It has been an exciting weekend, full of emotions, surprises and disappointments.
A weekend that has created a team that I hope will be more intrigued and motivated that they can do more for the upcoming season in time to come.
However, let me go through some thought processes that has been on my mind ever since training the NUS dragon boat team building up a team from scratch.
It was simply surprising to even imagine how far the boys have come even after paddling for a little more than 11 months together. They have proven to me that the order of the day when it comes to winning begins in the mind. The actual fire, desire and belief that they are willing to put their hearts and minds to try to match up against competitors who far outweigh them in terms of experience. I have begun to believe how much more this team has with how I may have judged them initially and it has nothing to do with experience.
Bouncing back from defeat after an unsuccessful run for MR500, the boys pulled themselves together to push through a torrid start of the season to see themselves finish second for all the categories that they have competed in. I would believe there is more to be done in the basics, but I would think it as an achievement by itself. It would be difficult to judge whether the training was enough but that I would have to go back to the drawing board to eke out some solutions.
Drawing out some conclusions after the race, the following would be what I will look into in future to emphasise in future trainings.
1) Basics - the catch and pull phase.
Much has to be done in this department as the basic skills are still lacking. Alot of attention has to be spent in this area to create more awareness of how they understand the water and how they would learn to react to differing conditions to execute the above mentioned skills more thoroughly
2) Basic Strength and eventually strength endurance.
Although we would believe that the whole is always bigger than the sum of its parts, but there must be thought and consideration in the conditioning that the boys are in before proceeding to manage intense loads and stresses involved in racing in a typical 1km race. Alot more emphasis has to be directed towards hypertrophy in the initial phases of training to maximise possible strength endurance capabilities. Bigger muscles will create higher capacities of strength endurance if the process is done correctly. Definitely something that I have to look back at the drawing board.
3) Utilisation of starts to mentally get ahead.
An area of improvement that has to be tackled from the start to make sure the boys understand that having a good start creates a better solution than trying to chase the competitor. We must be able to deliberately train for higher targets to build confidence to get ahead of the pack so as to gain mental confidence.
4) Running through the last charge.
The boys definitely lack the advantage at this point where muscle glycogen stores are severely depleted and the lack of drive at the end of the race. Little training was done to facilitate speed intensity at high stress levels which cause lack of form and structure to remain intact by the end of the race set. Much to do to work on this, something that can be easily rectified but difficult to attain without leaving the "comfort zone".
Well, it has been a good weekend, and a wonderful learning opportunity for myself. I hope to gain more from next season and see to a better training regimen for the team.
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Coaching Fundamentals: Creating a Common Purpose
I find coaches in Singapore are excellent examples of the sport in their own right. They are technically proficient in their sport, possess technically sound fundamentals in the strategies employed in the sports that they have played in for years and create good platforms for the those who are willing to learn the sport that they so enjoyed in their years in the sport.
However, I believe fundamentally, we as coaches find some difficulty expressing the desire for the teams we coach to excel by creating a common purpose for individuals who come from many different backgrounds and experiences. I personally found this a challenge because each person in the team has their own motives and reasons as to why they join the sport of their choosing. I hope to share in this post how I have personally gone into framing the minds of my teams to create a shared purpose for them to paddle not just for themselves but for the good of the team.
1) Objectives / Goals
I think it can be clearer to the team if the objectives of joining the team can be expressed right from the start. Many coaches fail to see this as an important point to unite the team in the shared purpose of pursuing their goals. Whether be it finishing the race together even if they come in last, or racing till their lungs burst, the objective has to met out to the team to set the expectations for the team.
2) Expectations
Although used interchangeably with the word "objective", I believe the word expectations has a more roundedness in its use, especially when used in the long term. The team has to understand how their expectations of themselves has to match the objectives of the team and how they are to be accountable for their own improvement. I have personally set the bar high for my teams to expect the best of themselves in any of the training sessions they are to execute because only then will they be able to race easy. As they say, train hard, race easy.
3) Clarity
It is only with clarity of what the team wants that will fully embody the purpose of the team's existence. If the leadership in the team becomes clear with the above two points, the team will set a higher standard for themselves in achieving the goals set for them. The reasons and purpose for them to come to training will become stronger as they see a clear direction in the path the team is taking.
I think the challenge in coaching young teams has definitely giving due time to make sure that the above 3 points are constantly being imbued into each training session. Setting goals, expectations and giving clear directions in the actions they take in each training session gives them a strong purpose in achieving success in such a dynamic environment where many individuals may have different opinions and establish their own set of expectations. I hope that I may have done better in this aspect, because I know there is only so little in terms of fundamentals that I can coach, for the better part of the team's success is getting them to paddle with one heart, one mind and one soul.
Monday, 8 December 2014
A 3 Step Guide to Training Plan and Debrief Frameworks
Over the years of paddling, I have gone through many coaches and through their instructional methods, I definitely learnt alot from them. Unfortunately, I never really went through a training session that was completely devoid of unnecessary talk that was far too long or far too off topic where it basically lacks a framework that was concise, brief and to the point.
