C-Forum

Does anyone have experiance or suggestions re training for paddlers. I am specifically interested in upper body flexibility adnd increasing strength in the arms, sholders, and back.

Amoung activities I am planning to employ are swimming, aerobic cycleing, and some use of weight machines. I also plan to walk and do some lower body weight training as well as the use of the large exercise balls that Bob Foote recommends.

Thanks,
Chuck/Tennessee

in addition to all you said, get a basic yoga book/video. It will help immensely even if you can't do the extreme positions. Just start slow and hold the strech for longer periods of time. Coordinyte the streching withing correct breathing. dm

In addition to all said: that IKEA gadget I bought for my son helped me a lot to improve my balance. It's much more challenging than a large excercise ball and comfortable enough to watch tv sitting or kneeling on it.

http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... ctId=21926

[img]http://www.ikea-usa.com/PIAimages/20270_PE105421_S2.jpg[/img]

Yeah, an the kids love it too - which could help explaining the investment to your SO.

Hi Chuck,

I go to the Gym or do other training about 3 or 4 times a week. I have to do so because of a bad back. However, the training helped my paddling as well in terms of strength.

In the Gym I mainly do back and torso stuff and shoulders.
I start with a 3 sets of 50 crunches and 3 sets of 40 crunches "on the side" (some call these lateral lifts).
Then some leg lifts. After each set, I do a cobra stretch (you'll find that in any yoga book) and then do a back strenghtening where I lie on my belly and lift arms and legs and hold that for a minute or longer.

I also put in a bit lower back stretching. This is very good for body rotation.

After that I do some weights. All machines that train the back and shoulders should be fine. I try low weight and high reps since I am only interested in strength.

In the spring and summer, I go to the gym only twice and go marathon canoeing or outrigger canoeing twice a week. I find that the best training since I can also work on my technique (catch and stuff like that). Marathon canoes are also a good way to work on balance
Also, its great fun to surf ocean or power boat waves in a racer!

On the river, Jan

Thanks for the insight. I looked up the Cobra stretch. I have done that before, but was unfamiliar with the name.

Does anybody use massage therapy ocassionally?

I have a couple of free trainer sessions coming as well.


ANybody do any swimming?


Chuck/Tennessee

Hi, Chuck. I thought I'd throw in some thoughts for you regarding weight training. Shoulders and torso are the two main areas to target--shoulders because they are susceptible to injury and torso because that is where your paddling strength primarily comes from. Since you have 2 free training sessions coming your way (with a certified personal trainer?) I recommend you get shoulder girdle strengthening exercises (rotator cuff muscles, deltoids, rhomboids, middle traps, anterior/posterior serratus muscles, pectoralis major and minor, latissimus dorsi, etc.) and core strengthening exercises (for abdominals, quadratus lumborum, spinae erectors, ilio-psoas complex, etc.). All of these muscles work in a complex manner and synergistically with each other (cooperation) instead of an isolating manner (which is the kind of training you get when you use machine weights).

Learn exercises you can do on a cable machine, free weights, and use a stability ball/physio ball/Resist-A-Ball as your exercise bench instead of a regular flat bench. Unstable platforms (like that IKEA gadget, wobble boards, foam pads, Reebok Trainer, etc.) can do wonders to develop your torso muscles (core stablizers) as long as you are taught correct and effective ways to use these devices.

So many toys to play with off the river. With these toys, who can say they don't like to exercise anymore? Learn complex movements rather than exercise on machines because your paddling is a complex movement (well, paddling to me is complex ). Don't get caught up with developing stronger arms and shoulders. Your arms only help when you flex for the opposite sex, and your shoulders (deltoids) do not help much with your paddling strength. Flexibility is key to better paddling so aside from stretching, there are many different types of yoga classes that can help you there and I bow to anyone who is educated and learned in this area. I am interested in hearing what exercises you are given, so please let us know what you end up doing.

Have fun.

KNeal

forgot:
the book
Canoe Racing by P. Heed und D. Mansfield has some tips about off season training. they suggest skiing because it involves the same muscles. So, if you have snow...

On the river, Jan

The place I am going to workout has the muscle groups that are worked posted on each machine. I am concentrating on arms, back, abs and legs. THeir is one machine that you sit and rotate the torso one way then another.

I am also using the stretching ideas that you gave/

Any other ideas or muscles to think about?

Chuck

I have actually found the rowing machine to be fairly effective in upper body conditioning... Its not as target area specific, but its great for the upper body, shoulders, and back, and also the lower body, so you won't end up looking like popeye

I have had good luck with the information and exercises in a book called "The Pilates Body" written by a woman named Brooke Siler. I never would have bought the book, based on the cover- a friend gave a copy to my wife. However, the central message of the Pilates method is consistent with training for paddlers, and the exercises in the book are easy to learn and very effective.

I've got a rowing machine that I think helps - Concept II rocks and is hard to beat for the "feel" of water, though can be expensive. I found an oooooold one at a thrift store and fixed it up. I also rigged up a paddling adapter, though I don't use that much.

I do some simple exercises with free weights to keep the shoulders, lats, and whater else toned up.

My wife keeps telling me I need to do the pilates.

But all in all, the best training for paddling is, well, paddling. A close second, for me at least, is *doing* anything else - riding a bike is better than a wind trainer, walking is better than a tread mill, etc...

Scott, I guess you pretty much summed up the question about off-season exercise with this last post of yours. In reality, anything that takes the stress off the oft-used paddling muscles and joints, while giving you a good cardiovascular and strength workout, does just fine.

Since exercise design is my chosen profession, I can get technical and creative. As long as you have a good time doing whatever you are doing, then continue to enjoy it. I do want to say to not waste your time exercising on weight machines--but then again, it is my job to have an attitude like that. Anything else is fair game.

Chuck, enjoy what you're doing.

KNeal