Liddy Marquez takes her workouts seriously. At 43 years old, she has been a runner and a cyclist, has competed in road races and biathlons, and is training for a triathlon in the spring. Her current workout routine? "Kayaking is my first interest," said the Bel Air mother of four. "I try to get out three to four times a week."
It's not just the exercise that paddling provides, she said. "It's a meditative thing. Kayaking takes me out of the stresses of normal life."
One of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, kayaking is being embraced by athletes looking for an alternative to the gym as well as those who simply want to get out and experience nature.
Hal Ashman, who operates Ultimate Watersports at Gunpowder Falls State Park, says those who try paddling generally come back for more, though "not necessarily more of what they came for in the first place." Rather, the converts "find a whole new way of taking time for themselves, to become grounded in a serene environment."
Originally transportation for fishers and hunters, kayaking was turned into recreation by an English barrister named John MacGregor, who paddled his boat throughout Europe, documenting his adventures in a series of books. He founded the Royal Canoe Club in 1866. Kayak and canoe races showed up for the first time in the 1936 Olympics, held in Berlin, with 19 nations competing.
If you've ever puttered about in a plastic boat, you may wonder about a kayak's ability to provide a strenuous full-body workout. Novices tend to use their arms alone, as they alternately lift and dip the double paddle, only to discover that a little more shoulder action, and some rotation of the torso, helps to push more water and accelerate the glide. Working even harder, a kayaker may find his or her legs pressing against the foot braces in opposition to the arm motion, a technique that Brian Blankinship, who heads the 450-member Chesapeake Paddlers Association, likens to "pumping your arms when you run."
Learning to roll
Initially, the most challenging aspect of kayaking may simply be balance: Common recreational kayaks are about 10 feet to 16 feet long and a couple of feet wide and are made for singles or doubles.
Paddlers sit on a molded seat on the floor of the boat wearing a watertight "spray skirt" that fastens around the opening. Climbing in and out of this wobbly craft can be a challenge. More advanced kayakers, especially those who paddle in white water, learn to "roll" -- flipping the boat in a sideways somersault, a trick that requires a strong hip flex.
