The New Wave of Fitness: Paddleboarding

If your knees are barking from all that running, or you've spent a little too much time in the saddle of your bike lately, you might try blasting your core while riding some waves.

Paddleboarding is a mixture of surfing and kayaking and is all the rage these days. Open any celebrity news magazine and you're likely to see at least a few stars giving it a whirl.

But aside from the glamor of the sport (the athletic stance is perfect for posing, after all), there is some real physical merit to it. Standing atop an oversized surfboard and powering yourself through swells and chop with nothing but your upper body is bound to get just about anyone buff. And the kicker is: it's pretty fun.

The Boat Locker in Westport has a good selection of equipment and has steadily increased its stock with the rising demand. Owner Scott Hardy expounded on the style and virtues of the hobby, showing off a number of brightly-colored boards at his Post Road East location (see accompanying video).

As temperatures begin to dip in anticipation of fall, but the water still stays summertime warm, September is probably the perfect month to try your hand at this new fitness wave. Though there are few places to go in Wilton (logic dictates the Y probably wouldn't want paddleboarding in the 50-meter pool), Compo Beach is close to the Boat Locker's location and perfect for the day trip.