Fitness
Starting a New Holiday Tradition
If you have little ones, you're up early opening gifts. Perhaps you also have some cultural traditions; my grandmother of Norwegian descent, for example, liked to have us leave our shoes out front for Julenissen (Santa Claus) to fill with toys.
How about this one to add to the list:
A Christmas Day Workout!
Doesn't matter what, just pick something you and your spouse, kids or friend can enjoy with you!
I always carve out at least 90 mins on Christmas Day for a good run. In addition to my need to move, I need a little breather after hours in the kitchen and to regroup before I head home to shower, get ready and prep for guests!
Choose your activity now and plan with your loved ones so you'll actually look forward to it!
Christmas Day Hike, anyone??
Outrigger Canoe Performance and Training
HOW IMPORTANT ARE TIMING AND RHYTHM TO THE CREWS PERFORMANCE? One of the fundamental secrets to making an outrigger canoe travel well, is precision of the ...
Keywords: outrigger canoe; paddling; outrigging; strength training. .... Strength Training Exercises and Program Variables for Outrigger Canoe Paddlers ...
Performance in outrigger canoe paddling can be indicated by a high mean boat ... In the case of the outrigger canoe stroke, we can develop equation (1), ...
outrigger paddle strokes, helmsman-ship, canoe rigging, transport and maintenance, ... Videos of Outrigger Canoe Races to Facilitate Teamwork/ Technique. ...
outrigger canoe training habits (1, 3, 4) with training habits of similar water sports difficult ... tific examinations of outrigger canoe training, the de- ...
Previously, training for outrigger canoeing has incorporated on-water outrigger canoeing sessions in combination with resistance training and aerobic ...
Running Together
After giving a lecture this morning to the LA Roadrunners who are getting ready for the LA Marathon in March, I felt inspired to write a bit about the importance of having a group to run with.
If you're already a seasoned runner with a specific training plan and/or a coach, or someone who prefers to run solo- fantastic! Not trying to send a message that everyone HAS to run with others. Incidentally, I rarely run with others myself, but anyway...
If you're new to running or if you've found that, in the past, you've had a hard time sticking to a training plan you found in a running magazine or maybe you're runner who is simply looking for a way to meet friends who share the passion, joining a running group is a GREAT idea.
It can be as simple as a group of five moms in the neighborhood who alternate child-care; four moms run while the fifth one watches the little ones. Cost effective, safe, and a great time to bond! Alternatively, it can be a matter of joining a locally, or nationally recognized branch of an established group which helps runners of all levels get to their goal of doing their first race.
If you're remotely interested in getting into this oh-so-natural sport- I highly encourage you to look into it. Sign up, register for a race, and see how much easier it is to stay fit and healthy through the holidays, get in your regular workouts, and start the new year one step ahead of the game!
#the Paleo Diet For Endurance Athletes Article in Lava Magazine...
Click HERE to read an article I wrote for LAVA Magazine- a great, new triathlon publication!
JUST MOVE!
It always makes an impression on me when I see someone 'working out' (or not so much) at a gym... going through the (punitive) motions and clearly NOT enjoying themselves.
Sitting on a recliner bike, reading a magazine while very faintly pedaling or hunched over the stairclimber, weight bearing on the arms/wrists. hands with a pained expression on one's face, or pliodding along outside with a look of desperation- is anyone who fits that description remotely enjoying themselves? I hardly think so!
Whenever I have a new client who comes to me and says, "I hate the gym" or "I hate running", do you think I suggest that they join a gym or go on a run, respectively?
Absolutely not.
FIND WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO AND DO IT!
MOVE.
Bottom line.
You're not going to find me playing basketball; why? Because I don't want to. It's simply not my thing. Nothing wrong with it, no judgement, I just don't want to do it.
If you don't like running, try a dance funk class. If you hate cycling, go on a hike with your dog or your best friend. Despise the gym? Head to the ocean and go for a swim with your neighbor.
You get the idea.
Rethink how you approach exercise.
It is a gift, NOT a punishment, that you have the ability to move your body. Think of those who can't and make the choice to do something good for yourself.
Not at New Year's. Not at your next birthday.
NOW.
Get outta bed and go get 'em!
Off Season Tune Ups...
While it's important for us athletes to give ourselves some downtime (or, at least, perhaps a bit less structure), the off-season is also a great time to focus on what our weaknesses are.
For me...it's the swim! The more I improve with cycling & running, the more I want to do those sports! On the flip side, the more I rack up another slower than desirable Ironman swim and have to go with my usual MO and catch up time on the bike, the less I LOVE swimming!
As my coach is located in Canada, and I'm here in LA, we don't have the luxury of him coaching me from the deck.
What to do?
Enter MASTER'S SWIMMING!
It's a great way for swimmers of ALL levels to get fitter and faster in the water.
Don't worry if the last time you swam, it involved wearing water wings or a tube around your middle.
Again- it's for ALL levels! (Master's DOESN"T mean 'One who is a master at swimming'. Yes, I thought that about 12 years ago when I first started racing!: )
One great resource to check out is:
It's a nationwide listing of groups throughout the US who conduct these great workouts.
Give it a try- today's the first day of November and the holidays are RIGHT around the corner!
Keep yourself honest by sticking to the #PaleoDiet and keeping active in the pool; add, for a little extra motivation, the fact that you've got to be wearing your swimsuit to workout. Just a little extra reinforcement for staying on it!
Training
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.