I will not choose to blame any of these coaches for handling debriefs in a slightly haphazard manner noting that they could have probably used "old school methods" to drill in paddling terminologies into young paddlers at the end of the race or training session in the hopes of achieving their objective of "teaching" the paddlers what they ought to have learnt over the session. However, it just leaves the paddlers confused as to what the coach was trying to drive at when he starts to talk about topics that may not have applied to the lesson the paddlers went through which may lead to distrust and frustration for the paddlers in believing in the coach's plan.
I believe fundamentally that there is a better way of instruction so that our paddlers can definitely be very focused in achieving the specific objectives of the training session or in certain cases, races. I would hope to highlight in this post how I arrive at every training session with a clear plan in mind leading up to what I would eventually say in a debrief.
Planning
A coach can only be as specific as the lesson he or she plans. It will only take a minute or two to spell out exactly the expectations that he will be setting for the training for that session that the paddlers will be executing.
I make it a point to spell out the objectives of the training programme for the day so that they will know exactly what we are looking to achieve today. Whether it be strength endurance training with resistance, speed endurance training, cadence training, or even technique checks. This would clear the paddlers mind in terms in performing to the specific objective of the training session without having to be concerned with speed on the GPS for example which would hamper the performance of a paddler if that was not part of his objective.
Of course, the coach has to has a consistent structure to his training program so that anyone who is going to take over training in his absence will be able to conduct his training without him. This will help facilitate a system from where his captains will easily be able to follow a simple plan directed in his absence.
Execution
As they say, planning does not necessarily lead to perfect execution and this is where following through the plan takes shape. I believe in strong fundamentals of keeping to timing in terms of duration of exercise and rest times to maximise the time available to the paddlers for training. However, contingencies will have to be arranged for situations where paddlers may not be fully prepared to take on the rigour of the program set out by myself and he has to cut down on training to match his paddlers potential. It would only make sense for the paddlers to achieve targets that they will be able to meet for them to push themselves abit more in future. Stretching the targets too far too early will only demotivate them further if not handled carefully.
Debrief
I would believe this is the most crucial part of the training because debriefs would highlight all the possible points that the coach has set out for the team and to give the team an overview of whether the team has met them. I would advise coaches to take on specific frameworks either derived from experience or specific influences from other areas in their lives to facilitate the team's progress and performance in every race. Personally I would stick to 3 points of observation based on 3 objectives that I set out before the training program is carried out to let my guys keep track of their progress of achieving the objectives or goals.
I guess this would really be too general an article to be very specific about how I conduct training and debriefs and I hope to be able to share more specifically step by step my thought process of planning, execution and debriefs. I hope that this would be the first for many more articles on training program planning.
I will not choose to blame any of these coaches for handling debriefs in a slightly haphazard manner noting that they could have probably used "old school methods" to drill in paddling terminologies into young paddlers at the end of the race or training session in the hopes of achieving their objective of "teaching" the paddlers what they ought to have learnt over the session. However, it just leaves the paddlers confused as to what the coach was trying to drive at when he starts to talk about topics that may not have applied to the lesson the paddlers went through which may lead to distrust and frustration for the paddlers in believing in the coach's plan.
I believe fundamentally that there is a better way of instruction so that our paddlers can definitely be very focused in achieving the specific objectives of the training session or in certain cases, races. I would hope to highlight in this post how I arrive at every training session with a clear plan in mind leading up to what I would eventually say in a debrief.
Planning
A coach can only be as specific as the lesson he or she plans. It will only take a minute or two to spell out exactly the expectations that he will be setting for the training for that session that the paddlers will be executing.
I make it a point to spell out the objectives of the training programme for the day so that they will know exactly what we are looking to achieve today. Whether it be strength endurance training with resistance, speed endurance training, cadence training, or even technique checks. This would clear the paddlers mind in terms in performing to the specific objective of the training session without having to be concerned with speed on the GPS for example which would hamper the performance of a paddler if that was not part of his objective.
Of course, the coach has to has a consistent structure to his training program so that anyone who is going to take over training in his absence will be able to conduct his training without him. This will help facilitate a system from where his captains will easily be able to follow a simple plan directed in his absence.
Execution
As they say, planning does not necessarily lead to perfect execution and this is where following through the plan takes shape. I believe in strong fundamentals of keeping to timing in terms of duration of exercise and rest times to maximise the time available to the paddlers for training. However, contingencies will have to be arranged for situations where paddlers may not be fully prepared to take on the rigour of the program set out by myself and he has to cut down on training to match his paddlers potential. It would only make sense for the paddlers to achieve targets that they will be able to meet for them to push themselves abit more in future. Stretching the targets too far too early will only demotivate them further if not handled carefully.
Debrief
I would believe this is the most crucial part of the training because debriefs would highlight all the possible points that the coach has set out for the team and to give the team an overview of whether the team has met them. I would advise coaches to take on specific frameworks either derived from experience or specific influences from other areas in their lives to facilitate the team's progress and performance in every race. Personally I would stick to 3 points of observation based on 3 objectives that I set out before the training program is carried out to let my guys keep track of their progress of achieving the objectives or goals.
