The Rowing TutorHow Canoeing Can Benefit Your Rowing Training
How canoeing can benefit rowing training: trunk endurance, balance and water sense, what it won't improve, plus a 60-minute session and a sample training week.
By Louis Zaidman · Updated · 4 min read
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Canoeing can benefit your rowing training as an easy aerobic session that builds trunk endurance, balance and a feel for moving water. Use it once a week at most, on a lighter day, because it doesn’t train the leg drive that powers rowing. Treat it as cross-training that adds to your week. If your only goal is a faster 2k, an extra erg session will do more.
What a rower gains
| Benefit | What it gives you | How you’d know it’s working |
|---|---|---|
| Aerobic volume | More easy time without more rowing strokes | You can paddle 45 minutes at a talking pace |
| Trunk and shoulder endurance | Work for the muscles that rotate the trunk | Posture holds better late in a long session |
| Balance | Practice at reacting to a moving hull | You’re calmer when a boat rolls |
| Water sense | Reading wind, stream and waves | You spot the sheltered line sooner |
| A change of scene | A session that doesn’t feel like training | You look forward to it |
A figure from the Compendium of Physical Activities shows why it suits an easy day. Canoeing for pleasure is listed at 3.5 METs, and canoeing at 4 to 5.9 mph at 5.8 METs. General vigorous erg work is listed at 7.3 METs. A MET is a rough measure of energy use, so read these as a comparison and not as a personal figure. Most relaxed paddling is lighter work than a firm erg session.
How the two sports differ
In rowing you face backwards on a sliding seat, drive with the legs and lever oars against a pivot on the boat. In a canoe you face forwards, kneel or sit, and hold a single-bladed paddle with no pivot and no slide. You paddle on one side at a time, with a mix of reach, trunk rotation and pull.
That difference explains both the benefit and the limit. Your trunk works in rotation, which rowing barely trains. Your legs mostly brace. Our direct comparison of rowing vs canoeing covers boats, racing and which to choose.
Stability depends on the boat. A recreational open canoe is wide and forgiving. A racing canoe is narrow and tippy, and is paddled kneeling on one knee. Start in the wide one.
What canoeing won’t do
- It won’t build your leg drive. The legs brace and steady you. They don’t push through a slide.
- It won’t raise your erg score directly. Don’t drop an erg session to fit it in.
- It won’t transfer technique. Canoe habits don’t carry over to the rowing stroke. The benefit is conditioning and water sense.
- It won’t rest your shoulders. Paddling loads the shoulders and wrists in a new way, so a long first outing can leave them sore.
A 60-minute session
| Block | Time | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 10 minutes | Gentle paddling, shoulder and trunk mobility on the bank first |
| Steady paddle | 30 minutes | Talking pace, swap sides about every 5 minutes |
| Skills | 10 minutes | Turning, stopping and the J-stroke, which keeps the canoe straight |
| Cool-down | 10 minutes | Easy paddle back, then land and stretch |
Build from 30 to 45 minutes of steady paddling over several weeks. Swap your paddling side regularly so you don’t overload one shoulder or one side of the trunk. If you’re in a tandem canoe, swap seats and sides with your partner halfway through.
Fitting it into your week
Put it where an easy session would go, and keep it away from your hardest rowing days. This is one example for a rower doing five sessions:
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Steady row, 45 minutes |
| Tuesday | Intervals |
| Wednesday | Canoe, 60 minutes easy |
| Thursday | Strength |
| Friday | Rest |
| Saturday | Long steady row |
| Sunday | Rest |
Our guide to cross-training for rowers shows how to weigh this against cycling, swimming and other options.
Stay safe on your first outings
Book a taster session or lesson at a local canoe club or centre. They usually provide the boat, paddle and buoyancy aid, and an instructor will teach you the basic strokes in a session or two.
- Wear a buoyancy aid. Always, whatever your rowing experience.
- Dress for the water, not the air. Sudden immersion below 15°C is potentially dangerous, and UK inland water stays cold all year.
- Learn capsize drill. Know how to get out, stay with the boat and get help before you go any distance.
- Check the water. Avoid weirs, strong stream and high wind while you’re learning.
- Tell the instructor if you can’t swim well. They need to know before you launch.
If you’re moving between rivers, follow Check Clean Dry and the other habits for protecting waterways, because canoes and kit can carry invasive species too.
Keep rowing as the priority
Think of a canoe outing as general conditioning, not technique work. Keep your rowing sharp with the phase-by-phase guides in our technique hub. If you want more time in your own boat, our guide to lengthening your on-water rowing sessions sets out a 6-week build. If paddling brings out a love of being on the water, and you’ve only rowed indoors so far, our list of UK rowing clubs is a good place to find a learn-to-row course.
Frequently asked questions
Is canoeing good cross-training for rowing?
Yes, as an easy aerobic session once a week. It builds trunk and shoulder endurance plus water sense, but it doesn't train the leg drive, so it adds to your rowing rather than replacing a session.
Is canoeing easier than rowing?
A beginner in a stable open canoe will usually get moving sooner than a beginner in a racing shell. Paddling straight and efficiently still takes practice, because you steer with the same blade you drive with.
Will canoeing improve my erg score?
Not directly. Your 2k depends on leg drive and rowing-specific fitness. Any benefit comes from extra aerobic work and a fresher mind, so judge a canoe session as an easy day.
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