Paddle Stronger
Thanks to Glenn Eldridge @ Watermansports.co.uk
In the immortal words of Ewan McGregor choose life, choose a television. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose to go for a surf. Choose your future. Choose life. I chose not to choose life. I chose to write this article at stupid O’clock and not go for a surf!
The point I am trying to make that Ewan so succinctly put is that we often have busy and hectic lives which often make it difficult to do the things we really want to do. One of which being… going for a surf. That simple hedonistic act of self gratification. Simply pull up to the car park, pull on your wetsuit and hit the water for an hour or two of hedonic liquid pleasure!
Or is reality more like-job has been too hectic to get in as often as you’d like, ferrying little Johnnie to Judo or little Lucy to ballet, flat spells or too much home work. The well intentioned fitness programme vowed to on News Years destined to shape you into the next Johnny Weissmuller (famous Olympian who became Tarzan) aimed at getting your ready for that long waited surf trip or just getting into shape for the summer has long since been dropped only to be replaced by a hearty burger and a wistful sigh! Donning the wetsuit, it feels taught around your midriff a little more so than usual.
After clawing your way out back only to be greeted by a clean up set you vow never to stay out of the water that long again. As the session goes on paddling feels more like you’re pulling your withered arm through treacle, eyeing up the bodying boarder next to you wonder if he’d mind if you could borrow his flippers just so that you wouldn’t have to use your arms for a while!
Time is short and talk is cheap so let’s cut to the chase, exercise any exercise is good. Go for a run or swim, do a bit of skipping or take the stairs instead of the lift. All these things are good or more specifically better than doing nothing to help you cope better in the water. But there is one thing that runs true for all sports. The rule of SPECIFICITY. If you run you get fitter as a runner, go for a swim and you get fitter as a swimmer, skip and…well, you get the picture.
There is a degree of cross over by training your cardiovascular system (heart and lungs) but not as much as if you were to choose an exercise that more closely resembles the action of paddling.
Dahd daa enter stage left, the RipCord.
I have put together a simple training programme that is specifically targeted at improving your muscular endurance (ability to paddle for longer). The beauty of this exercise is that you can increase or decrease resistance simply by moving forward or backward; can be packed in your bag and taken anywhere, is cheap and can be simply ordered by clicking on www.watermansports.co.uk
How long will it be before I start to see results?
Depending on your current fitness levels significant results should start to show after 3-4 weeks with 2-3 sessions a week. Ironically, the fitter you are the harder and longer you will have to work to receive smaller benefits!
Warm up by loosening the shoulders with limbering movements rather than static stretches; the ones where you hold a stretch in the same position for 20-30 seconds.
The following session will take between 30 and 45 minutes max.
The basics
Set up: ensure you follow instructions contained in packaging.
Technique:
Set Position: stand with feet shoulder width apart in a semi tuck position, similar to a downhill skier looking at a 450 angle to the floor. Keep knees flexed and back flat without excessive arching.
The paddling stroke is broken into three parts:
Catch: in the set position stand far enough away from the door to extend hands out in front and pull to the thighs
Extension: or the push part of the stroke, take a pace forward and push from hips backwards. Be sure to keep your elbow fixed and start at 900
Full stroke: combining both the catch and extension together, stand in between the catch and extension positions with hands out in front and pull all the way through using full range of movement.
THE SESSION-
Muscular Endurance
Catch: same position as double arm start exercise using either one or both arms.
Work time: 2 min (or until fatigue sets in) swap arms and continue for same amount of time. Repeat three times.
Rest interval (RI) 45- 60 seconds.
Muscular endurance is your muscles ability to continually apply a force over a prolonged period of time. This type of contraction primarily uses slow twitch (ST) muscle fibres. We also need to produce quick bursts of speed to catch waves which utilise fast twitch fibres (FT). Those of you who eat chicken, ST muscle fibres is the red meat found on chicken legs because they stand for a long time. And FT fibres is the white meat found on the chicken breast because when they flap their wings it has to be done quick.
Extension: take a full step forward and follow above using extension phase only. RI 45-60 seconds
Full stroke: take a half step backward and repeat above.
Progression 1: reduce the amount of rest needed between sets
Progression 2: move from catch, extension and full stroke in one set, rest and complete set again (repeat 3-4 times).
Nb: Always keep back in neutral spine. Always maintain control and tension on the Ripcord without excessive bouncing. If pain or sever discomfort results from training stop immediately and consult a doctor if pain persists.
