Many of us tried all kinds of different training methods over the years, both ourselves and by observing other athletes. We wish we had the kind of knowledge that is available now. But very few athletes are even using the new information that is available now. They are using training methods from 20, 30, and 40 years ago.
Old is not necessarily bad. Some things are tried and true. However, there are some methods that have been proven to be ineffective.
And there are many training programs that have different goals in mind. There are lots of fitness programs out there. But few of them are designed specifically to bring you good results in canoe and kayak slalom racing.
Some programs are designed for overall fitness, or to lose weight, or to make your muscles bigger or to look better. That's great if that is your goal. But if you goal is to become a better, faster whitewater slalom racer, you need to have a training program with that as the priority.
So, just working out or just maxing out or going to failure or whatever, even if you are training every day, working very hard won't get you good results unless your training plan is specific to your sport and it is well-planned.
Here is an example of what I am talking about. You could do a normal bodybuilding weight program 3 or 4 days per week. And do cardio for an hour every day. And paddle daily for an hour. You train 2 or 3 times per day, dedicate your life to training, and go to failure every day, putting every ounce of your body and soul into your training. And you wouldn't improve very much.
Here is why. The bodybuilding program isn't building strength so much as size. So, you are making your muscles bigger without improving your strength to weight ratio nearly as much as you could. You will be muscle-bound, rather than just being stronger.
And the paddling isn't high enough quality. Should be coached often, timed and scored often, on whitewater often, and at or above race pace often. More technique and less slow paddling. Just paddling straight on flatwater won't get you anywhere, regardless of how much you do.
The hour of cardio is essentially training for another sport. Good sometimes as cross-training perhaps, but it won't really make your boat go any faster or cleaner.
This type of training is perhaps popular, and maybe it makes you feel like you are working hard. However, it won't bring you very good results. It's not designed to. It is just a mishmash of various other types of sports that will leave you exhausted but not on the medal stand.
So, rather than just doing standard sort of training, train smarter. Use the knowledge available now that will help you improve more rapidly.
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