Strong Paddler

The anatomy of the kayak stroke broken down into 4 key areas. These are leg drive, rotation, shoulders/upper torso and arms. In each key area I have described in anatomical terms what each key kayak stroke muscle does during the drive side and recovery side of each stroke.

Leg drive

Muscle	Drive Side	Recovery side
Quads	Extension of Knee and flexion of hip in the drive phase	Antagonist (lengthening on the other side of the joint)
Gluteus maximus	Extension of the hip in the drive phase	Antagonist
Glutes Medius	Stabilising Hip	Hip control and internal hip rotation (anterior fibres) in set up.
Gluteus Minimus	Hip control and external rotation through the drive phase	Stabilising Hip
Hip Flexors	Antagonist	Flexing the hip in set up
Hip Adductors	Stabilising hip	Stabilising hip
Hamstrings	Antagonist	Flexing the knee in setup

The quads and glutes are key muscles to initiate the power into the catch and drive phase of the stroke. Meanwhile the hip adductors, abductors, internal and external rotators of the hip all serve an important function in hip control and movement throughout the stroke.

Key point is the hip never fully extends into an anatomically extended hip while in the seated position with the torso leaning foward. Therefore exercises that include full range hip extension and stretching of the hip flexors become important to reduce injuries to the hip and lower back.

Rotation

Muscle	Drive Side	Recovery side
Internal oblique	Keeps the core coiled at the catch	Brings your recovery side hip up and towards ribs during the exit on the drive side and sets the hip up for next stroke
External oblique	Helps with truck rotation through the drive phase Through unilateral contraction on the opposing side	Brings ribs down towards pelvis for the exit and set up which creates lateral extension on the drive side.
Rectus abdominus	stabilising core	stabilising core
Transverse abdominus	Trunk rotation	Trunk rotation
Erector Spinae	Stabilising core	Lateral flexion
Quadratus Lumborum	Stabilising core	Lateral flexion
Latissimus Dorsi (Outter)	Unilateral anterior pelvic tilt helps with lateral extension and pelvis control throughout the drive phase and exit. Also helps with rotation of the trunk at the catch and drive when the arm and shoulder are in the same relative position.	Lateral Flexion

The main rotators of the truck are the external obliques, internal obliques, latissimus dorsi, transverse abdominous, and the rectus abdominus through stabilising the core. Lateral flexors on the recovery side is also important which extends the trunk on the drive side. The external and internal obliques also help to bring the ribs and pelvis close together allowing the body to coil ready for the next stroke. This allows room for the torso to extend on the drive phase. The Lattissimus Dorsi also plays a role here in lateral flexion and pelvic control. As we see below, in the upper body the Latissimus Dorsi sets itself up for more functions in the drive phase of the stroke and becomes a major player in the kayak stroke.

Shoulders / Upper Torso

Muscle	Drive Side	Recovery side
Pectoralis Major – Upper	Antagonist	Shoulder flexion for the set up
Pectoralis Major – Middle	Antagonist	Internal rotation and adduction of the upper arm. Element of isometric contraction on the catch
Pectoralis Major – Bottom	Ineffective in the kayak stroke as favours adduction at a low shoulder angle	Ineffective in the kayak stroke as favours adduction at a low shoulder angle
Pectoralis Minor	Antagonist, and stabiliser of shoulder/scapular	Protraction of scapular and internal rotation of shoulder
Trapezius – Upper	Abduction of arm during the exit	Antagonist
Trapezius – Middle	Retraction of the scapula through the drive phase	Antagonist
Trapezius – Lower	Depression of scapula throughout the catch and drive	Antagonist
Latissimus Dorsi Middle	Adduction of the upper arm at full rotational reach at the catch. As the body rotates back, it extends the upper arm back towards extension Isometric at the catch which helps with the rotation and concentric through the drive phase of the stroke.	See below
Latissimus Dorsi Outter	Depression of the shoulder at the catch	Internal Rotation of the upper arm. More so if the arm is at 90 degrees or higher ie high elbows Lateral flexion
Rhomboids	Retraction of the shoulder blade through the catch and drive	Antagonist
Levator scapulae	Scapular elevation on the exit	Antagonist
Deltoid – Anterior	Antagonist	Flexion of upper limb in set up
Deltoid – Middle	Abduction of the upper arm on exit	Antagonist
Deltoid – Posterior	External rotation of shoulder on exit	Antagonist
Teres Major	Adduction of shoulder at catch and drive phase	Internal Rotation of shoulder
Supraspinatus	Abductuion of upper arm (first 15 degrees) Won’t be active during the kayak stroke unless you exit late. You may feel this as a beginner	Stabilising the scapular
Infraspinatus	External rotation of shoulder on exit	Antagonist
Subscapularis	Antagonist	Internal Rotation of shoulder
Teres Minor	External rotation of the shoulder on exit	Antagonist
Serratus Anterior	Antagonist	Protraction of scapular, isometric contraction on catch and loaded concentricly until exit on drive side

Important to note there are more internal rotators in body in general, in the kayak stoke we also predominately train and load these more than our external rotators through the act of paddling. There are also some large muscles that internally rotate the shoulder such as the Latissimus Dorsi and pectoralis major. Compared to much smaller external rotators such as the Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Deltoid – Posterior. Therefore it is important to prevent shoulder issues and forward shoulder rounding by working the external rotators more in the gym.

Arms

Muscle	Drive Side	Recovery Side
Biceps	Flexes the elbow at the exit phase	On the opposite arm flexes the shoulder for the step up of the next stroke
Triceps	Antagonist	Extends the top arm in set up for the next stroke
Brachioradialis	Flexes the elbow at the exit phase	Antagonist
Flexors of the hand and digits	Hang onto the paddle. Grip should be relaxed as possible too help the shoulder muscles do the work	Should be relaxed as possible.
extensors of the hand and digits	Stabilise the wrist and help with exit of the stroke	Should be relaxed as possible

As you can see the list for arms is fairly short and I have abbreviated the wrist flexors and extensors. The arms connect the rest of the body to the water but are not a main propulsive force in kayaking. However tennis elbow on the lateral condial of the hummerous is a common injury. Keeping the extensors and flexors of the wrist and elbow in balance and strong to prevent injury. As is regular stretching of the wrist to ensure ligaments do not become fatigued over time.

Summary

Evaluating the anatomy of the kayak stroke gives useful insight into the muscles involved or not involved in the kayak stroke. This means we can make the right muscles strong, correct imbalances to reduce injury and understand how to balance a strength program for any sport using a kayak stroke.

All our programs on the website use this understanding of anatomy and physiology if you want some ideas to use in your training, have a browse through the site. Alternately there is a subscription option with exclusive access to all content. If you want a full analysis for the best exercises for you please also get in touch. My one on one sessions include an online consultation and 3 x follow up programs to make you a strong paddler.