My Kayak Coach Blog Feed

Podcast 5: Importance of the catch

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:10:20 GMT

Balazs Babella has achieved some fantastic results since taking over as National Coach in Singapore in 2008. Recently Balaz agreed to share some of his background and coaching ideas. We join him during a recent training session with his natinoal Junior squad at Marina reserve.

Singapore has a vibrant junior kayaking culture with thousands of budding athletes jamming thier limited waters ways. The Singapore Canoe Federation has put alot of effort in securing coaching staff of the quality of Balaz and have also secured the upcoming inagural World Youth Olympic Games.

Balaz has won two World Championships in the K4 200m. Blaz is also a keen coach who has learnt from a long line of coaching in his family. Please enjoy this insightful two part series as we look into paddling in Singapore.

Are you training for performance?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:55:02 GMT

MyKayakCoach has responded to several requests about how best to train. Our new service 'PET' - Personalised Effective Training tailors training to suit your needs. We will use the latest coaching advice, research and techniques to have you build at the best pace and perform at your peak. Each program individually designed for you. For more details see our My Coaching page. Meanwhile here is some of the latest research advice on training programs.

Effective endurance training involves producing the best combination of several key factors. How you combine the intensity that you use in your training session, how long you train at varying intensity (duration) and how often you train (frequency).

The question that most ask is what is the best form of training? Is it better to do varieties of intense short burst, intervals or longer steadier sessions. The latest trend it towards interval training. Many fitness centres, such as Fitness First, run most of their classes around that formula.

Many fitness experts, as well as some scientists, now argue that brief, high-intensity interval work is the only form of training necessary for performance optimization. The current research does not support this theory. Best practice suggests that 'combining large volumes of low-intensity training with careful use of high-intensity interval training throughout the annual training cycle is the best-practice model for development of endurance performance' (Ingham 2009).

I recently read a great article that spells this out in more detail. The article is, 'Intervals, Thresholds, and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training'. To read the full article click here.

The article concludes with the following:

• There is reasonable evidence that an 80:20 ratio of low to high intensity training (HIT) gives excellent long-term results among endurance athletes training daily.

• Low intensity (typically below 2 mM blood lactate), longer duration training is effective in stimulating physiological adaptations and should not be viewed as wasted training time.

• Over a broad range, increases in total training volume correlate well with improvements in physiological variables and performance.

• HIT should be a part of the training program of all exercisers and endurance athletes. However, about two training sessions per week using this modality seems to be sufficient for achieving performance gains without inducing excessive stress.

• The effects of HIT on physiology and performance are fairly rapid, but rapid plateau effects are seen as well. To avoid premature stagnation and ensure long-term development, training volume should increase systematically as well.

• When already well-trained athletes markedly intensify training with more HIT over 12 to ~45 wk, the impact is equivocal.

• In athletes with an established endurance base and tolerance for relatively high training loads, intensification of training may yield small performance gains at acceptable risk.

• An established endurance base built from reasonably high volumes of training may be an important precondition for tolerating and responding well to a substantial increase in training intensity over the short term.

• Periodization of training by elite athletes is achieved with reductions in total volume, and a modest increase in the volume of training performed above the lactate threshold. An overall polarization of training intensity characterizes the transition from preparation to competition mesocycles. The basic intensity distribution remains similar throughout the year.

Remember for access to your Personalised Effective Training program see our PET programs section.

Changing Conditions ...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:10:23 GMT

When conditions change, your plans and tactics must change. Be prepared for all possibilities. This way you will be able to race to the best of your abilities and use whatever conditons present themselves - no surprises, just results.

Day One at the 2010 Oceania Kayak Championships saw hot and humid conditions at Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith. The 200m events were first on the program with very fast and furious racing completed in the extremely warm conditions. Throughout the day of heats and semis the conditions were flat with little to no wind.

