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Words: Richard Harpham
Photos Richard Harpham & Ashley Kenlock
Bio
Richard Harpham, FRGS, is a human powered adventurer, coach and inspirational speaker who has completed over 11,000 miles of expeditions by kayak, canoe, SUP and bike www.richadventure.com
Richard runs the award winning Canoe Trail watersports and adventure business with his wife Ashley. Thanks to BAM Clothing, Paramo, Valley Sea Kayaks and SilverBirch Canoes for sharing the dream. www.canoetrail.co.uk
Paddle fit – our guide to getting fit for paddlesports
It’s that time of the calendar year when New Year’s resolutions are fading from the forefront of people’s minds. As paddlers, we are often polarised between fair-weather paddling where our dreams of warm aquamarine waters with golden rays are, in reality, cold, dank winter paddling days. In the end, with warm clothing, drysuits and preparation, winter paddling often offers greater flow, epic white water and perfect training time for races, events and adventures.
- Endurance and stamina
- Strength and conditioning
- Balance
- Flexibility
- Well-being/positive mental health
- Tone
- Aerobic fitness
- Active core
- Goal focussed
- Technique
- Diet
Top tips for building paddle fitness include putting some structure to the training instead of a ‘lilly dip’ gentle paddle. For example, here are some of the training plans and structures we have used:
Fartlek is a common training style with runners and is the Swedish word for ‘Speed play’, altering speeds. Typically this means working hard for a set period and then a slower pace and then repeating this. So it could be two minutes on, one minute slower pace, two minutes on and then one minute slower pace and so on. We often used this training style in racing kayaks (K2s and C2s) training for the DW and the YRQ.
Interval training – similar to Fartlek, but this involves working hard and then stopping for complete rest so for example, five minutes at 80% of max, two minutes rest, five minutes at 80% of max and then rest. This helps with fitness recovery times and training your body to cope with endurance and stamina.
Pyramid training – this is a stepped approach to training by increasing the intensity of training by building the length and or intensity of training, so in this instance, it could be perhaps one minute on, one minute off, two minutes on, one minute off, three minutes on and one minute off. We often used this for sprint training on the pitch for canoe polo, making sprints up and down the pitch. We also did this with increased reps of the pitch length at max output.
Top tip:
make a plan for your training sessions
Resistance training – this is a different style of training where the increase in resistance on the water such as a heavily laden craft, tennis balls on an elastic strap (on slalom kayaks to increase drag), a parachute to drag in the water. This increases the load. It was a real shock to launch a heavily laden sea kayak for a long-distance paddle on some expeditions.
Aerobic fitness – the development of aerobic capacity through high-intensity training to build VO2 max, the ability to consume and utilise oxygen. Of course, beyond this, the body switches from aerobic (100m/200m sprints) to anaerobic after a specific distance duration, e.g. 500m and above. You can test this with the ‘talk test’ whereby after exercise if you can talk lightly, you are still in your aerobic conditioning zone.
Heart rate – raising your heart rate – There is much written about completing at least 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week to reduce heart disease. This is the Sport England measure for physical activity. To add a little bit of citizen science to this, you can use heart rate intensity to map out your training and make it more effective. Your resting heartbeat is a good measure of fitness and recovery rate back to resting; this is also helpful. Training at different intensities will help you achieve better results. Your maximum heart rate alters with age, and you can link your training goals and gains to training in these bands:
- Low intensity: 40-50% of max getting moving, low intensity, short sessions, suitable for beginners.
- Moderate intensity: 50-70% cardio sessions, at least 50 mins total with 10 min sets.
- Very high intensity: 70-85% high-intensity sessions, burns more calories, improves VO2 Max.
- Maximum effort: 85%-100% not sustainable for long periods, helps overall capacity to push the system.
For the DW, we would aim for paddling sessions at high intensity, pushing the pace operating between moderate intensity and very high intensity over distance. Whilst the race could be 20 hours of paddling, we would flex training between three-hour sessions up to full-day paddling.
Train for the game – we spend a lot of time training customers for races, adventures, trips, and charity events each year. As such as we coach people to make the training accurate and relevant. If your race or event involves open water paddling for four miles, make that part of the training in different conditions such as onshore. Equally, if you need to portage a canoe around five locks fully laden, then train that way.
