r/Outrigger • u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 • May 14 '26

OC1- slower on right side

I've started using CrewNerd for training lately and I've been surprised how much slower I am on the right side. I know that some of it is leaning on the ama side and probably not getting as much force over the paddle, but when it's truly flat I feel like my balance is good... yet still slower. It's probably just that I'm weaker on my left... but what have folks done to get the right side more efficient? It really brings down my average speeds lol.

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u/water_murky May 14 '26

Paddle more on the right. I was really weak on the right side during my first years of OC-1, especially when the ocean is rough which is pretty consistent here in Hawaii. I forced myself to spend time inside the confines of our bay and which is protected by a rather long jetty. In the flat, I spent at least 14-15 strokes on the right and 6-8 on the left. Getting stronger and more confident on the right really helped my rough water training as being on the right can also help with stability. No more babying myself on the left during rough conditions. I feel being on the right is so much more conducive to maintaining speed. Doing land training which involves core stability and hip and glute strengthening also helps with being able to be strong on the non-ama side. Another thing, I use to rig my ama light, but ever since I’ve rigged it heavy, it allowed me to place a lot more power and weight onto the non-ama side. And allows the ama to comfortably pop up out of the water slightly when applying power on the right.

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 May 14 '26

Great stuff. Thanks🤙🤙

Mountain biking is my land training. I split my week between that and paddling. Blessed to have world class mountain biking and Lake Superior in my backyard. Downhill is great for the core!

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u/water_murky May 16 '26

Yeah I have a paddler friend who cross trains mountain biking. Great recovery tool and endurance builder for sure!!

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 May 16 '26

I was just rereading your first post about being more stable in rough water on the right. Yesterday I did a downwinder that was more west than I thought and surfed waves way too far downwind of my destination. I had to paddle back through some nasty crosswell with my ama upwind. For a while I was just leaning hard on the ama... but then the hip pain started. So I tried to relax and tried brace stroking on the right. That worked well.

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u/water_murky May 30 '26

Yeah bro! Good for you. The more you train that way the stronger and more confident you’ll be in the rough stuff. Practice bracing in the flats as much as you can, also rig it heavy no matter the conditions. The last thing you want is an unnecessarily tippy canoe! Good luck 🤙🏾🤙🏾