Then just before the 200m finals commenced a strong head wind came up. This is where the conditions play a very big part in competition. The head wind had added a few more seconds to the race. With a condition change there are several things that competitors need to think about including - the trim of their boat, length of there blade and most of all an adjustment in race plan. All these things are about preparing properly, taking the time to watch what’s happening at the course and having the right equipment to make the change.

For example, when you are considering the trim of the boat in big winds you are best to adjust your weight and shift it backwards to take the nose out of the water. This would prevent it from digging into the waves that have been created from the wind, this is the same for a tail wind or a head wind. Ofcourse the adjustment varies with the severity of the wind.

The length of the blade may be shortened in a tail wind as the race will be shorter due to that wind With the shorter blade you can lift your rating over the shorter race. For a head wind you would keep the blade as per normal. Remember to try this at training first.

Both the men’s and women’s 200m winners Chris Alagich and Jo Brigden-Jones would have been very prepared for all of these things. Both are very experienced paddlers - Chris is currently undefeated over 200m this season while Jo is a 500m World Finalist, both paddlers would have been prepared no matter what conditions greeted them on race day.

Day two was a role reversal of day one with very heavy rain falling all day – a condition change yet again. How do you prepare for all these changes?
No matter what the weather report says you should always bring the right amount of paddling gear, enough clothes and thermals to stay warm. Having options is the way to go, you can always not wear something.

Another consideration is when changes slow or delay the event program. If the event has fallen behind in time by an hour you may find yourself sitting in the sun or rain for over an hour, you may need to re time your warm up, fuel intake etc.

Day two saw all 500m races conducted and in the men’s event Olympic Champion Ken Wallace showed his class edging out Murray Stewart. While in the women’s event Jo Brigden–Jones showed her class taking out the 200m and 500m double.

Day three was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of conditions with both hot and rainy weather greeting competitors. With all the changes in conditions it would be those who were best prepared throughout the entire regatta who would come home strong. By day three you can be sure you will be feeling the effects of two days of racing. If you have used up all your energy trying to keep your body warm on the rainy days and cool on the hot days you will pay the price for that by the final day of competition.

It is very important to remember that no matter if it is raining or hot in competition you must hydrate yourself. Keeping your fluids and food intake up will help over consecutive days of racing.
The men’s K1 1000m final was a very exciting race with 500m winner Ken Wallace coming home very fast to beat New Zealand Olympian Stephen Ferguson the Murray Stewart for the minor places. New Zealand got their revenge in the K2 1000m taking the top two places with world silver medallists David Smith and Luke Morrison third.

The best advice you can ever get for racing is always be prepared for the conditions to change. Make sure your equipment, clothing is suitable for lots of changes and your food and fluid intake up no matter what the conditions. Mother nature can always change quickly.

So after three different days of competition you can see why it is important to train in all types of conditions. You never know what the elements of the day of competition will be like.

Best be prepared by training in them all.

Mykayakcaoch

Nutrition for Performance

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:18:44 GMT

Planning for the best quality on-water training sessions doesn't start when you sit in your boat. There are a number of simple things you can do to increase the benefits you gain from your training.

These include:

• Ensuring that the last meal before the training session is higher in carbohydrates.
As the intensity of training increases your muscles switch more and more towards burning carbs to produce the energy to do the work. Run out of carbs and the intensity of training drops

• Making sure you are hydrated heading into the session.
This can be done by drinking 10 ml/kg of fruit juice or sports drink in the 120-90 minutes prior to the training sessions. For morning sessions drink around 5 ml/kg with dinner and the same before going to bed and top up on the way to training.

• Eating and drinking straight after the session is over.
Rehydrating and replenishing the energy stores straight after training not only helps you improve your response to the session you have just done, it also gets your body ready for the next session. The use of a liquid meal replacement can be carried in the coach's boat or in an insulated container in your boat and drunk as you finish the hard part of your session and paddle to get out.

Simple things to be sure but they can contribute to improved training capacity and performance gains.

Post Workout:

Kyle Brown wrote a recent article in NSCA's performance journal. I include this article with permission.

