One week into the new year and many people have made a resolution to make fitness a priority, but in today's fast-paced, digital world, many people are looking for new and exciting ways to get in some type of physical activity that's different from what's become the routine for them. For those people, the proprietors of PappaSurf, a surf lifestyle shop may offer them the perfect alternative, incorporating fitness into a holistic approach on the water with their PaddleFit and Paddleboard Yoga programs.

Husband and wife team, Andre and Tanya Foster, proprietors of PappaSurf an acronym for pedal (bicycle), paddle (paddle-boarding), push (skateboarding) and surf (surfing) -- a surf lifestyle shop which caters to people who want to paddle, pedal, push or surf in the country -- initially engaged in paddle-boarding as a family fitness activity, but then they started to see the benefits. That coupled with the fact that they noticed that it was taking off with a large age range, and the PappaSurf storefront became a reality.

The spinoff from the storefront has spawned the PaddleFit program that is catching on as an alternative and to the Fosters upping the ante, with Paddleboard Yoga which will be coming on stream on Saturday, January 18, taught by yoga instructor Colleen Carey According to Andre, the PaddleFit Program is not just about getting out on the water and doing a workout, but incorporating land-based fitness as well.

The first thing they do is to ensure that newbies to the program have some physical fitness. The PaddleFit class is structured to move at an individual's ability and pace. The coaches start each session with basic activities -- push-ups, sit-ups and light jogging, before taking to the paddleboard to do more exercises on the board in the water that makes it more challenging. Andre says they do not push participants beyond their ability.

"The whole objective is to improve your performance over time," said Andre who is certified at the highest World Paddle Association coaching level. "The more that you come out and the more that you participate you will see marked improvement. It's a holistic approach, not just about running, push-ups, or strength -- it incorporates being out on the water, and balance on the board. You see weight loss, and balance improves significantly. We've had people come out for our lessons who after spending an hour with us out on the water and with some coaching and showing proper technique, went from kneeling on the paddle board to standing on the paddle board, to paddling the distance to the Sandals island all by themselves."

A different workout

Andre says their intention is not to tell people to not go to the gym, but they are hoping that PaddleFit becomes an alternative people can do in addition to the gym.

"It's when you want to get out of the gym and want to do something different for a workout," he said. "And as a part of PaddleFit we always incorporate what we call a dynamic warm up, then you have your circuit which is the exercise routine and warm down session which we use and incorporate yoga poses -- downward dog or cat, cow type poses. Because yoga on a paddle-board has been so explosive within its own right, we actually introduced a yoga program that specifically uses the paddleboard and it's just straight yoga, and that's where Colleen has joined forces with us."

PaddleFit has also been incorporated into PappaSurf's Performance Paddling Clinic for which sessions are held every Saturday.

Even though The Bahamas is an archipelagic nation, the majority of its population does not know how to swim, which Andre said does not have to be a hindrance to participate in any of their programs. He says all safety precautions are offered with life preservers standard just in case someone does fall into the water. He also said participants are utilizing the biggest flotation device, next to a boat with the paddleboard. PappaSurf instructors can also teach people how to swim.

If people are afraid of the water, the PaddleFit coach said they could work with them, but that they should at least come to the program with the motivation that they want to learn. He said people should remember that as long as they're not afraid of being in the water they would float with the life preserver around their neck. And that as long as they are in close proximity to the paddle-board, they can climb back onto the board pretty easily.

"A lot of Bahamians are more afraid of the water and it isn't that they can't swim, they're just afraid to be in the water, and they use the excuse they can't swim as a crutch to not participate, so we try to work with them in ways that will encourage their ability to learn how to swim," he said.

To assuage the fears of people who aren't at all comfortable with deep water, Andre said in most cases they could conduct a PaddleFit class in three to five feet of water. People who want to just learn how to paddleboard can do so within a few feet of the shoreline, because the boards don't need more than eight inches of water beneath them to float. If they do fall off, Andre says participants would be in knee-deep water. So if a person can't swim, or is not a good swimmer, and doesn't want to go into deep water, they can do the same program and keep that person close to the shore so that if they do happen to fall off their board, they're in very shallow water to get back onto the board or to the shore.

Equipment

Other than the cost of the one-hour sessions -- $30 for a PaddleFit class and $50 for a paddle-board group lesson -- the equipment a person needs to bring with them can be had in their own homes -- comfortable clothing that they don't mind getting wet, sunblock, water and a towel. PappaSurf provides all other necessary equipment for both PaddleFit and Paddleboard Yoga classes. The Fosters also off free demonstrations for their programs on certain weekends throughout the month to allow people to test-run the classes before they spend their money.

Anyone between the age of eight-years-old and 80 can participate in PappaSurf's paddle-boarding classes. Paddle-boarding which started in Hawaii was used as a means for surfers to actually get in some exercise when the waters were flat. It was pioneered by two of the big names in surf -- Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama -- and it spread from Hawaii to the west coast of the United States, and across the U.S. continent before making it into the Caribbean.

Brody Welte, a certified personal trainer with the American Council on Exercise is the creator of the PaddleFit program that allows people to utilize the outdoors as a means to improve their health by incorporating paddle-boarding and performance paddle-boarding, as a catalyst to increasing their performance.

The Fosters who love the water, and love surfing, came across paddle-boarding in their travels. They witnessed people engaging in paddle-boarding in waters that could not compare to the waters of The Bahamas -- water he said most Bahamians would scoff at, and wouldn't step foot in half the time. But he said those people were really enjoying themselves.

"We really thought this was a great thing that we could bring to The Bahamas, and show people how they can improve their health through paddle-boarding, we thought it would be a really good," said the level three coach. There are three levels to World Paddle Association certification -- level one teaches the basics of paddle-boarding; the second level teaches technique, and the routine a coach should be teaching. It requires a skills-based assessment as well as an academic assessment.

The highest level for the program, a two-day assessment, focuses on performance paddling as well as the ability to do safety training and save persons on a board. Andre is level three certified, Tanya is Level two certified and their son Andre Jr., 16, is level two certified. PappaSurf is into its second year of operation. They're located in the Henrea Carlotte Plaza above The Original Sweet Shop.

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