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/
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