Flexibility and balance – as we get older and or recover from injuries, we find a loss of flexibility and balance. There is plenty written about maintaining flexibility through stretching, starting gently and good warm-ups. Carve raises, squats, and other fitness exercises daily can massively improve this fitness element and are a good prevention measure to injuries, slips and falls. This element, of course, links to core strength and prevention is better than cure. Developing your skills from the outset in a craft can be a core objective in your training. For example, step back turns, and pivot turns with good foot movement on your SUP will quickly improve balance and flexibility. Similarly, practising self-rescue in a sea kayak will also help coordination, skills and balance.
Top tip: good practice makes permanent
Core strength – since hitting the fair age of 50 (not out), I have been focused on improving flexibility and core strength. My mate Olly Jay of Active 4 Seasons challenged me to hit 75 press-ups by November 2020. That has culminated in over 30,000 press-ups. You can feel the difference. I interviewed Sir Ran Fiennes, who shared he did squats each day, and as a result, I have added 40 squats per day which, despite creaky knees from years of rugby, is helping. Of course, paddling is low impact and requires good use of core strength. It is the perfect way to improve core. Sitting in a racing kayak is all about core but equally paddling a stand-up paddleboard requires good core strength and stability.
Top tip: build new habits with a simple personal workout to boost core strength
Positive mental health and well-being – there is much written about digital detox and fresh air miles and the boost to positive mental health. Goal setting and measures such as resting heartbeat, recovery times, body mass index, and weight help ensure you can see the results of your endeavours. Setting and achieving targets and goals builds self-efficacy, a core part of building well-being.
Time outside, re-wilding and physical exercise releases different hormones boosting mood and well-being. Serotonin is increased through natural sunlight and is the perfect antidote to screen time which often raises anxiety. Dopamine is the brain’s neurotransmitter for motivation providing a sense of freedom and well-being, sometimes known as a ‘runner’s high’ – substitute paddler for a runner! Completing at least 30 minutes of exercise provides a natural endorphin release.
Top tip: manage your well-being, plan to spend more time outdoors and boost your mood.
Diet – our good friend David Gordon, founder of BAM, www.bambooclothing.co.uk, a former internal pole vaulter and adventurer, refers to diet as the relationship between inputs(food consumed) and outputs (exercise completed). I have previously written about hydration and feeding the machine, keeping calories coming into the system during longer races, but it is common sense to pick things that agree with your palette and metabolism. I prefer bananas, wraps, snickers, malt loaf to energy drinks and gels. As a general guide eating a balanced diet home-cooked for us is the winning formula. Eating free-range, seasonally and locally sourced is our preferred diet and eating out, we eat vegetarian unless we know the food provenance.
Top tip: reduce red meat and eat a balanced diet
Improving technique – a key part of paddling smarter rather than harder is to improve technique. As a coach and experienced racer, a key piece of advice is to try and isolate the technique element you are working on. For example, if you are trying to increase craft speed, consider power and cadence and find your optimum output. You might choose to paddle at a higher rate but with less power or vice versa with more power but slower cadence. You might look at your connectivity or rotation to increase power transfer. Whilst racing, we often look at the ‘catch’ of the paddling stroke and extend the length of the forward paddling piece.
Top tip: work on the catch and driving the power into the blade with the top hand driving downwards
In summary
So far, most of what we are recommending doesn’t involve gym work or lifting weights; it involves getting out and paddling using structured training. Building strength can be supplemented with weights but in general, pushing/moving your body weight delivers an excellent overall fitness and tone. Find training buddies who have similar goals and objectives to you. Join a club or paddling group or visit your local centre.
Top tip: make paddling a family pastime
I never remember a bad day on the water, and training still provides a happy feeling that lifts my mood. Training for bigger races is a full-on commitment, but it also brings a real sense of achievement to compete with like-minded individuals. Generally, these longer wilderness races are a significant challenge; they take no prisoners and do not respect previous form; you are racing against your personal targets, your fellow competitors and most importantly, the environment and conditions.
Stay safe, set a training plan and happy trails.
You can see more of our adventures and races.