Stand Up Paddle Boarding - Calories Burned?

RedHotRunner

I can't seem to find an answer to this (though admittedly, haven't looked too hard :laugh: Anyone know how many calories this burns per hour?

I've taken it up on weekends and want to log it.

Thanks!

Younger_at_50

Here are a few opinions on calories burned when engaged in this activity, it sounds like the best way would be to get an HRM as results vary by the individual and water conditions.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/get-on-board/story-e6frewvi-1111115609077

Paddling is also a great way to burn up calories. For the average person, light, recreational paddling can burn up to 225 calories in an hour.

However, once you really get stuck in, you can burn 500 calories in an hour. Should you become a paddling legend and start racing, you’re looking at a calorie burn of around 850 calories an hour – that’s similar to long-distance running, but without the stress on joints.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/fitness/article1015279.ece

"The average male can burn between 800 and 1,000 calories per hour, with the average female burning about 500 to 700 calories per hour," he said. "Compare this to running on a treadmill or an elliptical machine, where an average male burns between 600 to 700 calories and the average female burns between 300 to 400 calories."

Hope this helps you!

RedHotRunner

Here are a few opinions on calories burned when engaged in this activity, it sounds like the best way would be to get an HRM as results vary by the individual and water conditions.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/get-on-board/story-e6frewvi-1111115609077

Paddling is also a great way to burn up calories. For the average person, light, recreational paddling can burn up to 225 calories in an hour.

However, once you really get stuck in, you can burn 500 calories in an hour. Should you become a paddling legend and start racing, you’re looking at a calorie burn of around 850 calories an hour – that’s similar to long-distance running, but without the stress on joints.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/fitness/article1015279.ece

"The average male can burn between 800 and 1,000 calories per hour, with the average female burning about 500 to 700 calories per hour," he said. "Compare this to running on a treadmill or an elliptical machine, where an average male burns between 600 to 700 calories and the average female burns between 300 to 400 calories."

Hope this helps you!

Thank you - I'll start with the 225 since i'm just starting out. I appreciate your research.

jkwon112

google says between 800 to 1,000?

wthurley10

I've been Stand-up paddling for about 6 months in Hawaii & Washington. I've run for many years & compared the effort I feel & heart rate I achieve. In calm water, the effort seems to match moderate hiking. If I put my Jack Russell on the board with me, or if I'm pulling against a wind or a surge, it seems to match the effort of jogging at about 10 minute miles. I put it in the myfitnesspal cardio database at 10 kcal per minute (60 minutes = 600 kcal). I think the 800-1,000 per hour estimate on Wikipedia (likely from the Tampa Bay article) seems too high.
Would love to hear other opinions.

daniellerp

I would love to know the answer to this...I did this for an hour and a half on choppy water in Lake Tahoe yesterday. However, I was on my knees most of the time due to the water conditions.
I'll do some more research and see if I can come up with any more detailed info.

amzreid

I have also just started paddel boarding on weekends and was curious! thanks!

sirlasc

There is no way you burn more than 400 calories/hour in paddleboard, once you get your balance right, you stop engaging your core, SUP IS NOT A HIGH INTENSITY EXCERSICE!, you are working your upper body, and a little bit your legs, bmacneil is absolutely right, the average must be something between 200-250 cal/h.
Even with moving waters, and racing, i dont think you can get more than 500 cal/h. At the end calories burned=intensity.

kwhaleys

I disagree. When I'm on my board I am doing crunches and squats on almost every stroke. It's also more physically demanding than kayaking and I believe that burns about 400 per hour. You get out what you put in.

stratosurfer

I've been flatwater paddleboarding in a lake here in Central Texas for just about a year now. I think intensity is everything in terms of calories burned. If you are going out for a liesurely cruise for sightseeing, for my body, I'm certain I would be burning at least the 250Kcal/hr discussed in this thread. However, if you are -intentional- and engaged in what I term a 'Pace" paddle, I am certain I am burning 10Kcal/min or 600 per hour (5'10" 178lbs). I am however working and crunching every stroke.
I've done some timed interval training (I'm 51 YO), 10 mins hard/sprint, 10 mins Pace and I am shot for 2 days after 60 mins of that. I see the younger lads going hard/sprint for long burst (30 mins), no way I can handle that. I think that is where we hear about the 1,000 kcal/hr: youngsters doing intense intervals.
The key is intensity for Kcal's burned. Most fitness trainers that have studied SUP tend to agree that it's one of the most unique excercies known in that you can get an amazing workout: core, legs, shoulders, neck etc and not feel like you've worked that hard when done. It can be deceptive when done about how much you worked your bod, but if you were intense at all, you burned some calories. As has been stated a HRM would be helpful which I will get, until them I'm -intentional- when on the board.

twinmom_112002

Thanks all....

