Blog Archives - Page 5 of 11

Bellyak Burpee Challenge!

June 6, 2017/in Blog, Instruction /by Natalie DeRatt

Do you have abs of steel and a thirst for winning? Then we have the challenge for you! The Bellyak Burpee Challenge! A play on the regular burpee found regularly in CrossFit and fitness workouts, this version uses all the same technique but is styled out on your bellyak! Take a gander:

Think you can beat Jaime’s 19? We want to see! Submit your videos by sharing them with us on Facebook! Just tag @bellyak and use #bellyakburpee! Winner’s will receive this limited-edition hat!

Other than being super fun, the bellyak burpee also helps improve:

Core Strength
Agility
Explosive Power
Stability

Have fun and good luck!

Cross Training for Swimming with the Bellyak

May 18, 2017/in Blog, Instruction /by adam

As a kayaker, swimming is to be avoided at all costs. If you swim, it means you came out of your boat because you didn’t roll. Your friends then have to round up all your gear, help you get to shore, drain your boat, and get started again. Plus, there’s the odd custom of having to drink a beer out of your shoe to pay penance to the river gods. It’s exhausting! After swimming in whitewater a few times, most kayakers hit the pool. Not to swim laps, but to perfect their roll.

via GIPHY

Why would you Swim on a Bellyak

If you’ve already read this far, you know the bellyak combines the best elements of swimming and boating into one awesome 8′ long piece of lifestyle enhancing polyethylene. Say that 10 times fast. Not only does the bellyak help swimmers to develop a better ‘catch‘ as it forces you to keep your elbows high, it also allows you to swim in places you may not have thought about before. Think shallow rivers, brackish water, poop-filled lagoons, dirty swimming pools, and algae filled lakes.

via GIPHY

Other reasons bellyaks are a great tool for swimmers:

They build specific strength
Improve stroke technique
Develop Core Power
Give your brain a break from swimming laps
Give your eyes a break from staring at the bottom of the pool
Help give the lower body a break in case of injury/fatigue

A Swimming Escort’s Dream

No, not having The Rock as your Baywatch style lifeguard. The bellyak is also the perfect craft for a swimming escorts during open water swims and training.

Open water swimming has exploded in popularity over the last few years, with events popping up nationwide. What is open water swimming? Open water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes and rivers. Most open water swimmers employ some form of escort boat to provide water, snacks and safety. Typically, these are kayaks or paddleboards.

Bellyaks and Open Water Swimming

Bellyaks are a great alternative to kayaks and paddleboards for one HUGE reason. No paddles. Adam Masters – founder of bellyak – has a healthy fear of paddles. He’s typically one of a few prone river paddlers in a sea of kayaks, all with their paddles at face level. So he knows what it’s like to be in the water with the potential of a paddle to the face at any moment. Open water swimmers get this too! A bellyak, on the other hand, is powered with webbed gloves worn on hands. So – at a push – the most you’ll get is a gentle caress to the face.

They also make a great surface area for storing water bottles, energy gels and extra equipment. Plus lots of room for tired swimmers to perch while getting their breath back.

Let’s swim over there! Why? Because it’s there!

Bellyak serving as a rest station for an open water swimmer

Nice mountain view to quench ones thirst

Bellyaking at a safe distance from an open water swimmer

Let’s go this way now

So, if you’re looking for fun, new alternative to cross training for swimming, or if you’re an open water swimming escort, the bellyak may just be the tool for you. If nothing else, it will make a good summer floaty for your off days.

The Whitewater Tribe Addition – the Bellyaker

May 12, 2017/in Blog /by Natalie DeRatt

Recently, Canoe & Kayak Magazine published a super fun article by the very talented Adam Nawrot, The Whitewater Tribe. We laughed, we cried, we seriously questioned that lower back tattoo we got. Then we realized….there was something missing! The Bellyaker!

You’re welcome, world. You’re welcome.

From Bobsled to Bellyak – A Seamless Journey

May 11, 2017/in Blog, Instruction /by Natalie DeRatt

BIO

Name: Natalie DeRatt

Age: 28

Bellyak Experience: 0

First Track: National Whitewater Center

Bellyak Used: Play 35

In my short life, 18 years has been dedicated to a sport. 12 of those years have been dedicated to competitive sports, and 3 of those years have been spent bobsledding professionally, for both Team USA and Great Britain. Up until recently, it was bobsledding that has given me the biggest thrill – hurtling down mile-long ice tracks at speeds averaging 75 mph with no way out. That’s until I tried bellyaking at the National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC.

