This is a very widespread theory, but in my research, there is little or no scientific research that shows that it is more effective than more specific training. In my years of experience, it has shown to be ineffective and it does not lead to improvements in performance. There is research that shows that faster interval training is more effective than slow steady-state endurance training.
But my main concern is that spending hours and months paddling at speeds below race speed does nothing to make you faster, stronger or give you better technique. I believe that those components of slalom racing are much more important than any aerobic base. Speed, strength and technique should be the base that you build in the off-season, not the aerobic base. See the articles below about "reverse periodization".
From a pure physiological perspective, paddling at speeds slower than race pace is not specific enough. One of the main principles of athletics is specificity and paddling below race speed is simply not specific to the event you are training for. You are not training for a marathon. You are training for a 90 second event that requires substantial speed, strength, technique and agility.
Now, athletes in other sports, even pure endurance sports are questioning the gospel of aerobic base training. These are not sports that require the speed, strength and technique of whitewater racing, but are purer endurance sports such as cycling and ice-skating and running. Even on a pure endurance physiological basis, without even considering the complexities of a relatively short, technique-intensive whitewater slalom event, aerobic base training is being discarded.
Read this article for more info.:
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