Post Workout Recovery Nutrition: It’s Not What You Digest But What You Absorb That Counts
Many athletes and weekend warriors alike give it their all in the gym with dreams of building muscle and burning fat—yet, their naivete? leads to self-sabotage by neglect- ing the most vital component. Muscle is not built and fat is not lost in the gym; these changes are made when you leave the gym by applying proper nutritional choices. Many athletes ruin their program by poorly refueling. They either rationalize that exercise will allow them to eat whatever they want or they neglect one of the most important meals of the day—the post-workout recovery.

Within the first 30 minutes to an hour of working out, your body has an anabolic (muscle building) and anti-catabolic (muscle sparing) window where you can capitalize on op- timal gains. In order to achieve the highest yield on your workout investment, your body requires many different nutrients but there are six that are especially important: quality protein, quality carbohydrates and dietary oils, quality water, electrolytes, and enzymes.

Top 6 concerns in a post workout recovery drink:

1. Quality Protein
Biological Value (BV) refers to how well and how quickly your body can actually use the protein you consume.
It is becoming common knowledge that whey is superior to other proteins for post-workout recovery drinks. Yet not all whey protein is the same. The adage, “you are what you eat” needs to be modified to “you are what you eat, eats.” In the case of whey protein, grass-fed whey protein trumps commercial whey protein isolates and concen- trates. Nearly all whey protein products are a processed, isolated or concentrated byproduct from grain and soy- fed cows that are pumped full of hormones and antibiot- ics. Instead, chose a native whey protein from a grass-fed cow, as it will be more beneficial for rapid tissue repair, muscle building, and immune support. It is glutamine rich and high in Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) and fat- burning CLA (2).

2. Quality Carbohydrates
Your muscles are the most susceptible to storing glyco- gen during post-exercise. Yet still, any carbohydrates you ingest that are not burned as fuel or stored in the muscle cells will be stored as body fat. Small amounts of carbo- hydrates from fruit are the best choice and will also add more fiber to your shakes. On the other hand, standard recommendations like maltodextrin (grain-based starch) or 75 grams of dextrose are poor choices if you are trying to lose body fat while gaining muscle.

3. Quality Oils
Healthy dietary oils work better than carbohydrates for fuel and the cholesterol is needed as a precursor to all your natural anabolic hormones. Without cholesterol, we can’t make many hormones including testosterone, es- trogen, pregnenolone, or DHEA in our bodies. You need to have high enough levels of cholesterol in your body to manufacture optimal quantities of these fat and muscle- building hormones.

4. Quality Water
Proper hydration is essential for post-exercise recovery. The beauty of a post-workout recovery drink is that you are able to ingest quality nu- trients and properly rehydrate simultaneously. You should drink roughly 1 quart for every 50 pounds of bodyweight and ideally that water should be alkaline.

5. Electrolytes
Vital minerals like potassium and sodium are essential for post-workout recovery as they are lost while sweating during prolonged workouts. Many sea salts are rich in minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and more.

6. Enzymes
It is not what you digest but what you absorb that counts. Digestive enzymes will break down the ingredients into nutrients that your body can readily digest and more efficiently absorb.

References
1. Droge W, and Breitkreutz R. Glutathione and immune function. Proceedings of the Nutritional Society. 59(4): 595 – 600. 2000.

About the AUTHOR
Kyle Brown is a health and fitness expert whose portfolio includes everything from leading workshops for Fortune 500 companies and publishing nutrition articles in top-ranked fitness journals, to training celebrity clientele—from pro athletes to CEOs
to multiplatinum recording artists. Kyle’s unique approach to health and fitness emphasizes nutrition and supplementation as the foundation for optimal wellness. After playing water polo for Indiana University, as well as in London, Kyle became involved in bodybuilding and fitness for sport- specific training. Kyle is the creator and Chief Operating Officer for FIT 365—Complete Nutritional Shake (www.fit365.com).

