Low level kayaking is not as good as walking for exercise. You need to really go at it to get a lot of cardiovascular and general muscle work out. Stand Up Paddling is much better for exercise and balance and keeping your core fitness. It requires much more effort for the same speed as kayaking, and if you are using a suitable board you exercise many more muscle groups keeping up-right. I do both, and on flat water SUP paddling is a much better work out and keeps your coordination and balance much better than kayaking.
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walkingâŚkayakingâŚitâs all good! Paddle downstream, lock the boat to a tree and hike back to retrieve the car and then drive and go get the boat- done that a few times when I donât have shuttle partners. It works best for short floats and using a path or dirt road for the walking portion.
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Not sure if I can post a picture yet, but today I walked beside this stream that is near my house. My brother and I use to canoe down it in our 20,s. Okay, that was a long time ago but great memoriesâŚ
Twenty five miles of stream and zero houses.
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Looks like a great place to paddle.
Ditto! A very nice paddle venue.
So many times over, to the point of pricelessness. But thatâs just me, and I was passionate about it from the first time I touched paddle to water. Iâm also nuts.
With regards to the exercise value, with proper techniques, it is wonderful for core/whole body. In various conditions, a truly good aerobic workout can be had as well (especially when necessitated by survival concerns! 
). If you approach it as âsimply sitting and waving arms aroundâ, it can be very tiring for the arms, and stamina can be short, ultimately resulting in lack of motivation.
One doesnât just âsit inâ a kayak. One âwearsâ it, and boat/body become one harmonious unit that can produce beautiful phrases of movement through water.
Worth it? Oh yes â a thousand times yes!
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My first 2 miles is a warm up to get the aerobic phase started, and the last 30 minutes is paddling to exhaustion. That activates new muscle groups and helps the red blood cells to improve ability to transport oxygen.
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Exactly! Stanzas of poetry in body, boat, and water. No other boat feels like this.
Nothing against a good walk, I do it quite a bit, but I love the feeling of being on the water. You also have to consider buying the gear as you said, and also loading and unloading, travel, etc, and then - if it is interesting to you. To speak for most everyone here the answer is yes. For you? Maybe try a rental nearby and see what you think. When you are by yourself speed is not an issue, it is a nice workout on a lake or river, it is fun you can go as far and long as you want to.
As far as the cost of the equipment, you can usually find good used kayaks fairly cheap. Used Pungos are fairly easy to find and they are a great all around kayak as long as you stay in protected water. Do your research though, there are some cheap off brands that paddle like barges. Good used paddles are harder to find, but $250 can buy a decent new one. (Aqua Bound Stingray Carbon is a good example). The only other cost is for a PFD. Get a good, comfortable one. (Astral V8 is a good one.) Kayaking doesnât have to be expensive, unless you really get into it and start upgrading. Then look out!
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With kayaking I thought about building my own instead of buying one so I get exactly what I am after. And I can still do that, but I am not sure what to have for the design? I love the wave-piercing, tumblehome design just because that was the first ship I ever worked on (USS Zumwalt) but not sure if that design fits my usage which would be river kayaking? I would think you would want more lift in the bow than a wave-piercer. I donât expect anything more than class Two rapids, but stillâŚ
Yet in looking at Chesapeake Light Craft, they did not have any designs that openly said âfor river kayakingâ. I certainly do not mind taking the time and spending the money to build my own kayak, but am not even sure if a skin on frame kayak, or a plywood/fiberglass kayak would hold up to river usage? (Rocks)
If there was a consensus on the design of one, I would have no problems building one all summer just so I had something to put in the water next spring. I am not impatient and can wait until next year to get on the water. I just donât want to spend all that time building a kayak that doesnât work so well.
CLC has the Petrel Play, a proven light touring design, that has enough rocker for more maneuverability for surfing and negotiating moving water:
https://clcboats.com/shop/boats/kayak-kits/light-touring-kayaks/stitch-and-glue-petrel-play.html
The cost of the complete kit is about $1400. The cost of building a SOF will hit about $1,000 (maybe more given the âtarrifâ situation with Canadian lumber). I have built two SOFs myself, but would not recommend it to a paddling newbie because you have to KNOW what performance characteristics you favor and try to integrate these yourself into your SOF design.
