Why You’re Getting Injured as a Paddler

As paddlers, we rely heavily on our lats to drive force through the catch and drive phase of each stroke. Over time, this naturally makes the lats strong and dominant. It’s also why many paddlers assume they should be good at pull-ups.

Interestingly, struggling with pull-ups and recurring paddling injuries often share the same root causes. More on that shortly.

The Strength Training Trap

Generic strength training advice often includes exercises such as:

• Pull-ups
• Bench press or dumbbell press
• Bench pull
• Single-arm rows

All of these build strength in the lats and major upper-body muscles. On the surface, that sounds like a good thing and to a point, it is.

But strength without balance is where problems begin.

Paddling Posture and Muscle Bias

Now consider paddling technique and posture. We spend long periods in:

• Anterior spinal flexion
• Slight thoracic rounding
• Forward shoulder positioning

This position favours shortened, strong muscles on the front side of the body, including:

• Hip flexors and quads
• Core flexors
• Chest and anterior shoulder

It’s easy to assume that strong lats “balance this out.” Unfortunately, they don’t.

Despite being a major pulling muscle, the latissimus dorsi also contributes to internal rotation of the shoulder, due to its anterior attachment on the upper arm. This means dominant lats can actually reinforce an internally rotated, forward-shoulder posture, rather than correcting it.

Where Injuries Develop

An internally rotated shoulder can present in many ways, including:

• Shoulder pain during overhead movements
• Tendon impingement
• Medial elbow pain (often labelled as golfer’s elbow)

These are not isolated issues they’re signs of a system that’s lost balance.

What the Body Actually Needs

To counter this, paddlers need to prioritise:

• Hip and spinal extension
• External rotation of the shoulder
• Full shoulder extension
• Scapular control through full range, Protraction, retraction, depression, elevation

Unilateral movements and exercises that take joints through their entire range of motion are especially important. They expose limitations that bilateral strength work often hides.

How This Relates to Pull-Ups

Pull-ups aren’t just about lat strength.

A strong pull-up requires:

• Scapular control to initiate the movement
• Strong mid-back musculature to complete full range ie retract and depress scapular.
• Grip and forearm strength for higher reps or load

These are the same qualities required for injury free, efficient paddling.

If you struggle with pull-ups, it’s often not a lack of effort it’s a lack of balance, control, or range.

The Strong Paddler Approach

Strong Paddler programs focus on:

• Bodyweight and banded exercises to restore balance
• Regressed pull-up variations that teach correct mechanics
• Strength through full, controlled ranges of motion
• Technique improvements

The goal is simple:
Get the body moving correctly first then add strength.

When that happens, strength training enhances paddling performance instead of quietly undermining it.