This weekend I went white water rafting for the first time. It was awesome and a little scary–but far less terrifying than I anticipated. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a little outdoor adventure. We went with a group called Wild Water (http://www.wildwaters.net/). It lasted all day and we got lunch and dinner, which we were really ready for by the end of the trip.
What I noticed very early on was how much I benefited from Pilates training. There is a lot of core work in paddling. Your obliques are kept pretty busy. The shoulders are in gear the whole time. Pelvis stabilization and pelvic tilts can in handy toward the end, when my low back, gluts, and hips started to ache from both the somewhat awkward position you need to sit in and the firmness of the raft, which apparently gets harder after soaking in some sun rays. If I had been a little wiser, I would have switched sides halfway through the trip because I did feel a bit lopsided at the end of the day. However, we seemed to be paddling pretty well in our original position so no one wanted to change a good thing.
It was a total blast, through some beautiful country side that isn’t that far away. Maybe next time, we’ll opt for the overnight rafting adventure!
