How hard is stand up paddle boarding?

[Hollyhocksarenotmessy]

I'd like to try this and a local lake offers beginner's lessons.

But I'm 55, size 20, stiff joints and poor balance. Will I just make a fool of myself and keep falling off or be unable to stand up?

I’m interested in the answer. I think you can do it kneeling up though.

It’s much easier than it looks, I’ve done quite a lot. I remember the first time thinking I’d just stay kneeling, but everyone in our group - very mixed - was standing in 15 mins. The boards are surprisingly stable. The moment of standing up is a bit odd as your balance an perspective changes but it’s genuinely not hard. And the worst thing that can happen is that you fall in, which isn’t the end of the world.

Give it a go - it’s really good fun, and important to learn properly so you can be safe.

You can absolutely kneel and paddleboard. Why not give it a go? If you hate it, you never have to do it again but at least you'll know!

I love it. It's peaceful and you have to concentrate on what you're doing so I find it destresses me

Have fun x

I’m older than you, by the way, and liked it so much I ended up getting my own board,

I'm 46. I live on a beach. I swim nearly daily. I do a lot of yoga and have excellent balance. I trail run.

In 4 summers of trying in a flat, warm calm sea I have only managed to stand up on a paddle board this summer. When I did I couldn't actually propel myself forward without falling off. I got water up my nose and gave in several times.

Other people seem to be able to hop on without a second thought.

Even so you can do it sitting down (legs out front) kneeling down or kneeling up. I do the latter. I think my centre of gravity is shot! But you can still have fun without standing if you can't do it.

When we went on holiday to the Welsh coast a few weeks ago, there were loads of people paddle boarding. DD and I spent quite a while watching and honestly, there were people of all ages, sizes and levels of fitness. Some were kneeling but most standing up. We actually commented on the fact that there was very little falling in - the danger spot for falling in actually seemed to just be getting on. When people were paddling around, the boards seemed very stable.

I say go for it - it looks really good fun!

I've started standing on one leg for 30 seconds (each side) every day - I do it while I brush my teeth every morning because my toothbrush has a handy 30 second timer. It has made a real difference to my balance, so might be worth trying that ahead of starting? It took less than a week for me to see a noticeable improvement.

Not hard! And I reckon that the process is really enjoyable. Go for it, I say.

They aren’t all created equal! Some feel very sturdy. Eg. We’ve happily had and adult paddling and a wiggly toddler sat on the front, or and adult sat on the front and have been able to change over without anyone going in the water.

Other boards are hard even just to stand up on!

You don’t really need lessons to use one, could you hire one for an an hour and see how you get on. Then if you want to do a course with other people you’ll know how you find it before hand

This is all very reassuring, especially that it's OK to keep kneeling. I have horrible memories of being laughed at during school PE.

They do a one hour intro I think I'd like to do. It does look like fun.

My dc have done it. My 15 year-old son probably has the same kind of build as you and poor balance and he can do it. He spends more time in the river than on the board but he has a great time.

I actually have a balance problem, and I can do it.
The problem I have with stiff joints is that I find it harder to get from sitting , or especially kneeling, to standing up. So for preference I would start by standing, and then kneel or sit.
Don't try and learn on the sea, or any rough water. Smooth lake, or slowish river.
If you can find a quiet location, so you're less nervous of looking a fool, that will help.
1 to 1 lesson will see you learn the essentials in not many minutes.

Go for it- worth doing if you never stand up at all.

I started kneeling and progressed to standing quite quickly.

It helps if you have a low centre of gravity. My husband hasn’t and has amused countless onlookers with his futile attempts to stand up over the years. He now point blank refuses to get on a board at all.

Its dead easy! get on your knees for balance first!

My eight year old is fab on ours.

Having lessons of a qualified instructor helps loads. You can do it with out but you will learn how to keep safe and not injure yourself. We are very lucky that we have a lake at the back of our house we go on.

However where there is water there is danger. Be careful. Know the body of water you are going in to and how fast the wind in blowing. Im a strong swimmer and do wild swimming but I won't take my board of to the sea.

I’ve done it twice, once on a lake and once on the sea. The sea was much harder because it was choppy, but on the flat lake it was easy, and in both cases everyone managed to move to standing up, including a big range of ages and weight/body types. At first you think it will be impossible but you get the hang of it surprisingly quickly.

Some people seem to have a better natural instinct to stay up - I’m ok for a while but if I lose my balance I always fall in, while some people managed to quickly sit down and stay on. But as long as you can swim, falling in is part of the fun. And if you don’t want to stand up you don’t have to - you can paddle sitting or kneeling.

I’d do it regularly if I was nearer a centre and had time. Give it a try, you might love it.

My old next door neighbour was a sup instructor.

I took him up on a lesson once and I managed to stand up and paddle a bit.

I'm very unsporty ,overweight, I can't swim and I'm terrified of being out of my depth in water.

Seriously, if I can do it then anyone can!!

Agree much easier in inland waters.

Also the quality of your board will make a difference.

But yeah, it's pretty easy.

I got one for my birthday last year (I'm 46 and in Aus); I don't find it that easy to stand up, but I find it much easier than my tall husband! I tend to stay on my knees and it is ok, but I get a bit nervous when I get too deep, although it's actually not too hard to get back on if you need to (gab the handle to lift yourself on, and make sure you always have the ankle leash on). Sea is much harder than lake, and I had quite a crash once when I rode a wave in and hit the sand bank! Some people make it look easy and elegant, but I haven't figured out how yet!

It's brilliant, no need to stand, or kneel that gets painful, just sit, I tend to go crossed leg when dog is on board too.