Paddleboarding just got simpler with the omission of one major element: water.

Los Angeles’ marinas, canals and channels have long been hubs for paddleboarding activities, but on a weekday afternoon in January, boarders flocked to the back patio of a physical therapy studio in Westwood. About half a dozen of them lay face down on their boards, gently rocking side to side atop red brick, arms outstretched and flailing beside them. From afar, they looked like an array of beached insects.

They were doing a B-Board Workout, a new exercise created by French trainer Eric Vandendriessche. He’s the personality behind Aqua Stand Up, a method he taught in L.A. from 2016 to 2020 at the Westside Jewish Community Center and other locations. Aqua Stand Up had participants doing body-weight exercises on tethered paddleboards in a swimming pool, the instability of the water forcing them to use their core muscles. B-Board Workout is the class’ next warmer, drier iteration: done on solid ground, but just as effective for the core.

The day I visited, most class participants were trying B-Board Workout for the first time.

“I’d just like something different,” said Maël Mayet, a 36-year-old actor-model and personal trainer. “It’s always good to keep updated.”

Maja Damjanov, 38, was skeptical of B-Board at first. She works as a coordinator and manager at the physical therapy clinic that hosts the class, Studio Brava.

“At first I thought: ‘Oh my God, this is so L.A.! People just don’t know what to do anymore!’” she joked. “But I’m always looking for a new thing and actually, this completely makes sense. I’m older now, so I want to be healthy and I don’t want to stress my body. Plus, it’s fun.”

B-Board Workout participant Maël Mayet takes a quick breather between exercises.

(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

The B-Board Workout ended with a yoga session followed by a guided meditation.

(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

At the start of class we all stand on our boards, which are lined up in pairs on the narrow patio. Vandendriessche is up front demonstrating, as upbeat electronic music commingles with waves of swooshing traffic noise in the background. The resulting soundtrack is not unlike that of an L.A. beach.

“Come on, you got this,” Vandendriessche says as we mimic basic squats, mountain climbers, bird dogs and planks on the board. He demonstrates with a broad smile, his sinewy frame repeatedly squatting, then snapping back up, like a peppy jack-in-the-box.

Soon enough, the class is trembling. Some attendees’ legs jiggle dramatically as they adjust to the board’s movement.

“Oh, wow, can you feel it? This one’s for your thighs,” Vandendriessche says, punctuating his instructions with a melodious “da-nah!” in sync with the music. “Rock that boat!”

Jan. 8, 2024

Vandendriessche, 48, grew up in southern France, in the coastal resort town of Biarritz. Sports were an integral part of his youth — he played basketball and tennis, boxed, skied and did taekwondo. He went on to earn a degree in sports management and spent more than two decades as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor in Europe.

Though Biarritz was a destination for water sports, Vandendriessche didn’t try paddleboarding until his early 30s. But when he did, he took to it instantly, paddling on rivers, lakes and the “crazy waves” of the Atlantic Ocean. His favorite spot was the narrow, tree-lined La Nive River, which snakes through Basque Country. Its gentle currents and leafy surroundings reminded him of a calm bayou, quiet but for the intermittent buzzing of insects and the splash of his paddle.

The idea for Aqua Stand Up came to Vandendriessche while he was paddleboarding in 2009.

“It was super relaxing and I felt my core, I felt everything,” he said. “I said to myself, ‘Oh, I would love to propose something to my clients.’ So I brought my board into the swimming pool and invited some of my personal training clients to try it. The feedback was awesome.”

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