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My bellyak background

Based in Asheville, NC, I’ve seen bellyaking before – floating down the river, pictures of them in the surf, and spending lazy days on the beautiful waters of Lake Jocassee. However, nothing could prepare me for the experience of bellyaking in whitewater. The premise is simple: You hop on, you lay on your belly, you use your arms to direct you. But, what isn’t obvious is your connection with the water. Every little move – a slight lean to the right, a little turn to the left – all affect your ride, and so within minutes of trying one for the first time I felt like I was connected to the water (as frilly as that sounds). Within an hour, I was going down Class III rapids, and loving it.

My bellyak fears

I’m not going to lie, I’m not the strongest swimmer. My biggest worry was getting knocked off my bellyak in a rapid, sinking to the bottom, and never being heard from again. I came to find out this was way too dramatic of me. It’s actually super easy to just hop back on if you are sent swimming because there are no spray skirts involved and you’re on the boat and not in it. Plus, the bellyak is so buoyant, it took quite the splash to send this lack-of-experience ‘yaker into the water. Imagine if you actually knew what you were doing?!

via GIPHY

I Became Michael Phelps

Although I was the most exhausted human in North Carolina after spending the afternoon bellyaking, it was the biggest thrill I’d had in a long time. While in driving school for bobsled, they let us try skeleton for a couple of runs – the bellyak of the ice. You simply lay on the sled, hold on tight, and ride the ride to the icy bottom. Having now done both, I can tell you bellyaking was SO much more fun. A sort of swimming/ kayaking hybrid, you feel you are literally flying through the water. Or swimming really, really fast. Like faster than Michael Phelps fast. Probably faster than Aquaman too. And it was so intuitive! You treat the boat as if it was an extension of your body.

Don’t Judge a Bellyak by its Bellyak

What did I learn from this experience? I learned you should never judge an outdoor activity by its cover. I learned that even if you’re not the best swimmer in the world, bellyaking is perfect for you (p.s. Always wear a life jacket). And I learned that exhilaration and adrenaline are available outside of winter sports and roller coasters, and they’re much, much closer than you think! As for me, I’m already plotting my next bellyak adventure.

More Heart Than Scars

April 12, 2017/in Adaptive, Blog /by adam

Paddling rivers is fun. It’s exhilarating to put on a whitewater river and know that you are going to travel several miles with nothing but a paddle and a purpose built boat. It’s also easy to take it for granted. Getting in and out of a boat and using our arms to propel it forward may seem simple, but can be incredible challenging to others – adaptive athletes. Through the evolution of the bellyak however, we’ve discovered a way to open up the same exhilaration to the differently-abled too.

From Toy to Tool for Transforming Lives

Bellyaks started out as an awesome way to play on the river in a high performance toy designed to navigate whitewater. In the process of using them, we realized that eliminating the sprayskirt and shortening the learning curve of traditional kayaking doesn’t just offer an insanely fun way to experience nature and get a workout. It also offers a solution for adaptive athletes no other product does. Swimming (or kayaking) isn’t always that easy, or even possible. But, through an intuitive and easy to use package, bellyaks allow these athletes to experience mobility, balance and exercise in a new way. As a result, the bellyak has become a tool that helps people transcend their scars and focus on the experience of NOW and who they want to become. As a business owner, seeing the experiences of people like William Blakely and Kyle Morgan have made me realize how important this is. Far more than just having a fun way to go down rivers.

More Heart Than Scars

We’ve recently been actively looking for more ways to get involved with adaptive athletes and those who would benefit from our innovative designs. With this in mind, we set up a booth at our local MS Walk to support their cause and to introduce people to the bellyak. The first person we met was a big, friendly, bearded guy named Zackary Paben, or Nubs as his friends call him. Zack, it turned out, is the founder of an amazing non-profit: More Heart Than Scars. Their mission:

For people with More Heart Than Scars
& their loved ones.
From trauma to disease,
together we transcend
our visible and invisible scars!

How They Help Adaptive Athletes

Among other things, Zack helps differently-abled people compete in Spartan Races – innovative obstacle courses held around the world. In the past, Zack would rig up all manner of sled-like contraptions to get his competitors through the mud pits, under the barbed wire, and as a means of transport. A lifelong paddler, he had been dreaming of something that was light, tough, durable, versatile and stable for mud, water and snow that kept the person using it safe. When he saw the bellyak, he knew immediately it was the piece of gear he was looking for. And I knew he was the person and organization I was looking for.