Got Wind?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:05:32 GMT

On the weekend the first round of the Harbour Race series was run in Sydney. It was a 15km course that had, as it’s major challenge, strong 20 – 25 knot winds. Most of the course was through a cross wind but the last bend saw paddlers heading directly into the wind. I was asked for some advice on how to get the best out of paddling in windy conditions…..

Into the wind
When paddling into a head wind many paddlers shorten the stroke at entry (the catch) far too much. This is critical as it is the most important area of the stroke that helps maintain boat speed. When you head into a head wind it is difficult to get effective boat run as the wind keeps stopping you. By maintaining a strong catch, a 'slightly' shorter stroke and with a clean exit, you will keep up boat speed. This is the most efficient way to paddle, as it will maintain that speed with the added bonus of preventing injury through poor stroke technique.

Maintain concentration and focus on the exact direction that the wind is coming from. Pick a point towards your intended finish and work your way toward that point as near to direct as possible.

The exception to this would be steering slightly, both left and right, to avoid crests of waves. Banging over waves rather than steering over waves will make the boat thump violently and decrease boat speed. Steering through channels or dips in the approaching swell reduces the thump and loss of speed. The talent comes when you can get the best balance of paddling directly into the headwind and steering through the swell.

In this shot Will, if he had time to react, may be best to veer slightly to his left to avoid the peak of the swell directly in front of him. This would only be a minor alteration but he would not crash over the peak and slow down. Again the choice to alter direction is a balancing act and the right choices will come with practice.

A side wind
With a side wind you should keep to the same principles. The major difference is where to position your boat in terms of the side wind.

We covered a little of this earlier in our blog ‘Picking the best lines’. Pick that end point, paddle left and right with any runners but aim for a distance point. If you don’t have a particular point to aim for you will end up paddling further by getting off course (read the last few paragraphs in Sheuy's last update in his 'dream' section). If you don't know where you are going, you will go nowhere. Keep firm on your pedals and steer a little out to sea with the wind then veer back into the side wind.

The temptation is to lean forward and crouch. That makes you feel stronger and you may feel faster. In reality you are just stopping your lungs from filling and contribute to technique floors. Keeping your head up and keeping a constant rhythm of breathing will keep a clear mind and maintain your technique.

A smart racer has a clear mind - this person will always do well.

Tail Winds
Whenever there are tail winds there are runners. For more ideas on catching those runners you should watch Episode one from our Podcast on that topic. Again keep your feet hard on the pedals so that you can react to changes in those waves. Steer and surf the waves rather than being pushed along. Avoid nose - diving, as this will slow you down. In smaller swells that are close together, look for valleys in front of you so that you can skip across to the next swell, trying to run as many together as possible.

These videos show some nice runners. Watch them with the advice above in mind. Rambo's one (the first one) is sensational.

The Doctor 2010 from Ocean Sports Media on Vimeo.

A point on Safety.

Boats are being made lighter and lighter to provide a competitive advantage. If you fall out in a strong wind it is possible for your boat to roll or blow away quicker than you can swim after it. In windy conditions you should use a leg rope to attach yourself to the boat (provided you are not riding waves) You can also use a paddle leash. The paddle leash will slow your boat and the paddle will act as a sea anchor, should the boat begin to blow away.

Remember that this is a danger time for paddlers. LIfe vests can help you float and leashes can keep you close to your boat but, if you are in the water and out of sight, you are still in trouble. If the wind suddenly picks up and blows against the direction of home you should use the wind and go with it to the nearest safe spot. It is not a bad idea to plan your paddle before you leave and make sure you are aware of exit points along your route.

You can try waiting for a lull in the wind, then work hard until the next blow, rest then paddle again. Work your way upwind using headlands, boats or even other paddlers to give you a break.

For begginer paddlers the best way to stay safe in strong winds is not to enter the water in the first place. Know your limits. You can always check conditions on sites such as Seabreeze before you head out.

An Update from Schuey

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:40:02 GMT

G'day everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas and enjoyable new year.

