SUP tips for beginners – simply learn stand up paddling

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Stand Up Paddling is well on the way to becoming a popular sport in Germany (and worldwide anyway). Especially in the summer months you can see more and more people on lakes, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with their paddles on a surfboard. Not without reason: SUP is fun, easy to learn and also trains the whole body. Reason enough to get on the board regularly. We have the 9 best SUP tips for beginners - this way you can easily learn Stand Up Paddling.

What a wonderful summer in Germany. The sun has been shining almost constantly since mid-April. On many lakes, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea you can see countless stand-up paddlers during the warm season. While it was unthinkable a few years ago, today it's hard to count the number of athletes on some days. Stand Up Paddling has become an incredibly popular sport. It is well on the way to becoming a truly popular sport – perhaps not as much as jogging and cycling, but perhaps to the same extent as horse riding or playing golf. Good SUP tips are all the more important because more and more people want to learn stand up paddling.

We started conventional surfing years ago and of course didn't get around to trying stand-up paddling. That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted years. We want to share with you our wealth of experience and give you the best SUP tips for beginners. With a little skill you should learn stand up paddling in a few hours to a few days.

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SUP tips for beginners – Why has stand up paddling become so popular recently?

Stand Up Paddling is not just since yesterday. Since the sixties and seventies, surfers have been on the board with a paddle. In Hawaii, the king of the natives was the only one who was allowed to drive around with a surfboard and paddle! The tradition of standing and paddling on a surfboard is long anyway. Sometimes surfers just did that as a gack. And now and then out of boredom, because there was lull and there were no waves.

SUP tips for beginners: Standing paddling has recently become even more popular. Photo: Sascha Tegtmeyer
SUP tips for beginners: Standing paddling has recently become even more popular. Photo: Sascha Tegtmeyer

But it's only in the last few years that the stand-up paddling trend has really spread to us. We are sure: SUP wouldn't be so popular if it weren't so easy. You don't need more than a few SUP tips for beginners to get comfortable on the board. Thanks to a variety of different boards, there are many models that are wonderfully suitable for beginners and ensure a firm footing on the surfboard from the first minute.

While traditional surfing and surfing are more popular with young people, stand up paddling is also very popular among older people between 40 and 70. Even comparatively unsportsmanlike people can learn Stand Up Paddling in no time. That's why inveterate non-paddlers also occasionally bring me up and say the SUP is the gulf of surfing (say: yawning boring). Of course, that's not true at all!

Hello, I'm Sascha Tobias Tegtmeyer from Hamburg - and a real beach child with heart and soul! Sea fan, travel lover and always up for an adventure. On my travel blog Just-Wanderlust.com and the social media channels of Strandkind Travels, I combine my love of traveling and nature with a passion for water sports such as stand-up paddling, diving and surfing. I am a journalist, author and blogger - and I am naturally curious when I get to know new travel destinations and then write about them in detail. As a technology fan, when I'm traveling with my family or alone, I'm always happy to bring a few travel gadgets with me for testing purposes. My favorite travel countries, which I also prefer to write about in my travel blog: USA, Thailand and Maldives.
About the author

I'm just a curious beach kid in the world

Hello, I am Sascha Tobias Tegtmeyer from Hamburg – and a real beach child with heart and soul! Sea fan, travel lover and always up for an adventure. On my travel blog Just-Wanderlust.com and the social media channels of Strandkind Travels, I combine my love of traveling and nature with a passion for water sports such as stand-up paddling, diving and surfing. I am a journalist, author and blogger - and I am naturally curious when I get to know new travel destinations and then write about them in detail. As a technology fan, when I'm traveling with my family or alone, I'm always happy to bring a few travel gadgets with me for testing purposes. My favorite travel countries, which I also prefer to write about in my travel blog: USA, Thailand and Maldives.

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FAQs SUP – the most important questions and answers

Stand up paddling, or SUP for short, has gained enormous popularity in recent years. Whether on calm lakes, rivers or the open sea - stand-up paddling is a sport for all ages and not only offers a great workout, but also a special way to enjoy nature from the water. But what do you need to get started? How to choose the right board? And which techniques should you know? In our FAQs about SUP we answer the most important questions so that you can start your paddling adventure well prepared.

Which SUP for beginners?

An all-round board is suitable for beginners - a cruiser. These boards are very long and quite wide. A touring board is recommended for advanced riders who want to cover longer distances. It's a bit narrower and more streamlined, but it feels a little less stable at first. A speed board is again much narrower and more shaky for beginners. But you can build up a lot of speed and travel kilometers.

The accessories are particularly important: use a foot strap (leash) and a life jacket or an inflatable life buoy.

How do you hold the SUP paddle correctly?

The feet are shoulder-width apart in the middle of the SUP. With one hand you grasp the T-handle of the SUP at the top, with the other hand you grasp the shaft. Extend your arms wide and then pull the paddle very close to the board. It makes sense to look at the horizon to better keep your balance.

How difficult is SUP?

