Perception vs Facilitation of Efficiency

When paddling what forces cause the boat to move? As a paddler what do you do that impacts how efficiently the boat moves? How does the energy you expend translate into forward boat movement? How does your preception of what you are doing actually affect the boat? These are some of the questions we'll be addressing at the next seminar.

What separates a good stroke from a bad stroke is the amount of work (or power) that goes into moving the boat forward. If the boat bounces up and down, this is waste. If the boat turns, and you are wanting to go straight, this is waste. If your body absorbs the energy rather than passing it to the boat that is waste.

A paddlers goal is to maximizing the amount of energy that pushes the boat forward while minimizing waste. One can imagine the power flowing through the body in order to push the boat forward. In order to maintain structural integrity the paddle must obey Newton’s third law ("To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction") – conceptually this leads to there being Power Circles within the body when we paddle.

By talking through the power circles during the upcoming seminar, doing some visualization and isometric training, individuals will be able to connect the power generated efficiently pushing the boat forward. The connection is intuitive. Your goal is to feel.

Mental Training

The mind-body connection is powerful. For everything you think in your mind, your body has a reaction. All athletes can improve and one way to improve is to become well-versed in performance enhancement techniques.

Athletes spend so much time physically practicing to get an edge on the competition. Yet what teams and athletes can really do to get an edge is right in front of their nose, or more accurately, right above their shoulders!

You hear the same thing all the time, "Sports are 90-95% mental." Athletes and coaches at all levels say it, but how many of them do something about it? What teams and athletes can do to get an edge is develop this aspect as common practice. Our most powerful resource is the mind and most of us are not utilizing this influential resource. Training your mind is just as important as training your body and the athletes that have realized this have excelled. Keep in mind that mental training is equally as important as effective technique. Giving both the same amount of attention is the ideal approach.

Mental Training can take on different forms.

Visualization – You can do this as you commute on the train/bus. Close your eyes and walk through different areas of training. Take yourself all the way through a start envisioning every stroke, catch, rotation, and return. Envision paddling behind different people and see yourself doing different things to follow or blend with them. Envision a weakness in your stroke that you want to improve and make it better in your mind’s eye.

Meditation – Again this can be done anywhere you can stop and focus inwardly. Center yourself and concentrate on calmness equaling power. Focus on something that makes you feel strong and breath that image into every ounce of your body. Take deep breaths and expand your lungs. Breathe in the image that brings you strength and feel how it energizes you from head to toe allowing you to feel calm and focused. Explore through meditation how to convert this image to actual power application.

Mental Training will develop your toughness as an athlete. It can give you the greatest confidence, compose you under pressure, assist in teamwork, and benefit your communication skills if you put your mind to it. Work towards incorporating mental training into your active training by dialing in these methods while you practice. If you put your mind towards incorporating mental training into your program your overall performance will benefit.

The physically stronger athlete or team doesn’t have to lead to win every time. Rather, the athlete/team with the greatest confidence, composure under pressure, teamwork and communication skills can compete and win across the board with mental toughness as their ace up the sleeve.

Stay tuned for more on Mental Training at our March seminar.