Our Partnership

Bellyak is the first official corporate sponsor of More Heart Than Scars. Our missions align perfectly. They will be using the bellyak as a lightweight adventure sled for their upcoming season of Spartan Races. In fact, they’ve already taken the bellyak out for a spin in the Charlotte Spartan Race, and had a great time:

“Bellyak made it possible for Jesi Stracham, Miss Wheelchair NC 2017, to surf the mud pits with more stability, independence and fun than any of our other spinal cord injured MHTS athletes ever have before. A new world of adventure possibilities has oped with this amazing versatile craft called the Bellyak!”

The Future

Through our collaboration, we are going to help get many more people to experience the freedom and mobility of bellyak specifically within Spartan Races. Together we will make a difference in the world, helping show what’s possible and reinforcing that we can better transcend our scars inside and out, together.

For more information on More Heart Than Scars, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MoreHeartThanScars/

5 Things to Expect Your First Time on a Bellyak

March 30, 2017/in Blog /by adam

You’ve seen the Instagram pics, watched a video, and are ready to get on a bellyak for the first time! But what should you expect? Here’s a five of the most common things to expect when you pop your bellyak cherry:

1. It’s easier…and harder than you may expect

Since there are no straps or a sprayskirt, a bellyak is much more accessible than a traditional kayak. In this sense, it’s much easier to get started. Most people master the bellyak roll within the first 15 minutes, and if you do come off self-rescue is very easy. However, it’s much more physically demanding than you would expect…the bellyak requires driving as opposed to just hanging on and riding. On whitewater, it’s as physically demanding as jogging or swimming. The key is to work with the water, and not against it. The bellyak is designed to glide efficiently across the water, and will teach you how to work with the subtleties of the current.

2. You’ll never get bored

Bellyaking is fun to do because laying down and “swimming” is intuitive for almost everyone. There is also a long life of skill progression because there are so many variations and subtleties to paddling the boat, from just getting down the river, to surfing waves, to performing more advanced freestyle tricks. Since your hands are in the water while paddling prone, you are able to feel the nuances of the river in a way unmatched by any other watercraft. Your paddling will become incredibly precise as you find the most efficient ways to move downstream. Since you are not attached to the boat or stuck in one position, variety is the name of the game.

3. Your first time doesn’t have to be long

The ideal length of time for someone’s first trip is approximately 1-1.5 hours. This equates to 2-3 miles, or approximately 5km if you are moving downstream (and European). Steady moving water with a little flatwater is best since it allows the user to experience flowing with the river and experiencing edge control in a safe environment. Small water seems big because you are at face level. If you are trying it on flatwater, you will soon master the skill of going straight and you can paddle it as long as you want.

4. Dress for Success

You must dress for the water temperature when paddling a bellyak. You will get wet! If it’s chilly outside, make sure you dress appropriately with a good drysuit. In the summer time, bike tights work great for reducing the dreaded ‘calf burn.’ Another great option in warmer months is a 3/2 wetsuit for surfing, which will give you give you options for a wide variety of water/air temperatures.

5. Don’t Underestimate the Bellyak

If you already kayak, keep in mind the bellyak will add one degree of difficulty and challenge to a familiar run. Before your first time, make sure you eat a breakfast of pancakes and sausages and get a good nights sleep. You will be wet and tired. But most likely wet, tired and smiling, which is the goal!

Think you want to try one out for yourself now? Check out our bellyak sale page for some sweet, dollar saving deals!

High Performance Bellyak Training: Volume II

March 10, 2017/in Blog /by adam

In High Performance Bellyak Training: Volume I, we focused on lower lumbar stability and how it enhances the prone position while paddling. Also life. But what comes first, flexibility or stability? The egg. In other words, if the body cannot stabilize itself correctly – no matter how flexible you are it will find another (read incorrect) way. Ultimately, this will lead to stiff joints and uncomfortable exercise.

Now that we are all confused, let’s get in there and get mobile! In this volume, we’re aiming for functional posture and optimal performance on the water.

Stabilizing the Lower Back

Let’s start out with another key Foundation Training exercise: “Prone Decompression”. A perfect tool for all you prone paddlers! This is a great continuation from last week, as it teaches you how to stabilize the pelvis and elongate your torso.