SUP is much easier than many initially think. After a short time and a little practice you are stable on the board. Stand up paddling can be started kneeling and as soon as you feel more secure you can stand up. It is certainly a bit shaky at first, but after a few minutes you have got used to standing up paddling. If you don't like partout, you can also buy a stand-up paddling board with seat.

How does SUP work?

Stand Up Paddling works very simply: You have a board on which the user stands with his paddle. The SUP board is started and steered by strong blows with the paddle. Stand Up Paddling is a full body workout with which you can exercise your whole body.

How do you really stand on a SUP?

The feet should be resting and shoulder-width apart halfway up the SUP. Basically, it is important to create maximum stability so that you stand as stable as possible on the board when paddling.

How fast are you with SUP?

In leisurely cruising, you travel about two to four kilometers per hour. Anyone traveling with a touring board can travel six to eight kilometers an hour. The record with a speed board is 14,5 km / h.

What does SUP mean?

SUP means Stand Up Paddling.

Learn Stand Up Paddling on the Alster in Hamburg: In our opinion, the perfect lake! Photo: Sascha Tegtmeyer
Learn Stand Up Paddling on the Hamburg Alster: In my opinion the perfect lake. Photo: Sascha Tegtmeyer

With the right SUP tips for beginners, you'll soon be stable on the board

In our SUP tips for beginners, we give you valuable tips, as well as you can stand on the board within a very short time. And guaranteed to have a lot of fun with your stand up paddling tours. From the preparation to the right lake for stand-up paddling, the contact to the surf school and the SUP rental, the question of the right SUP course and the safety of stand up paddling, we have many valuable SUP tips for beginners for you. If you follow our advice, you will have guaranteed fun in this fascinating sport.

1. SUP learning: theoretical preparation for the first time Stand Up Paddling

Proper preparation is also everything when it comes to stand up paddling. Your SUP career begins before you even get on the board for the first time. Yes, before you even leave the house! Find out more about SUP sports on the Internet, for example with the help of this article. Browse around, be curious and get information from various sources in order to get the most precise overview possible of the topic. The better you prepare for your first time stand up paddling, the more fun you will have. With our SUP tips for beginners you will definitely create a good foundation.

2. Learn Stand Up Paddling: Find the perfect lake for SUP

Now things are getting a little more difficult. To start stand up paddling, you need a lake. Of course, you can also start with it on vacation by the sea. But a lake on your doorstep is more practical for practicing. Most of the time there are fewer waves there and everything is a little quieter. There you have more leisure to practice stand-up paddling. If you can practice in a quiet place, you may feel less inhibited than on a crowded beach with people watching. Learning stand up paddling definitely requires a little concentration.

However, not all lakes are the same. In order to really start stand up paddling successfully, you need a lake that is as large and varied as possible (no joke!). The body of water should not be too small. For one simple reason: After a few weeks you will have progressed to the point where a small body of water simply no longer appeals to you at all and you will lose the fun of SUP. That's why we love this Stand Up Paddling on the Alster in Hamburg so much. Hardly any other body of water in Germany is so diverse. The lake in the city center of Hamburg with its endless canals and inlets. By the way, an excellent place to learn stand up paddling.

3. Contact a local surf school or SUP rental

This is certainly not a must, but it is recommended. If there is a surfing school or a SUP rental on your body of water or generally in your area, you should get in touch. The experts from the surf school can support you with all questions about stand up paddling and give valuable SUP tips for beginners. They will also help you choose the right equipment and maintain your equipment. For example, you can send the SUP to the manufacturer for repairs. Many stand up paddling rental stations are happy to help you. Of course, SUP rentals can also help you with the correct posture on the board, best practices and all other important questions about stand up paddling for beginners.

4. Take a beginner SUP course or not?

Unlike other sports such as the Scuba diving, where a beginner's course to learn to dive is mandatory, stand-up paddleboarders don't necessarily have to take a course before getting out on the water with a board for the first time. Nevertheless, it is of course a good idea, if possible, to take a beginner SUP course at the beginning of your SUP career and learn the basics. There will be no damage whatsoever.

SUP beginner course or not? That's a matter of personal taste. Photo: Pixabay
SUP beginner course or not? That's a matter of personal taste. Photo: Pixabay

But it's not compulsory, and if you dare, you can just get started. We at Just Wanderlust have never taken a SUP beginner course. We looked at a few videos on the best practices and driving techniques on the Internet - and just started. That did not hurt us either. We taught everything ourselves and are still doing really well today.

5. As a beginner buy SUP or borrow once?

Maybe you should not handle it like we do! We ordered the Stand Up Paddling Board on the internet before we even had the paddle on the surfboard for the first time ever! Well, we had some experience with traditional surfing. Of course this is a bit risky if you do not like the sport at all. We were just lucky and years later still use our Stand Up Paddling Board from that time.

But if you are wondering if you really like the SUP, you should either rent a surfboard from the local Stand Up Paddling rental or friends and try it out first. Then you are definitely on the safe side.

6. As a beginner in stand up paddling pay attention to safety!

Stand up paddlers repeatedly die on their tours. Therefore, as with all other sports, the following applies: stand-up paddling is done at your own risk and you should keep one thing in mind when practicing your new favorite sport: safety, safety, safety!