This time of year I always tend to relax a bit with my training and enjoy the time with friends and family without having the added pressure of maintaining a strict training program. This year was especially enjoyable relaxing with the recent birth of my daughter Shenae. I remember just after the birth of my son Jack a few years ago I found it hard to maintain focus on training so the timing for Shenae worked nicely!

Two weeks ago I traveled to Victoria for the Outlaw race and finished 2nd to Dean Gardiner. What I learnt there was that I have a lot to learn about surfing the ocean. Dean gave me a good lesson there! With not to far to go (in the 25km race) I was in striking distance of him and was feeling pretty good but then before I knew it Dean had lifted another gear and took off beating me quite convincingly. The strange thing was that I didn't actually think I did anything wrong or missed any runners. Dean just has this amazing ability to surf the swells a little further each time.

I have been working on my chop chasing though and I am getting a better feel of staying on top of the runner rather then moving down the face of them. By staying on top of the swell with my bow staying slightly pointed down, it is definitely easier to maneuver the ski into the holes when they develop in front of you. If you run down the face to early, your ski will simply bury into the wave in front and you will be limited in where you can manouvre your ski.

I then went to Perth for 'The Doctor' World Cup event. On the Sunday I managed to win the Mixed teams relay, teaming up with Kirsty Holmes. I won't bore you with the details with this race, all I will say is that it was raced in extremely hot dry conditions (43'C) and we had to paddle into a head wind. It would be close to being the most uncomfortable race I have done. Still it was good to do and win!

The Doctor 2010 from Ocean Sports Media on Vimeo.

On the Saturday in the main event I finished 11th. Surprisingly enough though I was quite pleased with the way I paddled. I believe it was more a tactical error rather then paddling performance that placed me this far back. Due to off shore winds, the race was reversed and raced from Fremantle to Rottnest and before the start I went out to suss out the conditions and found the wind at this time to be blowing a strong north easter. I decided at this point that I was going to forego the hot spot and immediately push north so as to take advantage of the north easter later in the race when the runners were bigger.

Once the race started it was apparent that Murray Stewart, Tim Jacobs and Kurt Tutt also had this same idea and we all headed slightly north. With the rest of the field heading straight out towards Rottnest Island they were obviously building a small lead as we were paddling off line and they were taking a direct route. I was prepared for this happen but also knew we had to stay in touch with them so that our wind advantage could close the gap late in the race.

After about 8 or so kilometers I was very pleased with how I was going. I only had Tim about 30m in front of me and I could only see Jeremy Cotter and Dawid Mocke in front of him but they were obviously about 500 or 600m south. Things were looking good until the time came for us to turn slightly south and start heading towards the finish line. It appeared that our wind advantage was no longer and that the wind had actually swung a lot more east and worst of all the swells were pushing up from the south.

So where I thought I would start to have an advantage over the guys south of me it now appeared that this advantage no longer existed and infact those guys probably had the better of the conditions.

In the end with about 1km to go about 10 guys all in the space of about 50m appeared around me. I still don't know wehere they came from! There was then a frantic dash to line where I managed to get past Hank McGreggor but unfortunately ended up in 11th. But like I said at the top I was happy with the way I raced and enjoyed the race at the same time.

Interesting to note that Tim Jacobs adn Murray Stewart who have been excelling in the World Cups this year also only manged average results finishing 8th and 9th respectively showing that our line simply did not work.

Another interesting point is that on my GPS I paddled 19.25km where as Dawid Mocke, the winner of the race (and who took a direct line) only covered 18.8km. This wasn't suprising since I knew I had deviated in the first half of the race but it shows that sometimes it is simply better to go in a straight line rather then trying to follow predicted wind paths. The extra distance would not have been a problem if the wind remained a true north easter because I would have been coming home a lot faster on my line but the swing in wind direction and southerly swell did me no favours and obviously nobody can afford to give away 400+ meters to their competitors. These guys are almost impossible to beat as it is!