If you just worked your arms (or your arms are sore) then you are doing it wrong. A proper technique is straight arms and bending/rotating at the hips to propel the paddle.

Yesterday I was in the back bay at newport and the wind kicked up something fierce. Ended up on my knees doing more of a kayak move. Went out an hour and it took 2 hours to get back to the dock.

dxrmc0

All,

When I paddle I use my Garmin, I have had the following results on different days (Age 35, Male, 98kg, +-35oC) Varying light winds

Distance Time Pace Calories
4.16KM 47:07 11:19 KM 289Cal (Rough Day)
9.01Km 1:47:56 12:12 KM 645 Cal
10.37KM 1:38:24 9:30 KM 679 Cal
5.01 KM 41:38 8:19 KM 365 Cal

However I have been told when you use the heart rate monitor the Cal count is 50% higher. I will get a monitor then post back. These stats were taken at various times throughout my last years paddling, from beginner to... whatever I am now!

Ross

cyclocrossseattle

"once you get your balance right, you stop engaging your core, SUP IS NOT A HIGH INTENSITY EXCERSICE!, you are working your upper body, "

WOW, clearly you don't know what you're talking about and this comment only proves it. Try telling Kai Lenny, Jamie Mitchell, Danny Ching or Conner Baxter that they're not engaging their core while paddling! They'll laugh in your face. I just competed in a 13 mile SUP race half of which involved paddling into a 15-20MPH headwind. My heart rate was just as elevated as it was the last time I ran a marathon or competed in a 40k cycling time trial and the following morning my back and core muscles were a whole lot more sore than my arms. I can safely say that was just as intense as many other events I've done (and that list includes more than a decade of USCF licensed bicycle racing - we're talking real racing, not just riding a century; a handful of triathlons and several running ultramarathons!) Proper paddling technique relies on your core muscles precisely because those muscles are stronger than your arm and shoulder muscles. If you are only working your upper body and not your core then your technique is crap. PERIOD. You're not going to get proper extension without using your core.

dgilliesau

Hi, you said "I put it in the myfitnesspal cardio database at 10 kcal per minute (60 minutes = 600 kcal)."

Why can I not find it anywhere? I've searched under Stand, Paddle, board, SUP.

keenanph76

Here's a good article:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Many-Calories-Burned-While-SUPing?-(Stand-Up-Paddle-Boarding)&id=5875773

My heart rate monitor arrives in a couple days... Right now I'm going with a safe average of 9 kcal/min. Guys my size (180 lbs) can average 800 kcal/hour on another site I read. I'll report back after a couple workouts.

brodywelte

Hey gang,
Just wanted to jump in and give a little insight to the discussion. My name is Brody and I am the founder of PaddleFit which is cited in the article referenced in this post. Obviously there is some varying opinions and that is good it makes us find the truth. Caloric expenditures is a hot topic in general fitness and you have to keep in mind that there are several factors to consider including weight, age, muscle build, etc. Let me just talk about SUP for a moment, you have to consider two things, one is the technique of the paddlers and the other is rate of perceived exertion. Technique is probably the most important thing, if you have poor technique you will most certainly not burn that many calories. When you are paddling with technique SUP is the most complete full body workout that I have ever seen and I will stake my reputation on that. Rate of perceived exertion is equally as important because if you are just cruising you will not be burning that many calorie or if you are going after it then you can burn a lot of calories. PaddleFit works with a lot of different people from beginners to top athletes and we have some hard data to support what we say. I have had top athletes weighing 170lbs burn 1500+ calories over 60 minutes. So when PaddleFit is working with the average person and we are doing high intensity paddling we can easily burn 600 to 1000 calories for the men and 400 to 700 for the women but like I said it depends on learning the proper way to paddle and working with a paddle coach that knows what they are doing. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Brody

caseygotcher

Excellent information Brody. Thank you for jumping in. This confirms what I suspected, with regards to burn rate. When I race train, I tend to burn 800-1000 calories. What I have been doing more recently is the equivalent of jogging in a paddling sense. I am paddling at a lower pace than when I race or train, but at a far better pace than a casual paddle, with some sprints added in from time to time to keep it interesting. Based on your information, I am figuring I burn between 500-600 per hour on these type of paddles.

keenanph76

I have been stand up paddling for over a year now and finally attached a heart rate monitor to myself because I am skeptical of how many calories I actually burn. Long story short, 9 or 10 calories per minute is a good average for a man who is going for a constant paddle session.

