Quality, Not Quantity in Training

 

Rather than focusing on the quantity of your training, you should try to improve the quality of your training.  Don't just grind out the time in the boat- make each workout important.  Every workout is a technique workout.  Every stroke is deliberate and important.  Pretend that the success of each run is just as important as the second run at the team selection race.  

Make your training more race-like.   Do some race simulations on full-length whitewater courses to improve the quality of your training.  The more race-like you can make it, the better.  For example, rather than timing yourself and counting your own penalties, have someone else do it.  Rather than just starting when you want to, have set start times and have someone give you a countdown.  Instead of designing the course yourself, have someone else design it.  Instead of practicing on the course ahead of time and doing a bunch of runs, just take 2 runs on the course.

Anther way to improve the quality of your training is to have feedback at every session.  Use varied forms of feedback, including coaching, video, someone else counting times and penalties, and watching other boaters performing the same courses.  On one day, you might get coached, then the next have someone video the session, and then on a third day, have someone count penalties and tell you your times after every run.  Get together and train with other paddlers when you can and see what you can learn by watching and talking to them.

And make your training specific to improve the quality.  Paddle at race pace or faster in your training and do whitewater gates as much as you can.  Paddling slow by yourself is low-quality training and should be avoided.  The exception is if you are doing it as a recovery session on flatwater by just paddling straight ahead for a short period of time (not going too long or hard, so it isn't really training).

Doing loops for more than 3 minutes or so, is a low-quality workout.  It's not specific enough to be a quality workout because the speed is slower than race pace. 

Paddling with swinging gates is another form of low-quality workout.  Don't start until the gates stop swinging from the previous boater.  Or, if you are doing full-lenths, don't follow right behind another boater because then, the poles may be swinging all over the place and it will lower the focus.  Wait 2 minutes after the last boater (preferably more) to ensure that the poles won't be swinging when you go down the course.

Taking a run without adequate course study is also low-quality training.  Study the course like you would before a race run before you take your first run.  Don't just go out and do the course without enough planning ahead of time.

Take your practice like a race to improve the quality of your training.  Bring the same kind of attention to your training runs as you would for your runs at the team selection races.  That will raise the quality of your training, making you a better boater. 

Rather than focusing on the quantity of your training, you should try to improve the quality of your training.  Don't just grind out the time in the boat- make each workout important.  Every workout is a technique workout.  Every stroke is deliberate and important.  Pretend that the success of each run is just as important as the second run at the team selection race.  

Make your training more race-like.   Do some race simulations on full-length whitewater courses to improve the quality of your training.  The more race-like you can make it, the better.  For example, rather than timing yourself and counting your own penalties, have someone else do it.  Rather than just starting when you want to, have set start times and have someone give you a countdown.  Instead of designing the course yourself, have someone else design it.  Instead of practicing on the course ahead of time and doing a bunch of runs, just take 2 runs on the course.

Anther way to improve the quality of your training is to have feedback at every session.  Use varied forms of feedback, including coaching, video, someone else counting times and penalties, and watching other boaters performing the same courses.  On one day, you might get coached, then the next have someone video the session, and then on a third day, have someone count penalties and tell you your times after every run.  Get together and train with other paddlers when you can and see what you can learn by watching and talking to them.

And make your training specific to improve the quality.  Paddle at race pace or faster in your training and do whitewater gates as much as you can.  Paddling slow by yourself is low-quality training and should be avoided.  The exception is if you are doing it as a recovery session on flatwater by just paddling straight ahead for a short period of time (not going too long or hard, so it isn't really training).

Doing loops for more than 3 minutes or so, is a low-quality workout.  It's not specific enough to be a quality workout because the speed is slower than race pace. 

Paddling with swinging gates is another form of low-quality workout.  Don't start until the gates stop swinging from the previous boater.  Or, if you are doing full-lenths, don't follow right behind another boater because then, the poles may be swinging all over the place and it will lower the focus.  Wait 2 minutes after the last boater (preferably more) to ensure that the poles won't be swinging when you go down the course.

Taking a run without adequate course study is also low-quality training.  Study the course like you would before a race run before you take your first run.  Don't just go out and do the course without enough planning ahead of time.

Take your practice like a race to improve the quality of your training.  Bring the same kind of attention to your training runs as you would for your runs at the team selection races.  That will raise the quality of your training, making you a better boater.