Schuey

Podcast Episode 4: Mental Training

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:58:46 GMT

The mind plays an extraordinary role in performance; in this Podcast Episode I interview Andrea Furst from Mental Notes Consulting. Andrea, and her team, teach individuals and teams to use their mind to it's maximum ability in order to meet full athletic potential. Andrea is also a consultant to the Australian Institute of Sport and advises athletes on all matters to do with mental health and peak performance.

Andrea believes that your mental approach to performance in life, sport or work dictates your habits, character and thus destiny. Working on developing your thoughts and actions can be both liberating and enormously beneficial to your performance and your success.

I often tell my squad that 'people who work in offices go 'training', people who compete in races go to 'race practice'. Every time you go onto the water you should achieve something that will make you race better the next time.

Andrea mentions specific technique training and separation of technique drills and race practice. Whilst there is a time and place for specific drills and skills training I believe that you need to be very careful to always remember that you are practicing for a race. If you drop your form in practice you will drop it in a race.

Sure you have set days to work on particular aspects of your technique. We often do set drills and technique training. The important thing though is to make sure that technique work is also done as part of every session and every moment of every session.

For example, think of those times when you warm up and warm down or at the end of a big effort when you go slower or wind down. Often paddlers will relax and begin to 'duck feet' (paddle out wide) of just plod along and drop all style and technique. That is practicing to fail. You should do all the the little things right all the time. You can certainly use less power on the blade as you slow down, but don't practice poor technique as you slow down.

Another point that needs to be emphasised is that when you start an effort you should train yourself to think that you are hearing the gun from the starter. The more you visualise this the less nervous you will be when a race comes round.

Never forget to work on the little things that make you nervous in a race. Do you need a faster start? Do you need to maintain technique in the middle stages? Do you need a bigger finish? The more you practice your race scenarios the better prepared you will be the next time you race.

Facing the chop

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:21:53 GMT

After competing in the 20 Beaches Ocean Series many paddlers were left wondering how to cope with that headland chop. The runners (see our 'catching runners' podcast) were fantastic all the way but each headland threw up the choppy challenge.

Competitors would be racing along then suddenly found themselves bouncing up and down on the spot just trying to stay afloat.

What is the advice from experts? Mykayakcoach and Women's winner Kirsty Holmes, said, "that the backwash water off headlands isn't easy for any of us and there is no easy way to articulate it either. It is difficult water for anyone to paddle in and I'd have to say the biggest thing is to try to keep the boat running and keep your rythym. Not easy when you have pieces of water/chop stopping you. You will still have runners but there is also the refraction of water off the rocks and the groundswell coming into it. Make the most of the runs that are there and try to look for the groundswells running either off the headland or into it to keep the boat moving - depending on which way your travelling. Because of the difficult water it may mean you have to shorten your stroke to keep the rythym. There will be sections where it will flatten out and these are the sections you should try to go hard and get on anything to propell you. Explaining how to run an ocean is a bit like trying to tell someone how to surf. There is really only so much advice you can give verbally. The teaching is in getting out there and practising which I'm sure you know. Hope this helps a little."

I believe the most under rated thing in ocean paddling is staying on your pedals. The pedals on the craft are only ever thought of at the start or finish of the race to get you in and out of the ocean.

The thing with keeping your feet on the pedals it helps you to react quickly to the chop.

When paddling next to a headland you often need to paddle back out to sea on the rebound wash then straighten up to catch the wind or ground swell. If your not using your pedals you can't steer quick enough as the swell doesn't wait for you.

We may cover this one a little more but meanwhile, if you have questions or comments, please use the feedback form below and share you wisdoms.

Twenty Beaches 2009 Surf Ski Race from Ocean Sports Media on Vimeo.

Last Race of the Season - The one I trained all year for!

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:40:03 GMT

The last Ocean Ski Race of the year in Australia has been run and won and now it is over everyone will begin to ask themselves several questions. How do I improve next year, how much training am I going to do and what are my goals going to be in the next twelve months.