Long story: I live in the Columbia River Gorge and always start my SUP sessions paddling into the wind. I started paddling downriver with a 3-5 mph breeze that created some fetch. After a couple minute warm-up I checked my watch and the meter only read 105 BPM. I continued to paddle down river for a total of 15 minutes and my heart rate never exceeded 115 BPM. Paddling upstream took me about 35 minutes to return me to my car. The maximum heart rate my meter registered was 120 BPM, but my heart rate mostly fluctuated between 110 and 115 BPM. I was really disappointed when I checked the calories burned on my heart rate monitor watch and it said I only burned 245 calories. Now this was the first time I had ever used a heart rate monitor, let alone this one, and I did notice that there had been some issues while I was using it (rapid rises and drops in heart rate and loss of communication between the device and my watch). Using online calculators and my average heart rates I came up with 9-10 calories burned per minute. This was just one measurement, so I'm calling it just one data piece in gathering baseline info.

Several factors need to be taken into account: resistance, surface conditions, pace and tempo, and my big question: how much does heart rate inaccurately measure calorie burn during resistance activities? Maybe someone can answer this for me. I plan on gathering more data and posting again.

Thank you Brody for your post.

jeremyttt

First off, Brody is the man, take what he says to the bank. I always tell people what you put into paddle boarding is what you get out of it. When I am training for races, I easily burn 1,000 calories within 60 minutes. I am able to sustain an average heart rate of 168bpm. All this information coming from my heart rate monitor of coarse. With that said, when I am cruising on my paddle board with friends, I won't even touch half that amount of calories within a hour.

imageaddict

I just tried it for the first time this morning! My son and I took lessons in St. Augustine. It was SO much fun! I skipped yoga and Zumba to go, and wanted to enter my paddling as a workout. Thanks for the info!

richwest

I SUP in the surf, and it's hard to figure how much I burn because the conditions vary so much.

taratrejo

I have started taking paddle board yoga classes and am trying to find calorie burn information for this. Anyone have any ideas? It is more challenging than traditional yoga because of the core engagement that you have going on the entire time.
Thanks!

BChanFit

Got started with SUP last weekend and love it! One of the best workouts ever and so much fun. For those of you who use an HRM, what kind do you use and is it a problem if you fall off and it gets wet? That was my only concern there.

Scubadivr205

I have been SUPing for about 6 weeks now and love it!
I just enter it and estimate the calories. According to everything I have read about 500-700 per hour for the girls and 700-900 for the guys. I usually estimate about 10 calories per minute depending on how much intensity I have so that I'm a little under if anything. If anyone gets a better reading with a waterproof HRM I would love to learn more

wswetnam

Kindeo:
I use a heart rate monitor strap when I SUP and have never had an issue with it getting wet. Most are sealed to keep sweat out, and so long as you're just jumping in to cool off (or if you happen to fall in) the rubber gasket around the battery compartment door should keep the water out just fine. I'd just avoid snorkeling or scuba diving unless you know the HRM strap is rated for that depth...

Scubadivr205:
I think (to put on the geeky hat here) that any "calorie" calculations that come out of an HRM and Garmin (or whatever other generic device is used independent of brand) will be guesstimates that may not (and in most cases, will not) be accurate for either the person using the HRM nor for anyone else who may try to calculate their caloric burn from the numbers that the user posts. Here is the short version of why... First off - in the "chalk that one up in the duh column" - we are all different. We all have our own metabolic burn rate, min and max hrm, different "zones" (which need to be computed by using specific testing, not just % of Max, etc) and so on. Secondly - these computers are working with very few data points. As an example, I use a Garmin 500 which is designed as a cycling computer. It does allow me to enter in my "equipment" weight, my body weight, hr zones, my age and gender; but it then calculates caloric burn based off of a set of formulas that I don't have access to. I'm assuming it is using my hr relative to my max hr, perhaps it is using my zone info (I did get that done by a certified training center - steady efforts while breathing into a tube while they measured wattage, hr, cadence, etc), perhaps it is also using the %grade, some factor for wind resistance (based on my speed), and so on. However it calculates it, there is no setting in my Garmin to let me tell it that I'm now on the water SUPing, or running, or rock climbing, or hiking... so I think my Garmin is optimized to calculate cycling calories. I don't think we can assume that if cycling at one heart rate burns 500 calories in an hour, that SUPping at the same heart rate will burn that same 500 (or whatever) calories an hour.

Clear as mud?

I think that (at best) these numbers can be used to gage relative effort between various workouts in the same discipline, but can't be used to get an accurate measure of calories burned.

tlab827

I love paddleboarding and have been logging it as stationary paddling.

Thank you, Brody for the fantastic insite!

BChanFit

Super helpful, thanks!

mikalamarie

I LOVE SUP

dbmata

Heh, how much burned? wear an hrm. If you're like me though, trying to learn on a racing SUP... there's a lot of push ups.

Banks01

I'll be wearing my HRM today and will post results. I realize a lot of this is old but.....

Banks01

Using my HRM and going pretty hard for 2 hours, HRM said 1625.

It was around 5 miles on a pretty slow river keeping a 3-4 MPH pace against the slow current and 4-5 with.

500-600 would be easy to do per hour with the proper teqnique.

I was digging in racing style.