Posture is important in surf ski paddling, but to maintain good posture for entire 1hr paddle session can be very difficult. You could be paddling along for 2-3 minutes and then your abdominals start of fatigue and drop, you sit upright again for good posture and then your abdominals fatigue and drop again. It is important to build our abdominal muscles so we can sit upright for longer period of time to avoid lower back issues.
Maintaining good posture can be affected by tight hip flexors, you may be paddling along and after 10 or 20 minutes you feel the pain kick in. We need to constantly be stretching our hip flexors to avoid them tightening up so quick.
When we are paddling, we are in a fixed seated position and our hamstrings are constantly tightened, this could lead to pain and cause you to slide down your seat and lose your posture.
We need to strengthen and stretch our hip flexors and hamstrings and build our abdominals. This combination of stretch and strengthen daily routines are the key to maintaining great posture in our paddling.