults (nine men, four women) did three 1-hour paddle-board sessions a week for 6 weeks, after a 6-week period as their own control. Aerobic fitness rose 23.57% and anaerobic fitness 41.98%, and all four core-strength tests improved (prone 19.78%, right side 26.19%, left side 28.31%, and a back-extension hold 21.33%). Static and dynamic balance didn't change significantly.⁹
• Stroke rate sets the effort. In 10 young adults in the lab, METs rose from 2.7 to 4.4 to 6.1 at 10, 20 and 30 strokes a minute, and heart rate from 56% to 69% to 84% of maximum. At 20 strokes a minute or more, in the lab and in the field, paddle boarding met the criteria for moderate-intensity exercise (3.0 to 5.9 METs).¹⁰

The Compendium's standing paddle-board rows run from 2.8 METs at 10 to 19 strokes a minute to 11.0 at 50 to 69.⁶ So the stroke rate is the dial. A paddle-board workout (practical): 10 minutes easy, then 6 rounds of 1 minute at a fast stroke rate and 2 minutes easy, then 10 minutes easy.

A kayaking workout routine for the week

Practical. The World Health Organization asks adults for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days;¹¹ two paddles and two gym days are a start toward that.

When the intervals feel easy, add a round before you add speed. Before you go out, the American Red Cross lists wearing a life jacket, for everyone, when boating or doing other water-based sports, and when on or in oceans and open water.¹²

Paddling in South Florida

Diogo Camera is an online fitness coach based in South Florida, where paddling is on the table all year and the sun is the part to plan around: NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put the Miami International Airport station at 91.4 days a year at or above 90 F.¹³ On a hot day, the practical answer is early morning or evening, and working out in the heat has the studies. Swimming is the other half of training on the water: open water swimming training. Coaching is online, wherever you paddle: online coaching in Florida.

Common questions

What muscles does kayaking work?

By the studies above: the back (latissimus dorsi), the arms (triceps), the shoulders and shoulder blades (upper trapezius, supraspinatus, serratus anterior, rhomboids), the abdominals and obliques, and the legs, whose push on the footrest added to paddle force and speed.^1,3,4,5

Is kayaking a good workout?

It can be as easy or as hard as you paddle: the Compendium rows above go from 3.5 METs for canoeing for pleasure through 5.0 for moderate kayaking to 13.5 for kayaking competition.⁶ They're estimates, not a measurement of you.

Is kayaking a good arm or core workout?

It works both, and more: the trunk muscles were active and linked to speed in international paddlers, and in elite kayakers, locking the knees cut paddle force by 21%.^3,1 The fast paddlers in these studies used their legs and trunk, not just their arms.

Is there a kayaking workout machine?

Yes, a kayak ergometer. It copies the paddling stroke, but muscle use differed from the water in elite kayakers.⁴ A rowing machine is a different movement.

Is paddle boarding a good workout?

In 13 untrained adults, 6 weeks of three sessions a week raised aerobic and anaerobic fitness and core-strength scores, with no significant change in balance.⁹ In a lab and field study, the effort rose with the stroke rate.¹⁰

I'm a fitness coach, not a doctor: if you have pain, an injury or a health condition, ask a doctor or physical therapist before you start paddling or lifting.

If you'd rather have the week planned

Paddling days depend on the weather, and gym days have to fit around them. Coaching is the version where your workouts are built around the days and places you actually train, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one. Coaching explains how it works, and apply is the first step. Otherwise: do the strength day once this week.