9 Beginner Standup Paddleboard Tips | SUP

Standup paddle boarding looks much harder than it actually is. While there are many things I wish I knew when first using SUP, I gathered a list of 9 useful paddle-boarding tips that will make your first trip easier and more enjoyable than most beginners.

My SUP Paddleboard - https://amzn.to/3HK3R0T

Where To Set The Board In The Water
So your inflatable paddle board is all pumped up, unless you have a hard board, you walk up to shore, put your board in the water, get on top, and you’re not going anywhere because your fin is stuck in the ground. While this mistake might seem obvious, it happens more frequently than not to newbies. So before you break the fin to your new SUP, put the board further out into the water before climbing on.

When You Get On, Start With Your Knees
Depending on where you load in, you might want to get a pair of water shoes to protect your feet from a rocky river. But once you climb onto the board, start with your knees, straighten forward, and center yourself within the board. Most SUPs have a handle that marks the center.

How To Standup & Where On The Board
While you’re in a pushup position centered on the board, lay your paddle flat horizontally in front of you, and use your arms to bring one leg up centered near the handle, and the next leg perpendicular. Make sure you’re using your arms to keep yourself and the board balanced in the process of standing.

When standing, make sure both of your feet are facing forward. Also, many people think that it’s easier to stand up while moving so row a couple of times on your knees than begin standing.

Don’t Stand Sideways Like Surfboard
The very first thing I did once I got my paddle board in the water, is stand on it like a surfboard. What I should’ve done was try to find an article like this to know how not to stand on a paddleboard.

Unless you’re surfing waves with a lot of forward-momentum, keeping balanced while standing sideways was annoyingly difficult and made my first trip more stressful than enjoyable. It took until my 2nd trip to find out the magical secret of standing forward, and it was drastically easier.

Which Way Does Paddle Face?
Here is yet another tip I wish I knew beforehand. I actually didn’t find this out until after our first SUP travel video. But have your paddle faced away from you where the paddle slant is curved towards the front of your SUP board.

Since finding this out, my speed improved, ease of paddling improved, maneuverability improved, and the tracking drastically improved. Tracking means the ability to keep the board straight while paddling.

Taller You Are, the Larger The Board Should Be
So this tip is suitable if you didn’t pick out your board yet. But a general rule of thumb, the larger or taller you are, the larger the board you’ll need. But if you’re a whopping 5’4″ like me you can get whatever you want.

How To Properly Fall
If you find yourself losing balance, just purposely fall into the water. Don’t try to catch yourself or fall on the board. Falling on the board hurts. Fall into the water, it’s fun and doesn’t hurt.

Start Off In Calm Water
There are so many incredible places to paddle, but if you’re new, start off in calm water. It wouldn’t be long till you naturally develop muscle memory and balance that’ll free you to paddle where you please.

Beginners Consider Wearing A Life Jacket & Ankle Leash
And lastly, a lot of you don’t want to hear this, but I recommend a coast guard certified life jacket and an ankle leash if the SUP comes with it when starting. Along with that, it might also be wise to bring a fellow paddleboarder or even a kayaker to come along.
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Timecodes
0:00 - Intro
0:11 - Where To Set Board In Water
0:38 - Start With Knees
1:00 - How To Stand Up On SUP
1:34 - Don't Stand Sideways
2:13 - Which Way Paddle Face
2:44 - Taller You Are, Larger The Board You Need
2:58 - How To Fall Properly
3:17 - Start in Calm Water
3:36 - Boat Wake (Side Note)
4:12 - Wear A Life Jacket
4:28 - Summary