I guess this would really be too general an article to be very specific about how I conduct training and debriefs and I hope to be able to share more specifically step by step my thought process of planning, execution and debriefs. I hope that this would be the first for many more articles on training program planning.
Monday, 24 November 2014
Race Strategy Training
Many would agree in the racing world how important race strategy training is for the athletes' as a way to focus themselves toward specifically training for a race. As far as my limited experience as a coach has been, I have seen for myself how well race specific strategies improve my paddlers on many different aspects of the sport. In this article, I would very much like to share the 5 learning points that I have picked up from using race strategy training.
1) Focus and direction
It seems that on my previous occasions on races before I used this technique, my paddlers would find having an ambigious plan that resulted in me changing the game play at the very last moment very unnerving and disorientating. I learnt alternatively to focus on a very specific game plan that they would be very confident of executing based on their strengths and would give them a very specific direction in how my training would be performed prior to the weeks leading up to the race.
2) Confidence
I have seen how my paddlers became more confident in executing their strokes when they can actually count the number of strokes that they would have to execute at every part of the race. Giving them the exact layout of a race gives them the confidence they need to achieve the targets and it spreads really quick when their execution is exactly (or close to) what they practiced.
3) Increased performance
With increased confidence in their race plan, it is easily observable that their performance increases by more than what they expected. Expectations increase after every race, as the team take advantage of the increased performance from each race.
4) Better synchronicity
As opposed to being very haphazard in their previous races when they were given an ambigious race plan which changes from race to race, it gave the paddlers much attention to making sure that they were all in sync when they have practiced this by counting verbally what they would have practiced and executed this in the race.
5) Reduced complexity in communicating post race debriefs
In contrast to the vagueness of previous debriefs where debriefs are general in nature, specificity gives them much better control in communicating improvements between team members, relating constructive feedback to team members and providing very specific details on race portions (i.e. starts, body or finishes) that they can improve on. It creates a very solid platform for communicating simple tweaks to improve the different parts of the race without confusing the team on too much technicality.
1) Focus and direction
It seems that on my previous occasions on races before I used this technique, my paddlers would find having an ambigious plan that resulted in me changing the game play at the very last moment very unnerving and disorientating. I learnt alternatively to focus on a very specific game plan that they would be very confident of executing based on their strengths and would give them a very specific direction in how my training would be performed prior to the weeks leading up to the race.
2) Confidence
I have seen how my paddlers became more confident in executing their strokes when they can actually count the number of strokes that they would have to execute at every part of the race. Giving them the exact layout of a race gives them the confidence they need to achieve the targets and it spreads really quick when their execution is exactly (or close to) what they practiced.
3) Increased performance
With increased confidence in their race plan, it is easily observable that their performance increases by more than what they expected. Expectations increase after every race, as the team take advantage of the increased performance from each race.
4) Better synchronicity
As opposed to being very haphazard in their previous races when they were given an ambigious race plan which changes from race to race, it gave the paddlers much attention to making sure that they were all in sync when they have practiced this by counting verbally what they would have practiced and executed this in the race.
5) Reduced complexity in communicating post race debriefs
In contrast to the vagueness of previous debriefs where debriefs are general in nature, specificity gives them much better control in communicating improvements between team members, relating constructive feedback to team members and providing very specific details on race portions (i.e. starts, body or finishes) that they can improve on. It creates a very solid platform for communicating simple tweaks to improve the different parts of the race without confusing the team on too much technicality.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Cadence Training for Dragon Boat
I recently used an metronome app and used it for cadence training for the teams I have been training with
and the results I must say have been particularly impressive.
Metronome training has traditionally been used for musicians such as guitarists, drummers to keep a consistent rythm for the beats of songs that they are playing especially for live events. I have seen many physical versions that require the metronome to be attached to a earphone and the drummer uses it to catch the beat per minute of the set.
Using a bluetooth speaker to amplify the volume of the metronome app on my trusty Xperia Z, my paddlers have been able to generate increased performance of over 10% within 2 sessions of using it. They find it a clearer assessment of the ability to gauge a constant pace and they are better able to judge pulling faster through the water to engage the next stroke. I have seen more consistent efforts at low ratings to generate more efficiency and synchronisation for every stroke applied to the water.
I never really expected to use this until I came across an article on cadence training in cycling which made alot of sense in cycling to increase performances at low cycling rates while improving on the effectiveness of the cycling technique.
Many of these sports apply similar principles in cadence training to improve performances over the long run.
I hope to see more benefits of using the metronome in time to come.
For those who are interested in getting the app, it is free on the Play Store for Android Phones - Mobile Metronome.
and the results I must say have been particularly impressive.
Metronome training has traditionally been used for musicians such as guitarists, drummers to keep a consistent rythm for the beats of songs that they are playing especially for live events. I have seen many physical versions that require the metronome to be attached to a earphone and the drummer uses it to catch the beat per minute of the set.
 |
| Screen capture of the mobile metronome |
I never really expected to use this until I came across an article on cadence training in cycling which made alot of sense in cycling to increase performances at low cycling rates while improving on the effectiveness of the cycling technique.
