Endurance refers to a person's ability to exert themselves physically for an extended period of time and has two main components: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance. Low endurance can negatively impact activities in the water like catching waves or paddling out past the break. Signs of low endurance include soreness, shortness of breath, and dizziness. When working with someone with low endurance, it is important to provide encouragement, check in on how they feel, and respect what has worked for them individually. Techniques like energy conservation, pacing, breaks, positioning, and pursed lip breathing can help compensate for low endurance.

1. Endurance

2. What Is Endurance?
Endurance:
Is a person’s ability to exert themselves and remain
active for a extended period of time.

3. Two components of endurance:
1st Cardiovascular endurance: how efficiently your
heart, blood vessels, and lungs supply oxygen-rich
blood to working muscles during physical activity.
2nd Muscular endurance: how a muscle or group
of muscles can sustain repeated contractions for an
extended time.

4. We are going to look at how endurance
can affect a person performance in the
water.

5. How would having low endurance affect
you in the water? Let’s think about it.
• How could you catch a wave if your shoulder muscles
gave out?
• How could you paddle out past the break if you had
shortness of breath?
• We are going to go over how to compensate for these
limitations in the next few slides

6. Signs of low muscle or cardiovascular
endurance
Soreness
Localized pain
Muscle cramps
Muscles twitching
Trembling
A weak grip
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Lightheadedness or headache
Slowed reflexes or responses.
Laying their head down on
board
A person should be able to talk
while exercising if they are
maintaining an safe pace.

7. While working with someone with low
endurance always
• Provide moral support and encouragement during
the activity.
• Check in with them, ask them how they are feeling
and how you can help.
• Often participants have developed a system that has
worked well for them. Don’t assume each person
needs help in the same way

8. Ways to help your athlete with low
endurance
• Energy conservation is KEY!
• Remember the 5 “P”s of energy conservation
• Plan
• Prioritize
• Pace
• Positioning
• Pursed Lip Breathing.

9. Plan
Plan a appropriate pace while on the
water
• You have a limited amount of
time in the water remember the
most important thing is to have
fun, not to catch the most
waves
Stay hydrated, plan out water
breaks.
• Encourage your participant to

10. Prioritize
• Prioritize what is most important.
• Ask your athlete what is most
important to them: do they want
to paddle out, do they want to
play in the water or do they want
to catch and ride as many waves
as possible?

11. Pace
• Start slow and steady. Don’t do too
much, too fast.
• Exercise should be stopped if the person
becomes overly fatigued, dizzy, short of
breath, or develops a rapid or irregular
heartbeat.
• Remember muscle fatigue can improve
with rest and recovery. So take a breaks
• Getting past the wave break can be very
exhausting remember a Pusher or Water
safety volunteer will help

12. Positioning
Use the equipment:
• A two-person kayak or double wave ski is a great way for
you to take on more paddling and to give the participant a
break
Remember you are part of a team:
• You are not alone out there; there are lots of people that can
assist. If your athlete's muscles are getting tired or they feel
fatigue ask one one of the water positions to help.

13. Pursed lip breathing
Pursed lip breathing is a breathing techniques that can
be used during the activity, during breaks or after the
activity
Pursed lip breathing can help you focus, slow your
breathing down and stay calm

14. How to do pursed lip breathing
Here is how to do it:
1. Relax neck and shoulder muscles
2. Breath in (inhale) slowly through your nose
for 2 counts, keeping your mouth closed
3. Pucker or “purse” your lips as if you were
going to flicker the flame of a candle
4. Breath out (exhale) slowly and gently
through your pursed lips while counting to
4

15. Some conditions that effect endurance
• Cardiac or Pulmonary impairments
• Muscular dystrophy
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cerebral palsy
• Arthritis
• Diabetes