Moving to the bellyak

Now your lower back is balling, let’s step it up a notch. Transitions on the bellyak are not necessary but important to learn if you want to get into more advanced pellyaking. Being able to transition quickly from prone to kneeling is helpful when surfing a wave or if you just want to change up your paddle position.

Using Training Accessories

What better way to work on stability, than finding a stability ball and bringing back the ol’ knee tuck (below). When you first do this one work on stabilizing your core muscle groups and doing it slowly and with proper form. To break it down, place your hands shoulder width apart and place your feet onto the ball. Make sure your pelvis isn’t sagging. Use your core activating muscle technique we learned last time by gently squeezing your thighs together to protect and strengthen your lower spine and go ahead and imagine sinking your belly button back into your spine. This should activate the majority of the muscles that connect to your pelvis, aka your core muscles. Take a big inhale and as you exhale tuck your knees into your chest. Do this nice and slow as you might be wobbly at first, in 3 or more sets of 5-10. Make sure you continue to support your stabilizing core muscles. As time passes, try doing it quicker while still maintaining proper form and you will be on your way to becoming an elite bellyak trickster.

Mastered the knee to chest? There are loads of great stability ball exercises to get your core rockin’!

So why all the exercises?

Let me explain with a story. Grab some tea and a loved one and settle in for this one. Once upon a time on the Ocoee river in Eastern Tennessee, I was getting my surf trick on. Really feeling confident and nervous all at the same time as the eddies were full of Mambas watching me in between spotted roll practices and hand of God rescues. I went to go for what seemed to be the easiest surf transition; Prone to kneeling. Only to find out I had one type of muscle group, slow and not reactionary. It wasn’t going to cut it. I may have been strong at that point in my bellyak career, but quick I was not. The time that elapsed from my prone to kneeling position was enough to kick me off the wave every time. Horrified and ashamed, I paddled the rest of the way down the river, belly down to go on with my quest for faster muscles.

High Performance Bellyak Training: Volume 1

February 22, 2017/in Blog, Instruction /by adam

Bellyaking may be a new sport, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to train for it. It’s accessible to everyone – from 8 to 80 – but as with any paddle/water sport, there are a few things you can do in training that will better prepare yourself for time on the water. Read on for answers to commonly asked questions, and tips and tricks to help take your bellyak skills to the next level.

Q1: Doesn’t that hurt your back?

Only if you want it to. Back pain from sports is more commonly related to sitting and standing incorrectly as well as poor posture and core strength, not the sport itself. According to Eric Goodman of Foundation Training, many of us have adopted a movement program that doesn’t allow us to use the strongest muscles in our body properly. Ready to change that? Grab your bellyak and let’s go!

First, it’s important to note the bellyak has an ergonomic design which supports the prone position while paddling. This eases tension in the lower spine. It also allows the paddler more contact with the water so you can dig deeper and paddle stronger. If you are ready to beef up your game and become a more aggressive paddler, full-functioning muscle groups combined with flexibility are a must. I guess this is the part in the article where I am supposed to say if you have any pre-existing back conditions, consult your doctor and don’t take my word for it.

Q2: Where do I start?

Keep it simple. Your pelvis and lower spine are the most mobile areas of your body and so need the most stability and flexibility training to increase muscle control. Working on these areas will allow you to go from version 1 athlete, to a higher functioning version 2 athlete. You’ll be like a baby discovering it’s neck muscle! Proud moments!

Version 1 – a less flexible lower back

Version 2 – a more flexible back

How to begin functional training

Let’s break down a couple of basic moves. My favorite is the classic yoga pose Sanskrit calls Salabhasana. Say it with me: SAL-AB-HASANA. If you are unable to pronounce the word you can also call it by its street name – Locust Post. Let’s try it!

Start with just the upper body. The majority of us can put ourselves into this position no problem, but remember we are retraining muscle groups to be full-functioning, so before you pop up as high as you can possibly go consider strength first. When we activate the muscles in our lower spine it adds stability versus just recklessly stretching and bending muscles, tendons and ligaments.

While lying face down, place an object you dare not lose in between your thighs (see below). To hold the object in place you will need to squeeze your inner thighs together, which in turn activates the muscles and ligaments around your lower spine. From there, gently raise yourself a few inches off the ground, pressing the tops of your feet into the ground and lengthening your spine. Take 5 or so deep breathes, rest, and repeat 4-5 times. Wrap it up with a counter pose like child’s pose. Once you feel under control with this move you can add legs. I recommend giving it a few days before you add legs. Remember to keep it simple so you can retrain your body to function more effectively.