Many of these sports apply similar principles in cadence training to improve performances over the long run.
I hope to see more benefits of using the metronome in time to come.
For those who are interested in getting the app, it is free on the Play Store for Android Phones - Mobile Metronome.
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Singapore River Regatta 2013: Post Race Reflections
With the Singapore River Regatta 2013 behind me, I have seen all my teams earn credible results in their outings in their respective categories..
Team MSF finished their race beating their previous timings in trainings.. They fought incredibly hard against their much more experienced opponents and I could see it in their eyes that wanted to do better out on their next outing. I admire their courage for taking up the sport and I can see much more potential in them with more to come:)
Team NUS managed to go into the tertiary finals only missing out on a podium spot by mere seconds. Their juniors went in fighting for a spot in the semi-finals of the mens open also missing out by mere split seconds. I only can say that it is only really the beginning of more exciting things come March when they battle it out again with their rivals in their Tertiary Category. It will take time and effort to reach the possible goals that they are going to achieve. It is going to be an excellent season ahead!
And finally, I ended the weekend with a truly deserved second place finishing with Team OneStroke in the PA GRO finals.
That race was truly a nail biting finish as they were behind for most of the race until the final 25 meters where they edged out the other 2 competitors to finish a close second merely 0.2 seconds behind their rivals.
The race was purely exhilarating even from shore; when we only managed to inch past almost everyone only in the final few meters of the race.
What made that second place finish more delightful was that for many of these paddlers, they have been awaiting a Regatta medal for many years; for a few as long as 5 years and for one, an excruciatingly long 7 years.. I was not only happy for the results but the true happiness it brings to the entire team for them to experience a new level of greatness that they have ever rarely felt before.
It all started from believing in the will to win, regardless of their circumstances and ability because it is all this team truly needed at the start.
I have still to learn alot more of this fine art of dragon boat, a classic sport that truly entails all manner of beauty, grace, aggression and skill all combined into one majestic performance on race day.
Time for me to reflect back on my learnings and learn more to share with the world this art and science of dragon boat paddling. Till my next post..
Yours Truly,
The Original Paddlegeek
Team MSF finished their race beating their previous timings in trainings.. They fought incredibly hard against their much more experienced opponents and I could see it in their eyes that wanted to do better out on their next outing. I admire their courage for taking up the sport and I can see much more potential in them with more to come:)
Team NUS managed to go into the tertiary finals only missing out on a podium spot by mere seconds. Their juniors went in fighting for a spot in the semi-finals of the mens open also missing out by mere split seconds. I only can say that it is only really the beginning of more exciting things come March when they battle it out again with their rivals in their Tertiary Category. It will take time and effort to reach the possible goals that they are going to achieve. It is going to be an excellent season ahead!
And finally, I ended the weekend with a truly deserved second place finishing with Team OneStroke in the PA GRO finals.
 |
| The runners up, all smiles! |
 |
| More of the winning team! |
The race was purely exhilarating even from shore; when we only managed to inch past almost everyone only in the final few meters of the race.
What made that second place finish more delightful was that for many of these paddlers, they have been awaiting a Regatta medal for many years; for a few as long as 5 years and for one, an excruciatingly long 7 years.. I was not only happy for the results but the true happiness it brings to the entire team for them to experience a new level of greatness that they have ever rarely felt before.
It all started from believing in the will to win, regardless of their circumstances and ability because it is all this team truly needed at the start.
 |
| The management team with me, Edwin, our team manager and Jojo our captain. |
I have still to learn alot more of this fine art of dragon boat, a classic sport that truly entails all manner of beauty, grace, aggression and skill all combined into one majestic performance on race day.
Time for me to reflect back on my learnings and learn more to share with the world this art and science of dragon boat paddling. Till my next post..
Yours Truly,
The Original Paddlegeek
Thursday, 7 November 2013
SINGAPORE RIVER REGATTA 2013: 3 TEAMS, 3 HOPES, 1 MEMORABLE SEASON...
TEAMONESTROKE
Team OneStroke (aka Kaki Bukit CSC) gave birth to my first attempt at coaching and I have defnitely learnt alot from learning how a corporate team would handle my expectations and goals. It was an unusual experience for me knowing how I have been only competing in the past to take up a team that has unusual challenges. Many of these challenges are not new. Attendances, motivation levels, poor training performances and new paddlers coming in halfway through the season. Yet, it seems I have gained an understanding of how to face these issues head on and not allow them to get to my emotions. Somehow, somewhere there was this bit of faith that I had to pursue this challenge of making them a great team regardless of how things turned out and I have seen them grow through my tutelage. Many of the paddlers have begun to see a sense of pride paddling for the team and the bond has grown with each passing training. They begun to understand many facets of paddling in a dragon boat that they may not have learnt before which helps in their performance and seen improvements at a much more efficient pace. Fitness levels have significantly improved and time trial timings have been surprisingly impressive. Going up against their rivals in their category, I only can hope for the best that they can see all this training come to fruition and see the results in their upcoming race. These men and women deserve my salute for taking time off on their weekends to see through training sessions despite family commitments, studies and even time away from their children.
