April Zilg

APRIL

ZILG

If I could make a living off of adventure paddling instead of racing...

Up Suping APP World Tour. PPG. April Zilg

Hi April! What a pleasure to SEE you in Up Suping…How are you?

Great.

With the appearance of Covid-19, everything has turned around. How is the return to your work activity and as an athlete in international SUP events being?

My activities outside of paddling hasn’t slowed down much, before the pandemic started, I began a move across country from California back to North Carolina, and I’ve been pretty busy settling into a new home and getting business back on track. Competitions have been few and far between.

And you also recently had a great performance at the ICF World SUP Championship…are you happy for the results?

The bronze medals in the Sprint and Technical races were my first ever medals at a World Championship event, so I’m thankful for that. However, I was able to see where I can adapt my training and improve for future events.

But to get great results, your body also has to be in good shape, and we know that you take great care of yourself. How and when have you started to lead a healthy diet and exercise life?

I was a late bloomer. I didn’t start exercising, eating right, or paddling until I was 25 years old. Before that I couldn’t even run one mile without stopping and didn’t participate in any sports or fitness hobbies regularly.

How does good nutrition and sports training influence Stand Up Paddle? Should we take more care of ourselves?

You can’t get to a top level in paddling without balanced training and nutrition. I can always feel a big difference when I don’t follow as strict a diet or schedule. However, it’s important mentally to take breaks from being very disciplined all the time.

We really like the videos you publish with exercises and stretching for our body and we see that you have a vocation as a trainer. What is your technique or way of teaching all this to athletes?

Proper push-pull balance is very important in every plane of movement to prevent injury. I set up proper workout sessions that are available in the PaddleNinja.com training platform. I’ve got a new lineup of exercises already done for this coming December on Instagram and YouTube and can’t wait to share them!

What other sports do you do to combine it with Stand Up Paddle?

I paddle my outrigger canoe a lot, and I also enjoy weightlifting.

We also remember your participation in the ISA World SUP in China with the USA Team. How was that experience?

That was an extremely challenging race for me, as I got sick while traveling. This time was much better, probably in part because the airlines are so clean and disinfected for the pandemic! But also because I arrived early and adjusted to the time and was very careful with my health leading up to the event.

In recent years, women’s Stand Up Paddle worldwide has grown a lot. But do you think there is still a lot of work to be done here?

I think that as long as men and women are paid equally for equal efforts then the industry is doing the work that needs to be done.

SUP, paddling sports and adventure. If you put these three things together...What name would you give it and why?

Umm, Fun? I love adventure paddling! If I could make a living off of adventure paddling instead of racing, I certainly would! I think that’s where the excitement is.

Hopefully, very soon we will see you in Spain rowing with us. What are your plans for these last months of the year?

For the last few months of this year, I’m actually getting a head start on scheduling and training for next year. I’ve got a big product launch coming up in 2022 that I’ll have to work around, as well as a few key competitions that I’m really looking forward to. I’m not sure of international travel or competitions for the remainder of 2021, as things still seem to be in flux; but fingers crossed for a few events to finish 2021 strong!

Thanks to…

Salt Life, 404, Hippostick, Puakea Designs, Garmin, Paddle Ninja Stay up to date on my upcoming product launch, workouts, and competitions via my instagram @aprilzilg and my website aprilzilg.com !!! Thank you!!