Strength training, meaning weight training in a gym, is a very effective way of increasing muscular strength and power. It is also a great way of preventing injuries, by strengthening the smaller muscles that sometimes get  overlooked. These smaller muscles  provide the vitally important supportive structure around joints, including the shoulder, and the lower back.

In short events like those found in Flatwater Sprinting, gym training is vital to maximise on a paddler’s strength and power. In longer events, muscular endurance and injury prevention become more important than power and explosiveness. Surf Ski paddling in particular, can benefit from some strength training added to your program. A ski is heavier than a canoe, and the sea provides a much more difficult surface to paddle on, as it’s choppy, and the wind tends to blow. Extra strength will go a long way when paddling into the wind, as well as having an extra burst of speed to get onto a run. The main factor to remember when adding strength training to your program, is that you need to strengthen the primary muscles involved in paddling, and then be able to convert that strength into on-the-water-strength. Don’t forget that your trunk (core muscles) are the main muscles involved in rotating your back and therefore the main muscles involved in providing forward movement while paddling.

Another form of Strength training is Resistance training. In other words having some form of resistance on your boat, to create drag. Resistance training will do two things. First, unlike general weight training in the gym, it builds the specific muscle groups used in the paddle stroke. While paddling you are creating “muscle memory” and this cannot be achieved in the gym.The more time spent paddling, the more the cyclical process of managing the muscles used in the paddle stroke, taking into account all the extra factors like balance, response of the kayak to each stroke, and posture in the seat, will become second nature. While weight training in the gym still has its place, particularly in winter, it cannot replace the real paddling action. There are many ways of adding resistance to your boat, including bungee cords around the hull of the kayak, and you can vary the amount of resistance to suit the session or phase of training, by adding balls or thicker bungee cords.

Important note: whatever strength or resistance training you start adding to your program, remember that your body will now be under new stress and this change needs to be added gradually, and with proper technique to avoid injury. Here’s to stronger 2009!