What Muscle Groups Does Kayaking Work? Benefits – 2022

Do you want to get fit and have a lot of fun while doing it? Kayaking is an excellent way to work out your whole body. You’ll tone your arms, legs, and core muscles – all while enjoying the great outdoors. Not only will you see physical results from kayaking, but you’ll also feel mentally refreshed after spending time on the water.

What muscle groups does kayaking work?  The muscle groups that you’ll be working when you paddle your kayak include your: shoulders, traps,  lats, biceps, triceps, chest, abs, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

In this article, we’ll go into detail about each of these muscle groups and how they benefit from kayaking.

What Muscle Groups Does Kayaking Work?

Kayaking is a great way to work out your whole body. You’ll tone your arms, legs, and core muscles – all while enjoying the great outdoors. The body parts that benefit the most from kayaking are your shoulders, traps, lats, biceps, triceps, chest, abs, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

What Are The Functions Of All Muscle Groups In Kayaking?

Here’s a breakdown of which muscles you use when kayaking and how they benefit from the exercise:

Shoulders: Kayaking requires a lot of shoulder movement. As you paddle, your shoulder muscles will get a great workout. Responsible for stabilizing your shoulder joint.

Traps: The trapezius muscles are the large muscles that run from the back of your neck to your shoulders. Used in kayaking to help stabilize your shoulder blades.

Lats: The latissimus dorsi, or “lats,” are the large muscles on the sides of your back. Used in kayaking to help you pull your arms through the water.

Biceps: The biceps are the muscles on the front of your upper arms. Help you bend your elbows and are used in kayaking to help you pull your paddle through the water.

Triceps: The triceps are the muscles on the back of your upper arms. Help you straighten your elbows and are used in kayaking to help you push your paddle through the water.

Chest: The chest muscles, or pectorals, are used in kayaking to help stabilize your shoulders and maintain good posture.

Abs: The abdominal muscles, or “abs,” are used in kayaking to help stabilize your trunk.

Quads: The quadriceps are the large muscles on the front of your thighs. Used in kayaking to help you extend your knees and push your paddle through the water.

Hamstrings: The hamstrings are the muscles on the back of your thighs. Used in kayaking to help you bend your knees and pull your paddle through the water.

Glutes: The gluteal muscles, or “glutes,” are the large muscles on the sides of your hips. Help you extend your hips and push your paddle through the water.

Calves: The calf muscles are the large muscles on the back of your lower legs. Used in kayaking to help you extend your ankles and push your paddle through the water.

Examples Of Exercises That Work For Those Muscle Groups?

There are a lot of great exercises that work the same muscle groups used in kayaking. Here are a few examples:

• Shoulder exercises: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
• Trap exercises: dumbbell shrug, barbell shrug
• Lat exercises: pull-up, lat pull-down, single-arm row
• Bicep exercises: curl, hammer curl, preacher curl
• Tricep exercises: overhead extension, tricep pushdown, kickback
• Chest exercises: bench press, fly, push-up
• Abs exercises: crunch, sit-up, Russian twist
• Quad exercise: squat, lunge, leg press
• Hamstring exercise: deadlift, hamstring curl, glute bridge
• Glute exercise: hip thrust, donkey kick, fire hydrant
• Calf exercise: calf raises, the donkey calf raise, seated calf raise

Doing these exercises will help you build the muscles used in kayaking and improve your performance on the water.

How To Use Those Muscles To Improve Your Kayaking?

Now that you know which muscle groups are used in kayaking, you can start to focus on exercises that will help improve your performance. Here are a few things you can do to get started:

• Build up your shoulder muscles with overhead presses, lateral raises, and front raises.
• Work on your traps with dumbbell shrugs and barbell shrugs.
• Strengthen your lats with pull-ups, lat pull-downs, and single-arm rows.
• Get better at curls, hammer curls, and preacher curls to improve your biceps.
• Improve your triceps with overhead extensions, tricep pushdowns, and kickbacks.
• Make your chest stronger with bench presses, flys, and push-ups.
• Get toned abs with crunches, sit-ups, and Russian twists.
• Focus on squats, lunges, and leg press to work your quads.
• Improve your hamstrings with deadlifts, hamstring curls, and glute bridges.
• Get stronger glutes with hip thrusts, donkey kicks, and fire hydrants.

Conclusion

I hope this article about what muscles groups kayaking works have helped you understand a bit more about the sport. There are a lot of great exercises that work the same muscle groups used in kayaking. Doing these exercises will help you build the muscles used in kayaking and improve your performance on the water.

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