This includes many aspects and we give here in this article only a very rough overview. For one thing, you should always have a supervisor who keeps an eye on you from the shore. In addition, should pay attention to the wind direction and squalls. Third, you should definitely not paddle in bad weather conditions such as thunderstorms. Fourth, we always have a life buoy, for example. Furthermore, you should definitely use a leash that binds around your ankle so as not to lose the board. Furthermore, we always have a smartphone in a dry bag protected from water in order to call if necessary help by phone. In terms of safety, the golden rule in our SUP tips for beginners is: anticipate problems before they even happen. In this way, you are most likely to ensure your safety in the SUP.

7. The most important SUP tip for beginners ever: In Stand Up Paddling, practice is the master!

Practice makes perfect: Just Wanderlust Author Sascha Tegtmeyer is on the road several times a week with the SUP. Photo: Selfie
Practice makes perfect: Just Wanderlust Author Sascha Tegtmeyer is on the road several times a week with the SUP. Photo: Selfie

You got yourself a SUP board, read up on it, maybe took a course and thought intensively about your safety while stand up paddling. Now it’s time to get on your surfboard and stand up paddle boarding until the doctor comes! Because only practice creates routine and ultimately makes perfect. If there is one SUP tip for beginners that you should definitely keep in mind, it is this: Get on the SUP board at every opportunity and practice as much as possible. If you want to learn stand up paddling, you simply need a routine. You will see how quickly you get better! You shouldn't just go for a spin on the SUP when you're on vacation, but also regularly at home. Of course, you can also do SUP as a sport, for example as an alternative to jogging.

8. SUP in winter: stay in the cold season!

There are three options in winter: Either you do SUP in winter and you can also use your stand up paddling board in the cold season. If you want to stand up paddle boarding in winter, you need to know a few important tips SUP in winter observe. Or you prefer to stay warm in winter. Even then, you don't have to give up your favorite sport completely. There are so-called balance boards that you can use to practice and keep your balance in the living room. This is fun and looks pretty fun for the rest of the family. But it also brings something! This means we can practice keeping our balance on a surfboard over and over again throughout the winter. When spring comes and you start your first tour, it feels like you never took a winter break from SUP! Option three, by the way, is to go on a relaxing holiday in winter somewhere where it is sunny and warm. You can also rent a SUP board there with guarantee!

9. Beginner Pro Tip: Find New Challenges in Stand Up Paddling

SUP Tips for Beginners: The more you travel with the SUP, the better your skills will be! Photo: Luisa Praetorius
SUP Tips for Beginners: The more you travel with the SUP, the better your skills will be! Photo: Luisa Praetorius

This is a point that has been a major headache for us for a long time. We started with surfing and SUP and progressed quite quickly. We really experimented, practiced quick turns with lunges, walked on the SUP board, tried out balance in extreme situations and many other techniques in order to get better and better. The problem was: Unfortunately, our beginner stand up paddling board didn't improve with us, but became more and more unsuitable. For this reason, you should make sure that you always look for new challenges with SUP so that you don't lose the fun of the sport.

Either you buy a SUP board for advanced users right from the start or plan that you may have to switch from a beginner stand up paddling board to a board for advanced users after a few months or at the latest in the second season. However, the old surfboard can still be sold at a fairly stable value. This is the only way you can continue to have fun with this fascinating sport in the long term.

With SUP tips for beginners you will become a real professional in stand up paddling

My detailed conclusion

Stand up paddling has established itself as one of the preferred water sports not only internationally, but also in Germany. When the sun is shining, more and more enthusiasts are frolicking on lakes, in the Baltic Sea or the North Sea and enjoying the combination of relaxation, adventure and physical activity. SUP impresses with its accessibility and the fact that it enables almost everyone to experience success within a very short time.

This sport, once overshadowed by more traditional surfing, has earned its permanent place in the water sports world. It combines the elegance of surfing with the tranquility of paddling and offers a holistic training method for the body. It's hard to miss how stand up paddling has captured the hearts of many. While it may not have quite reached the mass phenomenon of jogging or cycling, it certainly has a place alongside sports like horse riding or golf.

Our own experiences in traditional surfing inevitably led us to SUP. And it was love at first paddle stroke. This sport has accompanied us for years and we want you to benefit from it too. Our hand-picked SUP tips for beginners are based on many years of experience and are designed to help you master the art of stand up paddling quickly and efficiently. With commitment and the right tips, you can experience noticeable progress after just a few sessions and enjoy the fascination of SUP to the fullest.

Have you already started Stand Up Paddling? Or are you considering venturing onto the board? Share your experience in the comments.

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Comment

  1. Very good contribution, if you try it out at sea for the first time, I would advise you to take a beginner's course, even if the sea is calm and there is little to no wind, that can change very quickly, even in midsummer , here with us in Calpe on the Costa Blanca it can be very quiet at 1 o'clock, and an hour later the wind picks up and inexperienced SUPers skid ....

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