Ron Lugbill Whitewater Slalom Racing Blog

gain strength, not weight.

Gain Strength, Not Weight

In some sports, such as football, gaining weight, size and strength are all desirable.  In other sports, such as wrestling, it's important to gain strength, but not weight or size.  For our sport of whitewater slalom, strength is important, but weight gains are to be avoided, if possible.  Here is an article about strength training without gaining muscle size or weight:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/content/strength-without-size-4505/

To gain strength without gaining weight, it's actually better to lift heavy weights, rather than lighter weights.  And do fewer reps and sets, rather than more.  One to five reps is a good range for both reps and sets.

And do more fast weight-lifting, rather than slow weight lifting to gain explosive power, and not muscle mass.  While there is a concern about not exercising the full range of motion due to the momentum of the weight, the quicker movements of fast weight lifting will increase your power, while avoiding weight gain.

Also, doing plyometrics is another way to increase power without increasing mass.  Clap push-ups are good examples of plyometrics for the upper body.  You can also do french contrasts, where you lift a heavy weight several times, then do a plyometric move several times using a similar movement, then do fast repetitions lifting a lighter weight, and then some the plyometric move again.

To build muscle mass, bodybuilders do more isolated exercises, which only exercise one body part or movement.  And they also do many more repetitions, trying to keep the muscle "pumped up".  Instead, use exercises that work more than one part of the body, such as squats, bench presses or deadlifts.  And do fewer reps with heavier weight.

Here is the article on how to gain strength without gaining weight:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/content/strength-without-size-4505/ 

 

 

specific strength training

Specific Strength Training

 

An often overlooked type of training is specific strength training.  There are various methods for doing specific strength training. 

I like to hold onto a boat from shore in a flatwater location where the water is deep enough near shore.  You can either hold onto the bow of the boat or the stern.  Or loop a rope through the grabloop of the boat and have the boater paddle hard.  I usually do 10-20 strokes all- out, then rest for a couple minutes and repeat 2 times.

Or, a boater can tow or push another boat.  This provides a little less resistance than a stationary position of someone holding the boat on shore.  Or, I have seen boaters ram their boats into a steep mudbank and then paddle hard.

In a pool, you could have people standing in the water, holding both ends of the boat for strength training.  One advantage of this is you can do sweep strokes also while holding both ends of the boat.  In slalom, we are constantly turning and sweep strokes are very important, not just forward paddling.

I have experimented with doing specific strength training with a partner on dry land.  Hold the paddle while standing on shore.  Have a friend face you holding the paddle from the other side.  He resists as you air paddle.  It's a little awkward, but could be fun.  You can also do strength training for sweep strokes, back strokes, etc. using this method (unlike some of the other methods).

Some people have rigged up machines for specific strength training for paddling in indoor gyms.  These are also effective, but not any more so than the in-the-boat methods. 

Or, if you are alone, you can paddle hard forwards and backwards.  Paddle hard forward for 4 strokes, then back for 4 strokes and forward again for 4 strokes.  Rest and repeat 5 or more times.

Or, using a gate, you can do a timed course going through the gate, backing beside it, then going back through it again, then backing beside it on the other side, then back through the gate again.  Rest and repeat.

Some boaters also put something on their boat to increase drag or tow something behind their boat.  The important thing is to increase the resistance to build strength.  This should be something short and powerful.  Long slow paddling with resistance does not build strength- it just teaches the muscles to go slow.

It is usually better to do specific strength training at the beginning of the workout because then you are still fresh, so it develops strength.  But you might want to do technique or speed work while you are fresh, then strength training.  In any case, it's better not to do strength training at the end of a workout when you are tired. 

You could conceivably do a workout that is just strength training and do a lot of sets of strength training.  However, most people combine it with other types of training in the same session.

Go hard but keep good technique during your strength training.  And don't increase the length of the bursts, but increase the number of sets to get more training effect.  Allow sufficient rest between sets so it is a strength workout, not an endurance workout.  This type of training is good to complement training on flatwater or easy gates, where strength isn't required as much as on courses with very strong current.

If training on fast whitewater, you could easily skip the strength training because you are probably already getting enough strength training from the training on the strong currents and eddies.  But many of us normally train on easier courses where there isn't the strong resistance, so specific strength training is very important.

walking as active recovery

Walking as Active Recovery

Here is an additional way to increase your performance- active recovery.  Here is an article about different types of recovery:

http://www.ironedge.com.au/blog/post-%C2%ADexercise-recovery-techniques/

Walking, either right after exercise or at some other time between workouts increases the blood flow and lowers the lactic acid build-up in the muscles.  Walking uses larger muscle groups than paddling, and your upper body is already fatigued, so walking is a good way to keep the blood moving and recover without increasing fatigue.

Some people do long slow paddling and call it active recovery.  If they do shorter, slower paddling and don't take it to the point of being tired, it is active recovery.  If it's longer and taken to the point of fatigue, it's not active recovery, but training for long, slow distance.

Very slow jogging is also an option for recovery.  But again, if you go long and run to the point of being fatigued, it isn't active recovery, it's training for long distance running. 

