Strength

[xmas0c1c1k1]

So how important is strength for boating?

I was studying some about muscles for nursing school tonight and I started to think about boating a bit. I hear a lot of talk about technique and that seems to be all I focus on, but how much does strength come into play.
Obviously, it is important to have good stamina and be in overall good shape to be most effective. Is there very much advantage in being the guy that can 80 lbs versus a guy that can pull 60 lbs of force? (just made those numbers up)
I know a lot of technique is being able to utilize the full body's strength, but at times technique goes out the window like when your trying to get out of a sticky hole.

[Lennart]

not sure, it depend on what you want, I have seen some very small women styling Oc paddling where big blocks made a mess. IN slalom you see lots of different build guys and girls. they ar fit and strong compared to their wieght I guess. but more athletic then amirican football. all the pwoer in the world will not save your a*** if you do the wrong things in a hole.

[Sir Adam]

Technique is most important - it can make up for a lack of strength.

That said, in some cases strength makes up for a lack of technique.

Put strength and perfect technique together and you have a world class paddler....

[cheajack]

Strength is important, but aerobic conditioning is more important. It becomes a vitally important safety factor when you are out of your boat. Why be a class IV paddler if you are only a class II swimmer? I think this is potentially a huge problem for us old weekend warriors.

[philcanoe]

Incredibly important - and there's a variety of muscle types.

Wikipedia list these: They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to produce force and cause motion. Muscles can cause either locomotion of the organism itself or movement of internal organs. Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival. Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food through the digestive system. Voluntary contraction of the skeletal muscles is used to move the body and can be finely controlled. Examples are movements of the eye, or gross movements like the quadriceps muscle of the thigh. There are two broad types of voluntary muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers contract for long periods of time but with little force while fast twitch fibers contract quickly and powerfully but fatigue very rapidly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle

We all want enough muscle - to be able to carry (or hike with) our boats, to being able to get to shore (when swimming), to having enough to power hard at the end of the day, to having enough fortitude to man-up, to having enough to play all day...

However - The thing I'll interject is the importance of all the ancillary muscles... all those little ones, the ones which strengthen our joints, and allow for fine motor skills. Most every time I've been hurt, the major task has been rehabbing all these little muscles. These are the ones that allow joint stability, that allow complete range of motion, and are the hardest to develop. Back when I was weight training the guys that knew the most, always preached the importance of these. And how bulking up, or doing heavy weight was not enough... that you really need to do range of motion training. For me this involved a lot of core training, dumbbells, and reps; while often changing and altering various activities.

[Shep]

Keep in mind that the paddle blade size and physical properties of water create a "diminishing-return" of power that can be applied for any given stroke. Power brings you higher stroke rates, which requires more muscle endurance in the short- and long-term. For that reason, I would focus a strength-training regimen on increasing strength a little, but endurance a lot.

Thanks,
Shep

[Bob P]

And in the other direction of Phil's post (not to contradict but to augment), I think that core strength is very important. You can't move the boat without connecting the upper body with the thigh straps.

Unfortunately, a lot of the smaller muscles are difficult to build up with external training. You just have to work hard when you're in the boat.

And there are some larger muscles (and their connection to your brain) that need lots of in-the-boat work, primarily the cross-strokes. There is no shortcut for putting in the time.

[Einar]

You will need both but you will probably be able to keep satisfyingly refining technique for a lot longer than you will be able to refine muscles.

[Lappie]

I would say that overal fitness is importent! when I use to xc ski a lot in the winter and do a lot of strength workout, I have a lot more fun on the water in the summer. You can just play harder for longer, and if you swim or have to assist a rescue, you will be m way more eficient if you are fit!! It take a lote of your energy to swim in cold water, so the fitter you are the beter you will survive a long swim!

[xmas0c1c1k1]

Yeah I was just pondering in general. I can tell you I have no plan on really hitting the weights. I was just more wondering cause I am not terribly strong yet manage to fair pretty well for myself. Basically my workouts out of the boat consist of rehab exercises for my shoulders

[marclamenace]

Basically my workouts out of the boat consist of rehab exercises for my shoulders

Oh yeah, I am right there with you on this one. But last year I also added general fitness especially the lower back and abs and that did help a whole lot too... Too bad now I can't exercise these bad knees so much...

[ian123]

Physical fitness makes everything better.

[fleckbass]

I have found that weight training, core training and cardio definitely help. Use caution with weight training and paddling. Take care of the shoulder.

[Jim]

I agree with the balance of technique and fitness. Core strength is critical as is aerobic fitness.

I started working with weights about 3 - 4 years ago. As my strength improved there were modest improvements in my slalom racing. One of my exercises was pull-ups and as I got stronger I kept adding pull-ups. When I was at 4 sets of 12 pull-ups I noticed that I was losing flexibility in my shoulders, that loss of flexibility altered my stroke, and I was losing my form / technique for my stroke (it felt like I was losing speed, but I do not have evidence of that). Now I train with 4 sets of 10 pull-ups and I appear to have found an appropriate balance of strength and flexibility.

I encourage resistance training, especially for us aging paddlers who are still waiting for the snow to melt so that we can find the rivers.

[TheKrikkitWars]

Strength is important, I like being able to heft my boat onto the car, or my head in one clean snatch

On the river, technique and timing are every bit as important though; I'd consider it to be one of the three sides of the "Genuinely good boater triangle" (like the fire triangle, only awesomer!), as I've yet to meet a good boater who wasn't above average strength for their height and weight; equally, I'm yet to meet a good boater who doesn't have good technique and timing... as just randomly applying force is futile, because even a very low volume river can apply quite literally tonnes of force to you and if you're trading on brute force alone, you'll never beat the river.