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT (MSF)
The year progressed with a small surprise where I took on coaching a team from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (aka MSF). This team is made up of a small band of colleagues, young and old, men and women who would like to take on a new challenge of paddling in a dragon boat team. It started off as a monthly affair, a get together session to build their fitness and learning the basics of paddling but it slowly turned into a weekly Saturday morning session where they saw themselves grow together as a team and training towards a race. What makes this team so special is that they treat each other like family and they keep in touch to make sure there will always be enough to paddle a 12 men crew. Attendances started from 7 to 14 in the final weeks towards the races, which makes me even happier to see them grow as a team and from learning how to paddle together to learning race sets that I would teach to a typical competitive team. Performances are never the key driver but the relationships that drive their success as a team. They started from almost strangers to friends who would be there for that Saturday to have breakfast together before they start training. It will be a fantastic feeling to see them race. A feeling to have been involved in building up a team of nobodys to a team that will see themselves pit against the best in their category. My heart will light up seeing this team finish the race. I hope I would be able to continue coaching them. All the best to MSF!
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS) The year was coming to an end when yet another surprise caught me off guard. My alma mater took the opportunity to engage me when they realised they were stuck without a coach and they needed someone they could trust. I was initially hesitant knowing how little experience I had with coaching yet I knew I wanted to take them on to test out everything that I tried out on the above mentioned teams. It was almost a dream come true finally knowing that I could see my growth as a coach be tested out on a highly competitive team that would be able to see through plans that I had set out a year ago when i started coaching. This team has its challenges; stuck between school and team, many of them make the choice of pursuing a sport that would require hours, days, weeks, months to achieve the biggest prize of them all next July; the prime minister's cup. I had to be extremely clear with my instructions to get them to perform to my expectations and there is an uphill task trying to hold this team together long enough to see through their goals. I have more to expect of myself and I know its a tough job. Its only been a month since I took up this team so it would be too early to expect too much of them. They know they have to do well for their own sake. I wish them all the best and I would take no credit for their success in this upcoming race. The captains and team manager have worked well together and it will be soon when they will soar to greater heights.
I must honestly say I have been truly blessed to have been given the chance to pursue a passion, a passion that I have lived through almost 10 years of my life to finally reach the stage where I can teach, coach and pass down values I believe create success in teams. The satisfaction of seeing these 3 teams just race under my coaching will be something I treasure for a long time to come. Thank god for everything. Thank you for the fantastic year, OneStroke, MSF and NUS:)
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Race Piece Breakdown Part 2: Maintenance
Jack transitions into his a longer, more sustainable pace with his team coming back into the picture. He sees everyone as motivated to get to the finish line but it is still at least two thirds away. As he takes a quick glance to the side, he notices a team slowly inching ahead. Determined to make sure they don't pull away he lets out a loud cry.
"Come On GUYS!! Let's go!"
This moment in the race is typically known as the maintenance phase for most paddlers. In some countries I believe it is called the race body. Regardless of what you call it, it may be the most demanding piece of the race that requires the paddler to give a Herculean effort. The following factors may predetermine the speeds at which teams run at and also determine maintaining leads ahead of the competition especially in top level competitions or amongst teams who have similarly strong start pieces.
1) Aerobic Fitness
In the dragon boat, a paddler would have to paddle over 6000 kilograms worth of force throughout the entire 200m race. This is easily calculated by the number of strokes he typically takes in a typical 200m race (hypothetically speaking if he maintains a rate of 100 strokes a min and he ends the race in 1 min flat at a weight of 60kilos). You can imagine the immense amount of aerobic capacity he or she would need to ensure that his lungs will be able to last throughout the entire set. Novice teams would usually not be able to hold speeds beyond 30-40 seconds into the race for the fact that they most often than not, lack the time to build such fitness levels even if they were to build this fitness out of the water. Most top level teams however, have either the time to train their aerobic capacity leading ultimately to better overall average speeds.
2) Strength Endurance
Also related to aerobic fitness, strength endurance of a paddler refers to the amount of strength that a paddler is able to sustain throughout an aerobic piece typically found in the maintenance phase. That's why top teams who also have the ability to get access to proper gym facilities and a specific program targeted for strength endurance, will be able to hold speeds near the optimal. Repetitions may range from 20-40 repetitions with sustained effort throughout the set.
3) Coordination and timing
There are teams although they may lack that intensity at the starts, do pretty well at the maintenance phase due to their ability to feel the rhythm and glide of the boat. Together with better coordination and timing, they tend to get ahead of their rivals who may have punched out a few seats ahead to match them seat for seat.
Although I never put up anything extensive here, I still do believe the maintenance phase becomes more critical as the race piece extends from 200m to 1000m, something which I may have the chance of speaking about in future. With that I hope you enjoyed this post and share it with you fellow friends and paddlers alike!
