How to Improve Your Stand Up Paddleboard Technique

Constant improvement should be the fundamental goal for all levels of athlete regardless of sport. Through proper practice of skill and movement patterns, improvement can be easy. With sports like SUP or Ski racing, performance is measured in metrics like time and speed. Being able to watch this data in real time while training is the key to maximizing your technique gains.

To train day after day, week after week, month after month without data is futile and arduous. Many of my fellow competitors are only using timing/data capture on race day!

As a coach and competitor in stand up paddleboarding, one of the most important tools for improvement is the Nielsen-Kellerman Speed Coach GPS - Model 2 with additional training pack.

Being disciplined to properly train on a continuos basis utilizing technology will set you apart from others.

My biggest gains derived from training with a Speed Coach 2 are as follows:

1. Learning how to allow the board to glide between strokes, improving Distance per stroke (DPS).
2. Grasping the different stroke per minute (SPM) cadences for effective pacing and acceleration.
3. Utilizing mile per hour (MPH) metrics to realize top speed and average speed and how to maintain them.

If you're saying "I don't need technology in my training", think of world cup ski racers! In skiing, time trials, timed training runs, and measured glide tests are all common place for the athletes. They know that technology can maximize efficiency in improving their results.

The speed at which you can improve in your learning, training, and competition cycles with the help of useful data is incredible when compared to winging it and hoping to magically find the right technique.

We incorporate Speed Coaches into many of our exciting private stand up paddleboard lessons. This is because while the NK Speed Coach is an effective training tool in its own right, the combination of a Speed Coach 2.0 and a professional SUP coach is the ultimate combination!

SPEED COACH features that I use the most.

• Strokes per minute (SPM)
• Distance per stroke (DPS)
• Speed
• Calories (estimated)
• Distance
• Heart Rate

For those of you who do SUP touring for fitness the speed coach can also be great for those long workouts and or high mileage trips.

If your looking to improve and would like private coaching with your stand up paddle board racing or cruising call me at 802-258-0282 or send an email.


Jonathan Bischof is from Jamaica, Vermont and is an avid skier, stand up paddle boarder, kettle bell enthusiast, and loves to eat and cook. For fun he likes to race stand up paddle boards. He runs the stand up paddle board academy for Vermont Ski and Sport. Jonathan is a fitness professional with the following credentials; World Paddle Association (WPA) Level 1, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), Functional Movement Systems (FMS) Level 1 and 2, and Russian Kettlebell (RKC1 and HKC).