Sam Rutt's AquaPaddle 12 Week Beginners Plan

About Sam

I’ve been working as a personal trainer since 2016 and have been involved in stand-up paddleboard racing as both an athlete and a coach throughout that time. I’ve competed at national and international levels, and I’ve had the privilege of coaching athletes who have gone on to compete at World Championship events.

Since 2020, I’ve also worked as a strength and conditioning coach, supporting paddlers to build strength, confidence, and resilience both on and off the water. Along the way, I’ve worked closely with some of the UK’s top SUP athletes and learned from world-class coaches to continually develop my skills.

My passion is helping people feel more capable and confident on their boards, especially those new to the sport, by building strong foundations, keeping things simple, and making the process enjoyable and fun.

Samantha Rutt | Coaching 
Norfolk Mind & Body
www.samantharutt.com

Instructions:

Easy: This is the paddle equivalent of an easy walk; it should be really comfortable, and you’re able to chat. We will use EASY for your warm-ups as well.

Normal: This is the paddle equivalent of a brisk/fast walk the type you might do if you are late for your Aqua Paddle session, it’s a bit more effort and you may breathe a little faster and harder. We will use NORMAL for a lot of your training as it will be developing something called your aerobic system.

Moderate: This is the paddle equivalent to a jog, it’s more effort than normal and you will be breathing a faster and harder and you will start to really warm up. These burst of effort are not too long in duration and will often be followed with a short rest so you can catch your breath.

Interval: This is the paddle equivalent to a run, you will be breathing a lot faster and harder and will be warm and chatting to your friend might not be as easy. These will be intense burst of fast paddling and will be followed by a rest, these will start to appear in about week 9 of the plan.

Warm Up: Please ensure that you complete a warm up before doing any of the sessions they should be a minimum of 5 mins long, just getting the body and the joints ready for the exercise, start easy and slowing work up to short bursts of 15 seconds at moderate.

Work Out Days: You can do the workouts on any day of the week, so don’t worry if you can’t do a Saturday, you can move it to another day. As we know, the weather can be unpredictable, so if you can’t get on the water as it’s not safe to do so, you can do the workouts, walking, rowing, cycling, any way you like.

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Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 1
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day
Week 2
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 4 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 4 times	Rest Day
Week 3
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 5 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 5 times	Rest Day
Week 4 – Recovery Week
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day
Week 5
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 2 mins normal paddle 1 min rest 2 mins moderate paddle Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	20 mins easy/normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 6
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 1 mins moderate paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle Repeat x 4 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	25 mins easy/normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 7
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 1 mins moderate paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle Repeat x 5 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	30 mins easy/normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 8 – Recovery Week
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins easy paddle 1 min rest 1 mins moderate paddle 1 min rest 2 mins easy paddle Repeat x 3 times	Rest Day	Rest Day	20 mins easy/normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 9
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 2 mins moderate paddle 20 seconds interval 2 mins rest Repeat x 3	Rest Day	Rest Day	30 mins normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 10
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 2 mins moderate paddle 20 seconds interval 2 mins rest Repeat x 4	Rest Day	Rest Day	35 mins normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 11
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 2 mins moderate paddle 20 seconds interval 2 mins rest Repeat x 5	Rest Day	Rest Day	40 mins normal paddle	Rest Day
Week 12
Rest Day	Rest Day	2 mins normal paddle 2 mins moderate paddle 2 mins rest Repeat x 3	Rest Day	Rest Day	20 mins normal paddle	Rest Day