"Come On GUYS!! Let's go!"
This moment in the race is typically known as the maintenance phase for most paddlers. In some countries I believe it is called the race body. Regardless of what you call it, it may be the most demanding piece of the race that requires the paddler to give a Herculean effort. The following factors may predetermine the speeds at which teams run at and also determine maintaining leads ahead of the competition especially in top level competitions or amongst teams who have similarly strong start pieces.
1) Aerobic Fitness
In the dragon boat, a paddler would have to paddle over 6000 kilograms worth of force throughout the entire 200m race. This is easily calculated by the number of strokes he typically takes in a typical 200m race (hypothetically speaking if he maintains a rate of 100 strokes a min and he ends the race in 1 min flat at a weight of 60kilos). You can imagine the immense amount of aerobic capacity he or she would need to ensure that his lungs will be able to last throughout the entire set. Novice teams would usually not be able to hold speeds beyond 30-40 seconds into the race for the fact that they most often than not, lack the time to build such fitness levels even if they were to build this fitness out of the water. Most top level teams however, have either the time to train their aerobic capacity leading ultimately to better overall average speeds.
2) Strength Endurance
Also related to aerobic fitness, strength endurance of a paddler refers to the amount of strength that a paddler is able to sustain throughout an aerobic piece typically found in the maintenance phase. That's why top teams who also have the ability to get access to proper gym facilities and a specific program targeted for strength endurance, will be able to hold speeds near the optimal. Repetitions may range from 20-40 repetitions with sustained effort throughout the set.
3) Coordination and timing
There are teams although they may lack that intensity at the starts, do pretty well at the maintenance phase due to their ability to feel the rhythm and glide of the boat. Together with better coordination and timing, they tend to get ahead of their rivals who may have punched out a few seats ahead to match them seat for seat.
Although I never put up anything extensive here, I still do believe the maintenance phase becomes more critical as the race piece extends from 200m to 1000m, something which I may have the chance of speaking about in future. With that I hope you enjoyed this post and share it with you fellow friends and paddlers alike!
Thursday, 10 October 2013
Body Lean: Do you really need it?
In this post, I put up a very interesting article by Geoff Fong from http://sfldbt.wordpress.comon Body lean. Although quintessential, is it necessary? Read the article to find out.
Body Lean
How
far does a paddler need to lean forward with their trunk to get a
long pull? How much lean is needed for a strong pull? Probably
not as much as you’d think.
What
propels the boat? The paddlers.
How
do paddlers propel the boat? They use their paddles.
Like
I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the paddle blade is the business
end. Skillful paddlers can impart both great work and control
to their paddle blade as it moves through the water. Remember
that work is defined as
force over a distance. Pulling the paddle faster through the
water requires greater force. The limits of human
arthrokinematics and equipment leverage along with a paddlers
physical strength determine some max value for work. It
probably looks like a bell-curve. A paddler is only as strong
as they are at that moment, but paddling technique has everything to
do with paddling efficiency to reach the peak of that bell curve.
If
you’re thinking of paddling from the perspective of how a paddle
interacts with the water, the goal becomes how to move your body in a
way that applies max leverage to the paddle through some optimum
amount of paddle travel/displacement. Several things happen
when a paddler leans all the way down to the gunnel:
-
They
lose reach at the paddle blade resulting in a shorter pull. While
it’s true that full lean to the gunnel may put the outside/bottom
hand at its farthest forward distance from the bench, it doesn’t
mean the same for the paddle blade (the business end). Full
lean takes away from our spinal mobility. When your joints are
taken to a maximum range in one direction, it becomes more and more
difficult to move in other directions. In this case, full trunk
flexion takes away from rotation. Try sitting in a chair,
leaning forward and rotating your trunk to either side (don’t hurt
yourself). Now sit up straight and rotate in place. You
can probably rotate farther sitting up than curled over. Decreased
trunk rotation during the reach puts both hands at a similar distance
from the bench, making a more vertical paddle angle on the entry,
cutting actual reach at the paddle blade.
-
They
have less strength.
Leaning forward fully during the reach puts most muscles used in
paddling on full or very stretched position. Glut max,
hamstrings, lumbar extensors, lat dorsi, teres major, deltoids,
rhomboids/mid and lower trapezei are out of their optimum zone for
force production. Your muscles are happiest and strongest in
their mid-range. For a simple example, think of curling a heavy
weight. It’s tough to start the lift from elbow fully
extended and, when you’re fatigued, most folks struggle to get the
weight all the way up to finish the rep (elbow fully flexed). This
is because 90 deg of elbow bend is about the middle of the elbow
flexor muscle length (and coincidentally the joint angle of about the
most mechanically efficient line of pull).
- They are slower paddlers. Sitting up from a fully reached position on a pull requires bringing up your whole trunk. This takes a lot of time and energy because your trunk is a long lever arm. Think of a long pendulum and how it swings slower than a short one (or takes much more force to swing faster than a short pendulum). Slower movement sets paddling rate limitations. When you’re racing fast, the water moves fast and you need to be able to move your paddle faster than the water to exert force on it. Using a slow body movement like trunk flexion and extension will cap your ability to hold a faster rate to meet fast hull speeds.