In terms of durability, the stitch & glue CLC should be similar to a composite boat and will require some maintenance for deeper gouges. With SOF, there is a bit of frame flex inherent in the design. It can take a hit here and there in most flat water conditions. On class II rapid, an unlucky encounter with a boulder may take out a rib or two. This would then require taking off the skin and reframing the damage pieces and skinning again. Frankly, I found the skinning the more tedious part of SOF building process. The skin fabric and coating also comprise probably 20-30% of the cost (depending on what type of fabric you choose).
As I mentioned in another post, I think you would be better serve with looking for a used kayak for your first. Develop your skills and a sense of the type of paddling you like and kayak characteristics you would prefer for your next kayak.
-sing
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If pondering SOF designs, you may want to check out Cape Falcon:
Build your own skin-on-frame kayaks and canoes | Cape Falcon Kayak
They have lots of resources and video talking about various aspects. He has several designs, and has been quite innovative.
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To get a good cardio workout the level of physical intensity must be such that talking is difficult as you are out of breath. I could do that with my pedal drive Hobie or on a bicycle but not paddling a kayak. Arm muscles are too small to provide the physical intensity that one gets by using ones leg muscles.
When the weather is bad I use an indoor rowing machine and get a good workout and no damage to my joints. My folding rower is next to a cage for my free weights which are also important to maintaining a minimum fitness level. Farmer carries are particularly good and can be done by anyone.
Swimming, cycling, and walking are good aerobic exercises that are low impact on the body. I am fortunate to have a 6% hill from my house and a walk up it a couple times each day and this helps my heart and overall body a great deal and no need to get in the car as I need to do to go kayaking or bicycling from where I live.
If all you are using is arm muscles and not using your core muscles and legs when you paddle you might want to reconsider how you paddle. Arm paddling for one thing is inefficient.
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One more significant detail that Iâve not seen mentioned, at least recently in this discussion, is the difference between pulling vs. pushing oneself through the water. Most often those who assume paddling is primarily an âarmâ motion tend to want to pull themselves through the water, which is both inefficient and tiring. When using the much more ergonomic whole body stroke, starting with the largest muscles/movements and ending with the smallest (from legs to core to arms/hands), one will note that itâs all part of a pushing motion instead.
The hand associated with the âin waterâ blade is primarily setting angle/attitude/depth of the stroke (all the way down to the most subtle of angles and movements), while the arm applying the powerâthat started with the opposite legâis actually pushing the paddle (with an extended and nearly straight arm as well, as a direct result of leg-powered torso rotation). Finally, in all but the most dire of circumstances, âdeath grippingâ with either hand is unnecessary and ultimately a terrible mistake.
An additional thoughtâŚ
Even before I started using Greenland Paddles exclusively 25 years ago, where taking advantage of hand(s) movement along the loom and entire length of the blades is a given, when I was using Euro paddles with an 80 degree feather, I quickly ditched the drip rings in favor of having greater freedom of movement along the entire length of the loom. Along with all other aspects of paddle handling, availability to leverage adjustments at any moment is a fine thing indeed.
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I donât paddle for fitness. Personally, I walk, bicycle and do resistance training for fitness, although if I lived on a river, I might add paddling for fitness. I wouldnât give up walking, and replace it with kayaking; both hit your body differently and thus have different fitness advantages. Do both and keep it fresh, as the saying goes, âvariety is the spice of lifeâ.
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Agree with the others, try to use your core more. And I was always taught for cardio steady state should allow you to be able to talk (doesnât apply to intervals or sprints, just steady state).
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When I had my Hobie pedal drive I could go at double the speed with the same relative effort of paddling with my arms and could maintain this speed for hours. Leg muscle mass and strength is a great deal greater than arm muscle mass and one is using their torso with either legs or arms. Actually with pedal drive as with bicycling my low back muscles are engaged far more and it is a key reason for my choice of these activities for fitness.
If you have never used a pedal drive kayak then you have no basis for comparison and can only make conjectures.
Wasnât making a comparison. Stating one should use legs and core for proper paddling. Using just arms is inefficient. Arms donât provide the major power. Paddle however you like but stating kayak paddling is arms is leaving out the other muscle groups that should be engaged.
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