Kayaking

The good workouts are tough, demanding, sweat & blood. So here’s a sneaky workout trick: add fun. And in this kind of heat, the best fun is kayaking.

Getting a kayak to move is primarily about the core muscles of the abdomen and back. Sure, arms are important, but you don’t want your arms doing all the work. Your torso’s big, your arms are small. Do the math.

Done right, plowing through the water is more about rotating your body. The central power comes from your core. That lets you go faster with less effort and fatigue.

Kayaking is easy, but you want to get some instruction. We’re fortunate to have plenty of great groups in Chicago to check out.

Right here at the lakefront we have the Lincoln Park Boat Club (http://www.lpbc.net/). It’s a great place to learn paddling. Join the club and you can take out a wide variety of boats. It’s located across from the Lincoln Park Zoo, which means easy access to Lake Michigan. That’s a great jaunt on a hot day.

Kayak Chicago (www.kayakchicago.com) does tours and rentals as well as lessons. They go out on Lake Michigan or various points along the Chicago River. You can do skyscraper paddling near downtown, or explore shady byways back in the neighborhoods.

In the forest preserves, Chicago Kayak(http://www.chicagokayak.com/) holds classes in the Skokie Lagoons. They also do organized trips. They even have a club of their own.

If you already have your own boat, you’ve got to know the Chicago Area Sea Kayakers (CASKA http://www.caska.org/ ). These are paddlers who do local trips most weekends, plus the occasional get-out-of-town-and-camp adventures. You’ll get to learn the best places for paddling, and meet some great people in the process.