The
short answer is it depends. The long answer is that there is no
one answer and it depends. (ha)
I
am an advocate for a paddle stroke that has minimal trunk
flexion/extension during the stroke and relatively more degrees of
rotation. My reason is that rotation allows for the paddle
blade to get more positive on the catch and set the blade more
forward than a negative/neutral angle, which increases the length of
pull (possibly allowing more work to be performed). Rotation is
also mechanically more efficient for generating force to the paddle
because the distance of your shoulders to your spine is less than the
distance of your shoulders to your hips (shorter torque arm for
rotation means less of a mechanical disadvantage compared to hip
hinging alone). One thing I am not a
proponent of is sitting straight up and paddling. It sets your
shoulders way above the water line and, with it, your paddle
resulting in less water contact and a shorter pull. It also
makes you work harder to resist the forces against the paddle (trunk
as a long lever arm resisting paddle force at 90 degrees is the most
mechanical disadvantage you can face).
I’ve
never really paddled OC, but the stroke generally seems much more
constrained than the typical dragon boat technique being used by
local rec teams. Part of the reason for less body excursion and
more paddle movement is for energy conservation, which makes sense to
me with OC’s racing for many miles. I can see how allowing
*some* increased trunk excursion may be desired in DB because the
power gains may outweigh the need for energy conservation when you’re
racing for sub 2 minutes or a 100-500 meter race.
On
a side note, I think this is one of the reasons why senior/masters
level teams can do as well/better than some youth teams is because
masters paddlers may have 1) better water “feel” 2) physically
less ability to flex their hips/spines so default to more rotation 3)
better strength from a longer history of resistance training.
Credit to http://sfldbt.wordpress.com
Monday, 7 October 2013
Goals: How to Stay Focused When You Get Bored of your Sport
But as the drudgery of school, relationships and family commitments move along in their tertiary life, they fall out of the sport in pursuit of things that matter more.
 |
| Photo by Getty Images |
Friday, 27 September 2013
Race Piece Breakdown Part 1: The Starts
The starts in a dragon boat race set has been and still is the most adrenaline pumping moment for any racer who takes part in a race. Let me paint the scenario a little more clearly through the eyes of a racer called Jackson.
Jackson is a strong and powerful athlete, weighing in a mere 70 kilos but has the strength of a bull on a rampage on a good day. Sitting in the pace group as the second pair of paddlers, he has the responsibility to set the pace for the rest of his team with mininum error to maximise the potential of his team heading at the start. His team has practiced doing the starts during practice sessions at 90-100 strokes per minute and he knows he's not holding back. As soon as race horn sounds, he will pull with all his might to push the boat up to speed and hit the team's intended top speed as soon as possible. He is going to release every ounce of energy on the first 20 strokes or its nothing at all. His heart is pounding furiously as he awaits the inevitable sound of the horn. Adrenalin is pumping into his veins like never before. Its the finals of the National Championships and it is now or never. A second later, the announcer makes the final adjustments..
Are you readyyyyy?
Attention!!!
(Sounds Horn)
For the split moment of a second, Jackson shifts himself into a self-induced trance like state, adrenalin surging through his veins as he pulls the immensely heavy pool of water in front of him with his newly bought carbon fibre paddle. The water boils past him as he moves in for his second stroke, then his third and before he realises it, his team is running at an incredible pace at 100 strokes a minute. It seemed like forever when at the 20 stroke into the starts he transitions into race pace at 80 strokes a minute. He catches quick glance at the team beside him and he sees no boat in sight. He knows his team got it but there's still two thirds of the race to go.
In sprint races or 200m to 500m in length, this behemoth of the race piece is one of the most difficult parts of the race to execute to its maximum potential due to the sheer physical strength and speed that it requires from the paddlers to reach the boat's critical maximum speed. Teams in Singapore have been known to hit speeds of up to 16-17km/hr based on actual GPS readings but on the international front, I'm sure it has went closer to 19km/hr.
So what makes a good start piece?
Having been a padder myself for the past 7 years, I've seen myself hitting 90 spm (strokes per minute) starts to really initiate any sort of advantage against the competition. Yet, technically it is really difficult to achieve due to the following factors:
1) Technical Proficiency of the paddlers
This is meant in the sense of the paddler understanding what he is doing to the water when he is at that rating. I've been to races trying to race at 90spm and I really felt that I basically didn't do anything to the water other than shove it out of my way. But when a more technically experienced paddler does it, he has a clear understanding of the essence of the catch every time he pulls the water even at high ratings.
2) Physical limitations
Going in depth into the muscularity of the paddler, the stroke rating may very well be defined by how well conditioned his fast twitch muscle fibres are able to move at high speeds. Many paddlers at the recreational/novice stages may not have fully developed fast twitch muscle fibres in their body to initiate any form of power through the starts nor hit high stroke rates due to lack of conditioning.