Extend Arms for More of a Challenge!

Finish with Child’s Pose

That’s enough yoga for today!

The next step of functional training

Now let’s add in some core strength! We are a big fans of Foundation Training, developed to facilitate the body’s natural healing ability and quickly improve degenerative movement patterns. The next exercise – The Founder – could be a game changer for everyone, whether you bellyak or not! Here’s a quick tutorial to get you going:

***No banjos were harmed in the making of this blog post and author, Jamie MacLeod, makes no promise to the results you may see.***

Bellyaks and Summer Camp: Fun With A Purpose

February 16, 2017/in Blog, Lake /by adam

Why Summer Camp?

Developing Life Habits

The worst part about summer camp is that it often creates a lifelong obsession with the outdoors. I have always loved to swim and after learning to kayak at a summer camp in Vermont, I’ve based most of my major life decisions around access to lakes and rivers. From playing kayak games on the lake to running rivers around the country, summer camp planted the seed. Who knows how my life could have turned out had it not of been for summer camp!

How to Roll a Bellyak

February 1, 2017/in Blog, Instruction, River /by adam

The bellyak roll is a fundamental skill for paddling whitewater. The main function of the bellyak roll is so that you are able to maintain connection with the boat and stay on line. This leads to a happier time on the water, gives a stronger sense of control which leads to confidence, which thus equals more fun. And he who has the most fun wins. We read that in a book. To help you along, here’s all you need to know to flip and dip your bellyak.

What Happens if I Flip Over?

Swims happen. Sometimes you lean left when the river wants you to lean right, and you find yourself in the water. The good news is that the bellyak is very easy to remount/self rescue. But let’s face it. It’s way cooler to roll. If you’re off your boat swimming, then you aren’t in control, and you aren’t having as much fun as you could have. The good news is you don’t have to spend $900 on clinics and hours of lake practice…the bellyak roll can be mastered by most people in a short amount of time, often in the first few hours of paddling.

Set Up

As you feel yourself about to roll over, your instinct may be to grab the handles. Not so! Bear hug the boat like you would hug your favorite hound dog, wrapping your arms all the way around. The key is to create a solid connection via your arms and your chest to the bellyak.

Bear Hug the bellyak when you start to flip

As You Begin to Flip Over, BEAR HUG the bellyak

Keep the bear hug strong when the boat is upside down

Once Upside Down, maintain BEAR HUG of bellyak, keeping chest connected with the boat.

It’s Mainly in the Legs

Once upside down you will be hugging the bellyak close and telling it secrets. Your legs will be in the water, because of gravity. Perform a quick scissor kick to maintain your momentum and get the boat fun side up. Imagine wrestling an alligator and trying to flip it over on it’s back. That’s what you want to do.

Perform a Quick Scissor Kick While Chest Stays on bellyak

Back Upright: Almost There

Once your boat is back upright, you will be oriented as in the picture below. At this point you will want to swing your legs back on top and get back in position.

As you roll back upright, maintain chest connection to boat.

As you roll back upright, your legs will be off the side of the boat. Maintain chest connection to boat.

Swing legs back on and your bellyak roll is complete!

Swing Legs Back on, re-adjust trim as necessary using the handles to move fore and aft

The bellyak roll from the back

Rear View: As boat is brought around upright, a quick scissor kick helps with the momentum of the roll.

Bring one leg onto the bellyak and swing the other in place. Use knee or foot to ‘hook’ side of bellyak and bring it under body.

Common Challenges

Not Maintaining Momentum

The roll is something that happens as soon as you feel yourself flipping over. The key is to GO WITH the roll, and use that momentum to bring you all the way around. If you don’t maintain momentum you will lose connection with the boat and have to remount from the water. This works, but isn’t as quick. Or as fun. Like we mentioned.

Not Bearhugging Tight Enough

If you give your bellyak a half-hearted hug, it will leave you. Hug it like you mean it.

No Sense of Urgency

We see this all the time…people just flop off and don’t even try to get back on. Have some urgency. The safest place on the river – and also most fun – is on top of your bellyak, paddling in control. TIP: Imagine the water is filled with starving pyranhas and you have to get back upright, or else some fish is going to be wearing your skin. You don’t want that do you?