And if you finish your active recovery with a hot bath or shower and some easy, slow stretching, it further improves your recovery.  It's during the recovery that your body gets stronger.  Training weakens the body.  It rebuilds during the recovery period.

If you don't get enough recovery or enough quality recovery between workouts, you won't improve.  If you aren't improving and you're not sure why, try doing active recovery every day.  Or try training one day, then do active recovery the next.  The likely reason that you aren't improving is because you aren't getting enough recovery between workouts.

Many top athletes do active recovery daily.  Everyone trains hard.  If you just train hard, you will have the same results as everyone else.  To win, you need to do the extra things that make the difference.  Active recovery is one of these extra things that make the difference between being just another athlete in the pack and the winner.

Athletes don't want to just walk.  They want to train hard.  Walking is for old people.  It's hard for many athletes to think that going for a walk will help them.  But it is one cheap, easy and effective form of active recovery.  Here is the link to the article that describes different methods of recovery:

http://www.ironedge.com.au/blog/post-%C2%ADexercise-recovery-techniques/

concurrent training

Concurrent Training

 

There are different types of periodization, such as short to long, long to short, dual periodization, etc.  This is an article about concurrent training, where different types of training are done at the same time.  This is an interview by a successful 400 meter running coach who uses a concurrent training program, with 2 days off per week.  Two days on, then a day off, then 3 days on, then a day off.

Speed and speed endurance and lactic tolerance training are all done each week.  Here is a link to the interview:

http://speedendurance.com/2013/02/22/interview-mike-hurst-journalist-400m-coach/#

Now, how does 400 meter running compare to our sport of whitewater slalom?  Well, this coach states that this approach should apply to various distances and different sports.  400 meters is a difficult event, in case you have never run it.  Running longer distances is actually easier because the pace is slower.  With 400 meters, you are really hurting for the last 100 meters or so.

But, the sport does not have the turns and varied strokes that our sport does.  It is more akin to sprint flatwater racing in that respect.  It only has the one acceleration at the start, whereas our sport has multiple accelerations at every upstream and every turn.

Like our sport, technique, acceleration, power, speed and speed endurance are very important in the 400 meters.  He says that you need to train year-round for speed, doing some workouts that are faster than race pace once or twice per week.  That way, you feel comfortable running at race pace. 

Slalom racers should likewise do some fast training year-round at speeds faster than race pace, such as 20 or 30 second courses.  That way, race pace will seem normal and easy and not a strain

inverted periodization

Inverted Periodization

 

Here is a link to an article about inverted periodization for triathletes:

http://www.sdxtraining.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212:inverted-c

Rather than concentrate on building an aerobic base during the off-season, with inverted periodization, you work on motor skills, technique, speed and strength.  Then, when you get closer to race season, you add in more endurance training, but maintain some speed training year-round.

This contrasts to traditional periodization, where you do a lot of long endurance training during the off-season, then start more aerobic training during the pre-competition season.  Traditional periodization developed during the 60s and 70s, but since then, there has been more research that has shown it to be ineffective.

Periodization is nothing more than planning.  Planning is a good thing.  You need to plan out your training.  However, you also need to listen to your own body.

The author of the article lists many physical problems resulting from the common application of aerobic base training with high volumes of training.  Many athletes develop physical and medical issues as a result of this excessive volume of endurance training and would be better served by less volume and a more balanced approach.

This article is about an endurance sport- triathlon.  If traditional periodization is not effective for a very long distance, endurance-oriented sport like triathlon, it certainly does not work for whitewater slalom racing where the emphasis is on technique, precision, power and speed.

Instead of spending hours paddling slow on flatwater during the off-season, work on technique, speed and strength.  Get faster first, then work on being able to maintain that speed during the pre-competitive season.  In other words, do more short courses in the fall and winter and more full-lengths during the spring and summer.

Here is the link to the article on inverted periodization:

http://www.sdxtraining.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212:inverted-c

Do explosive resistance training and fast intervals to get faster

Do Explosive Resistance Training and Fast Intervals to Get Faster

Here is a link to a meta-analysis of training research regarding different types of training and their effects on performance.  For short endurance events (less than 2 minutes long), such as ours, the best types of training were explosive resistance training, both specific and non-specific explosive resistance training, and also supra-maximal interval training, fast intervals done all-out for less than 2 minutes.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.sportsci.org/jour/04/cdp.htm

A meta-analysis is a collection of a series of studies that helps develop a consensus from the research.  So, the research here does tend to point towards doing explosive resistance training and short intervals. 

The explosive resistance training results here seem to contradict another study that found that for acceleration, slower resistance training is more effective, while for maximum speed, faster resistance training is better.  But that may be one factor that the meta-analysis fails to differentiate.  The meta-analysis is looking to lump together studies to find a trend, but there may be important distinctions in a trend. 

For example, a sport that lasts 90 seconds long but is cyclical and has only one start and then you maintain a high speed may have very different physical demands from a sport that lasts 90 seconds, but has many starts and stops and where varied movements and acceleration and agility play a greater role.  The meta-analysis would put both of these sports into the same category when there may be very different requirements for each sport.

In any case, the meta-analysis does tend to show that fast-paced intervals are very effective training methods for events lasting less than 2 minutes.  And they also show that explosive resistance training is also very effective for short endurance events.