An article from IOUP
“Power doesn’t start in the arms. ”
May 29, 2026

It starts with the CATCH. That moment where the shovel enters the water and the body decides how it's going to transfer energy to the board. Most try to paddle hard.

Very few understand how to create a true anchor in the water.

Catch isn't just "nailing the shovel."

It is:

chest rotation
core activation
kinetic chain connection
dynamic stability
direction of forces

When the catch is efficient:

the board slides better
Reduces energy loss
the body works connected
flow sensation appears

When I don't...

arm strips
overload shoulders and back
generates unnecessary turbulence
the board brakes more than it accelerates

The shovel must come in clean.

Silent.
Vertical..

Because efficiency is not born from force. It comes from how you transmit energy.

ANOTHER TIP ON IOSUP

At your next session try this:

Before you apply power:

root the feet
activates the deep abdomen
lengthen the upper arm
feel how the torso breaks before betraying

Don't row from the arms. Paddle from the full system.

That's biomechanics applied to SUP.

IOSUPER, if you want to really understand how your paddling works and evolve with real technical criteria, discover our online and in-person methodology. We don't teach how to copy movements. We teach them to understand them. Everything is connected.