The last race on the Australian circuit for 2009 was the 20 beaches, a 25km downwind race from Sydney’s famous Manly Beach to Palm Beach in the north. Our own Tony Schumacher came in 3rd - read his comments in his latest 'Follow a Dream' update.

Competitors faced a couple early questions on the morning of the race – namely would the wind blow up any swell or would it be a straight paddle with no assistance from Mother Nature? As a result all paddlers had to review their race plans. With no assistance from the ocean the race would be longer so one would have to consider taking more fluids onboard. Luckily for all competitors Mother Nature was kind. Twenty minutes before the start a S/SE wind started blowing and gained strength throughout the race.

By the halfway mark at Long Reef the conditions were perfect. The S/SE wind blew straight to the point at Palm Beach and for those who had read our blog on choosing your line, there would of been no problems with this. The runners weren’t too steep but paddlers surfing skills were tested when it came to getting the most out of each swell.

Eventual winner Jeremy Cotter was in fine form with the chop chasing from the very start, which paved the way for a fantastic win. Jeremy showed a real knack of lifting the rating to catch the runners and then backing off and steering into the steepest part of the swell. This allowed him to rest whilst riding the swell and conserver energy. The top three placegetters in the race, Jeremy, Murray Stewart and Tony Schumacher as well as women’s winner Kirsty Holmes, all did this to perfection. Their ability to work hard when they needed to and rest on a moving swell really helped them cover the coarse in fine style.

The main thing that I noticed in the race was that the racing started from the minute competitors hit the water. Lots of paddlers did not get to the start line on time and as a result missed the start - some by as much as 600m.

Small things like this are so important as they make you panic at the very start. When you panic you waste so much energy. The last thing an inexperienced paddler wants to do is be panicking from a silly mistake like missing the start. Combine that with the nervous energy you would have from thinking about the race all morning and you would be close to exhaustion before you start.

If you are tired early your technique will falter very early and this could lead to many things including:

Falling off
Possible small strain Injury
Loss of confidence
Most important of all - NO ENJOYMENT

When choosing your goal for the season make sure it is realistic. Pick a race like the 20 beaches that has lots of prestige and lots of competitors. This way you will have lots of people of the same ability to compare yourself with.

Start by working out how much time you realistically have to dedicate to your training. Find the balance in your life that will let you stay consistent over the whole twelve months. When you stay consistent you will see improvement. Look for new training methods that keep you motivated – as a starting point check out our cross-training podcast for some great training ideas.

It is important to get help with your technique and boat run as this will help you get faster and the most important thing of all to remember is to ENJOY IT.

Be sure to check out the 20 Beaches photo gallery below.

Yours in Paddling,

Jim Walker

Podcast Episode 3: Warming up for race day

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:09:46 GMT

In her podcast, Katrin Borchet gives Jim her advice from her many years of success in the kayaking world. Katrin has competed in three Summer Olympics, where she won three medals with one silver (1992: K-4 500 m for Germany) and two bronzes (both Australia, 1996: K-2 500 m, 2000: K-1 500 m).

Katrin has also won various world championship titles and is now an Australian Sprint Kayak coach.

Warming up as part of race preparation is essential if you want to stay injury free and get an edge on your opponents. Done properly a warm up will increase the blood flow to the working muscles. This prevents muscle stiffness and leads to less risk of injury and improved performance.

Part of your warm up should also include getting yourself psychologically and psychologically ready for your event. Depending on your individual situation the length of warm up that you require will vary.

As always, with any physical activities you should check with you health professional to determine if any exercise is appropriate for you.

What is in a warm up:

You should always include activities that:

allow you to warm up the whole body
raise your temperature until the point of a light sweat
stretch the major muscle groups that will be used in the activity
are sport specific movements that you will use in your activity
use metal exercises that allow you to ‘get in the zone’

Recovery

A cool down involves reducing the intensity of the activity that you have been doing for 5 to ten minutes followed by some slow stretches.

Further Reading/References: