Our sport, like many sports is about acceleration. There are several qualities that need to be trained, including speed, strength, speed-endurance, and acceleration.
At every turn, the boat speed is reduced. After every upstream, the boat needs to be re-accelerated. Our sport involves constant turning, therefore the boat constantly has to be re-accelerated. It is rare that the boat is traveling at top speed for any period of time, although there are some times, such as after the start or before the finish where the boat is traveling at top speed. Otherwise, during the course, we are trying to get the boat up to top speed after a turn or else turning.
To train acceleration is important. Accelerating the boat is also very tiring. To train for acceleration, you can do several different methods. One is to have someone hold the boat in place and take some hard strokes- 10 or 15 strokes, then rest and repeat.
Another method is to go forward for a couple strokes, then go backwards and forward again for a couple strokes, then rest and repeat. Or, you can have something on the boat such as a rope that creates more resistance and paddle hard, then rest and repeat.
Here is an article about training for acceleration for other sports: http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1128.cfm
While it is written for sports such as football, basketball or soccer, it also applies to our sport. To improve acceleration, you should train with some extra resistance so it's harder to paddle for a short period of time. Doing long paddles with resistance does not build acceleration though. Should be short and all-out.
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