Exercises for Paddling

 

8 Ct Body Builders / Burpees 3 X Failure

 

Punch Twists 3 X 20

 

Push Ups 3 X Failure

 

Elboes And Toes 3 X 1-2 Minutes

 

Single Arm Straight Pull 3 X 15 – 20

 

Serratus Single Arm Pull 3 X 15 – 20

 

Frontal Raise Twist  3 X 15

 

Rear Delt Pull 3 X Failure

 

 *Be sure to consult your physician or doctor before beginning any exercise program.  When determining how heavy the weights should be, the last three repetitions of every set should be extremely difficult. If it’s not, use a heavier weight

 

 

 

Paddling Strength Program 101

 

8 Count Body Builders 3 X 15 – 20
Punch Twists 3 X 20
Dive Bombers 3 X 15 – 20
Plank Knee Twists 3 X 20
Decline Push Ups 3 X 15 – 20
Rockers 3 X 20
Seal Walks 3 X 2
Passes (Length of Hallway) Towel Unders 3 X 20
Death Drill 10 To Failure Pull Ups 3 X 10 W/ Spot if needed
Elboes and Toes 3 X 15 – failure

Cardio – 45 minute – 1 hour – 5/6 Times a week.  Intensity needs to be medium to high.  It should be hard to hold a conversation.  Your body will adapt to what you do.  Your cardio and strength program needs to be changed every 4 – 6 weeks. 

 

 

 

The Core

 

Paddling requires not just good core strength, but balance as well.  My recommendation, kill two birds with one stone.  By doing your strength training while making yourself unstable, you not only improve your balance, but your core strength as well.  I usually have people start off by performing there strength routing while standing on one foot.  After they have mastered that, it?s an upgrade to the bosu ball on one foot.  When you have conquered hat, flip the ball over and continue on one foot.  If you are comfortable there, it?s time to meet me on the bongo board.  I go through all of my exercises on that.
  After training on that for a while it will make your canoe feel like a tank.  Not much will take you down.
 
Balance...Stability...Work the Core!
 
As the season progresses, you need to be specific in your training.   There needs to be days set aside for high intense interval training, distance work, and race pace days.   Going all out at every session will just burn you out.   You have different systems in your body that you want to work and work specifically.   Heart Rate training is the only way to go.   It is the only was you can specifically stay in the right heart rate ranges for that session.   Every body is different, so I will not give you a general guide to go by.   A submax test needs to be performed to accurately get the right numbers for the right ran! ges for you.   I can tell you what it should feel like.   Your interval days are all out efforts.   You know, that I?m going to throw up feeling.   My lips are tingling, I think I may die!   Intervals can be set up by time or by distance.   Pyramiding is the best way to go.   An example would be 1/2/3/4/5 min. efforts.   Repeat at least 3 times through.   Distance days are not an all out effort, nor are they race pace.   They are about a 75 ? 80 % effort.   Pick your longest race of the season, and do that dis! tance plus an extra 2 miles.   

Going over the distance will not only help you out psychologically, but physically as well.   Your body becomes very efficient at what it does.   If you do the same distances all the time, your body will adapt and become efficient at that distance.   When you go past that the first time, it will be hard.   Your body will have a hard time adjusting to the new mileage.   Get it over early!   You will be much stronger when you do it again.

Race pace days are imperative.   Doing the courses at race intensity will prime and prep your body for what is to come.   The more you do this, the stronger you will be, and the more familiar you will be with the course.

 

 

 

Weight Training

 

Think outside of the box.  When you are first taught how to do weight training, you are taught a very standard, safe way to do it.  As your body adapts, it becomes efficient at what it is doing.  People need to change their program around every 4- 6 weeks to continually keep seeing gains.  Athletes on the other hand fall into another category.  They adapt faster.  Their program needs to be changed at the end of the 3rd week.  They also need to train different than the normal gym rat.  The exercises need to promote not only function use, but full range of motion as well.  The ligaments, tendons, and joints need to be stressed and strengthened as well.  The cable pulley machines are an ideal piece of equipment to achieve this.  It will provide resistance through the entire exercise which will make you have more control as you do it.  For instance, get in the crossover machine to do a single arm frontal raise.  Instead of stopping the frontal raise at your shoulder, control the motion and take it all the way around like you are doing the backstroke.  Do 20 of these and then switch to the other arm.  Get creative!  Get full range of motion out of everything you do.
  To add a challenge, add some instability as you do it.  It will help your balance and your core strength.

 

 

 

 

Shoulder injuries

 

Shoulder injuries are such a common thing for paddlers.They develop the same kinds of problems as swimmers. Rotator Cuff and bicep tendon problems seem to be the biggest issues. There are a lot of things we can do to prevent injuries.   I know that most people do not make a lot of time for stretching, but it is essential for injury prevention. What I have seen most is that paddlers tend to use a lot of there pectoral muscles from driving down the top hand for power. They get used a lot and not stretched very often. The chest then gets so tight that it starts to pull the shoulder forward. When it does this, it starts to strain the rotator cuff muscles, and the bicep tendon. When I am doing an injury assessment, or even setting up a program for an athlete, I always have them stand normal in front of me. I look at their posture and I check for differences between the two sides. What I usually see is one shoulder lower than the other, and or the shoulder rotated forward. You can get a good idea of what I am talking about if you stand in front of a mirror with your shirt off.   You will notice that one nipple is higher or lower than the other. When the shoulder starts to drop and rotate forward, it will start to change the structure of things. For instance, if you are feeling pain below your shoulder on your arm, chances are that you have a bicep tendon problem. The bicep tendon sits in a groove. If the shoulder starts to rotate forward, the bicep tendon will rub on the bone and cause impingement on the tendon.   Same goes for the rotator cuff. If you are continually straining those muscles and not stretching them out, you will develop micro tears.  Before I rehabilitate any shoulder injury, I make sure the structure is set first.  If there has been structural change, it does not matter what I do for rehabilitation, they will still have pain. I have to fix the posture and structure first so that it will not be a reoccurring problem.

There are a couple of ways to combat these problems.   

First, the obvious one, stretching!   Making sure your stretch the chest, shoulders and back out very good after you paddle.   

Second, making sure you have good posture.   Paddling is a forward motion sport. The more you paddle, the more natural it is to sit slouched with your shoulders forward.   Concentrate on developing good posture.  Sit and stand with your shoulders pulled back and shoulder blades dropped down.  This will help strengthen your serratus anterior, which is key for good posture. 

Third, and probably the most important, make sure your technique is good, and also your paddle is the right length for you.

See our section on the stroke for proper technique.