Ron Lugbill Whitewater Slalom Racing Blog

improve acceleration

Improve Acceleration

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.

eat beets for improved performance

Eat Beets For Improved Performance

Here is an article about eating beets or drinking beetroot juice for improved performance:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9226576/Eating-beetroot-may-improve-running-speed-research.html

Either eating beets or drinking beetroot juice may help improve performance, according to some studies.  The nitrates in the beets help improve speed and endurance.

Runners and other athletes are starting to consume beetroot and beetroot juice in an effort to improve perfomance.  It may also be helpful for older people who use a lot of oxygen in everyday tasks such as walking and tire easily.

One tip if you are cooking beets in boiling water is not to cut off the stalks.  If you cut off the stalks, the nutrients will flow out into the water instead of staying in the beet.  The study used baked beets and some other studies use beetroot juice.

Here is a link to the article re: beets and athletic performance:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9226576/Eating-beetroot-may-improve-running-speed-research.html   

comprehensive recovery from training

Comprehensive Recovery From Training

Training weakens your body.  The body is stressed, then rebuilds itself after the training so it can better withstand the stress the next time.

It's during the recovery that your body gets stronger, faster and more powerful.  So, the more you can do to enhance recovery, the better.  Here is an article about multi-faceted recovery:

http://xlathlete.org/blog/articles/entry/a_multidimensional_approach_to_enhancing

The idea is that recovery depends on many different factors and they should all be addressed.  Sleep is one of the most important factors in recovery.  Nutrition and hydration are also very important.  Emotional and psychological factors are also important factors in recovery.  And of course, the physical aspect of recovery is important and inter-related to these other factors.

To improve your recovery, and therefore your performance, make sure you are getting plenty of sleep, good post-workout nutrition and hydration.  And do some things that help you relax.  Stress is counter-productive.  And do active recovery methods in between workouts. 

Include recovery in your training plan.  And in your training log.  When you plan your training, you should be planning your recovery as well.  What kind of active recovery will you do?  What type of nutrition and sleep should you get between workouts?  Plan it and write it down, the same way you would write in full lengths or short courses or weight workouts.  Plan your recovery.

Here is the link to the article:

http://xlathlete.org/blog/articles/entry/a_multidimensional_approach_to_enhancing

 

supplementation timing

Supplementation Timing

Here is an interesting article from xlathlete regarding supplementation: 

http://www.xlathlete.info/blog/articles/entry/supplementation_for_sports_performance_controlling

The article states that it is hard to build muscle and reduce fat at the same time, but that you can do one, then the other, alternating, so your body gains muscle and reduces fat, just not all at the same time.  You can do 2-4 weeks of muscle building, followed by 2-4 weeks of fat-reduction, then repeat to get a lean machine for paddling success.

For the muscle-building phase, they recommend protein and carbohydrate supplementation after training.  But only 20-25 grams of protein with some carbohydrates.  Repeat every 3 hours so that your body quickly rebuilds back stronger and adapts to the training.  Whey protein is an effective protein source.

Then, during the fat loss phase, there are several interventions recommended for fat loss, while maintaining muscle.  First, supplementation with green tea or green coffee or resveratrol, but only a small amount is recommended- not too much.  Second, high-intensity training, such as 30 second intervals.  Third, intermittent fasting such as not eating breakfast or going 16-24 hours without eating a couple days/week.  Also, training on an empty stomach and refraining from eating before and after training for a couple hours to increase fat-burning.  The timing of food intake is important- not just the type or quantity of food.

The article does not recommend certain supplements during the off-season.  Anti-oxidant supplements may be important prior to a race, but they are not recommended in the off-season because they reduce stress and you actually want to have the stress so the body adapts to the stress during the off-season.  Also, caffeine is another supplement that may enhance performance at a race, but is not effective long-term, so it's better not to use it too much.  

I do hesitate to recommend supplementation, but these supplements, used properly are normally safe, legal, approved and effective.  They are not magic and they may not even be appropriate for all people.  If you experience adverse side effects, stop taking them and see a doctor.

This is cutting-edge information about supplementation written by US college strength and conditioning coaches.  It is research based, but also based upon working with thousands of athletes in various sports.  Here is the link to the article:

http://www.xlathlete.info/blog/articles/entry/supplementation_for_sports_performance_controlling 

 

strength power speed

Strength Power Speed

It's the off-season, so people start doing resistance training.  And resistance training means strength training, right?  Well, that's a part of it.  But you should also include power training and speed training.  So, you need to be training all 3- strength, power and speed.  And your strength training should also include isometric (holding still) and eccentric (lowering weights), not just concentric movements (lifting weights).

Our sport, like most sports, requires power, not just strength.  For power training, you use slightly lighter weights (50-80% of 1 rep max.) and move them more quickly and do just a few reps.  2-6 reps.  You can do more sets, but keep the reps down so the movements are done quickly.  Examples of power training include Olympic lifting and plyometrics.

For speed training,  you use even lighter weights (20-50% of 1 rep max.), so the movements are quick.  You are training your muscles to move quickly continuously, so you can go higher on the reps.  For example, see how many reps you can do in 20 seconds.  Or, time yourself for 15 seconds and see how many reps you can do. 

In the triphasic training method, you start out by building strength.  You work on eccentric strength first for a couple weeks, then work on isometric strength for a couple weeks, then move to concentric strength for a couple weeks.  After the strength phase, you start the power phase for a couple weeks, doing multiples sets of 1-4 reps fast.

Then, finally, you move to doing speed training.  Use light weights for 10-30 seconds each set.  I like to pair the speed training with plyometrics since they both involve fast movements and the plyometrics works the entire range of movement, whereas in fast weight training, there is a momentum effect, so sometimes part of the range of movement isn't fully trained.  Plyometrics takes care of this by working the entire range of motion.

It's important for your conditioning be specific in terms of the speed of the movements.  If you train slowly all the time, you are conditioning your body to move slowly.  So, your body will be used to slow movements and won't move fast in the race. 

Most people only concentrate on strength training, and only on concentric strength training.  Instead, work on eccentric and isometric strength training, and also work on power and speed so the training is more specific- done closer to the speed of the movements in a race. 

xlathlete.com has more information about triphasic training including videos of hundreds of different exercises and different conditioning programs for many different sports.  xlathlete.com