3)Weight of the boat.
As far as I remember, I only managed to hit these high ratings and high speeds in boats like the Champion or the German Buk. Never have I hit my best timings in heavier boats like the Malaysian Kim Tuck Huat boats. Its very much more challenging to push a 15-20 stroke start piece in a KTH than trying to hit it at 80-90 strokes per minute in a German BUK or Chinese Champion.
Typical vs the 5-5-5 method
Typical starts that are very common in Singapore are known as the extended starts; made up of a 5-6 stroke slow stroke followed by 20-30 strokes at a rating of 80-90 spm. Many in the community deem it the NORM which I find a fallacy when it comes to racing at the international standard where boats like the Champion are used.
The New Starts: 5-5-5 method
A recent blog I read suggests using a 15-20 stroke routine broken up into 5-5-5 strokes to increase the instantaneous increase in speed to hit the top speed of the boat.Each of the 5 stroke increase in spm of 10 strokes spm to ramp up as high as the paddler possibly can handle. I find this radical but yet very logical at the same time. Why? Because extended starts although suitable for heavier boats, do little to increase instantaneos boat reaction at the start. It ramps up the speed over a longer time which also hampers total timings.
The new way of doing starts emphasises the importance of the use of ATP in the muscles in the window of opportunity where it comes and goes within a span of 10 seconds. Any energy expended beyond that is in the part aerobic region which defeats the purpose of using all out Power at the part of the race. Therefore an extended starts that run almost 20 seconds into the race do little to the athletes to maximise their aerobic energy systems which could have already been expended in the starts.
I don't mean to deny the merits of the starts that we already have been using for the years that i've been paddling for. However, it does not hold ground when we really figure out the energy systems that we use. I think talk is cheap so I'm trying this new method out with my team to really see if we can get any results from this method. I hope this information has been useful to you guys. Till then! Paddles Out!
 |
| Courtesy of Boston.com |
Jackson is a strong and powerful athlete, weighing in a mere 70 kilos but has the strength of a bull on a rampage on a good day. Sitting in the pace group as the second pair of paddlers, he has the responsibility to set the pace for the rest of his team with mininum error to maximise the potential of his team heading at the start. His team has practiced doing the starts during practice sessions at 90-100 strokes per minute and he knows he's not holding back. As soon as race horn sounds, he will pull with all his might to push the boat up to speed and hit the team's intended top speed as soon as possible. He is going to release every ounce of energy on the first 20 strokes or its nothing at all. His heart is pounding furiously as he awaits the inevitable sound of the horn. Adrenalin is pumping into his veins like never before. Its the finals of the National Championships and it is now or never. A second later, the announcer makes the final adjustments..
Are you readyyyyy?
Attention!!!
(Sounds Horn)
For the split moment of a second, Jackson shifts himself into a self-induced trance like state, adrenalin surging through his veins as he pulls the immensely heavy pool of water in front of him with his newly bought carbon fibre paddle. The water boils past him as he moves in for his second stroke, then his third and before he realises it, his team is running at an incredible pace at 100 strokes a minute. It seemed like forever when at the 20 stroke into the starts he transitions into race pace at 80 strokes a minute. He catches quick glance at the team beside him and he sees no boat in sight. He knows his team got it but there's still two thirds of the race to go.
In sprint races or 200m to 500m in length, this behemoth of the race piece is one of the most difficult parts of the race to execute to its maximum potential due to the sheer physical strength and speed that it requires from the paddlers to reach the boat's critical maximum speed. Teams in Singapore have been known to hit speeds of up to 16-17km/hr based on actual GPS readings but on the international front, I'm sure it has went closer to 19km/hr.
So what makes a good start piece?
Having been a padder myself for the past 7 years, I've seen myself hitting 90 spm (strokes per minute) starts to really initiate any sort of advantage against the competition. Yet, technically it is really difficult to achieve due to the following factors:
1) Technical Proficiency of the paddlers
This is meant in the sense of the paddler understanding what he is doing to the water when he is at that rating. I've been to races trying to race at 90spm and I really felt that I basically didn't do anything to the water other than shove it out of my way. But when a more technically experienced paddler does it, he has a clear understanding of the essence of the catch every time he pulls the water even at high ratings.
2) Physical limitations
Going in depth into the muscularity of the paddler, the stroke rating may very well be defined by how well conditioned his fast twitch muscle fibres are able to move at high speeds. Many paddlers at the recreational/novice stages may not have fully developed fast twitch muscle fibres in their body to initiate any form of power through the starts nor hit high stroke rates due to lack of conditioning.
3)Weight of the boat.
As far as I remember, I only managed to hit these high ratings and high speeds in boats like the Champion or the German Buk. Never have I hit my best timings in heavier boats like the Malaysian Kim Tuck Huat boats. Its very much more challenging to push a 15-20 stroke start piece in a KTH than trying to hit it at 80-90 strokes per minute in a German BUK or Chinese Champion.
Typical vs the 5-5-5 method
Typical starts that are very common in Singapore are known as the extended starts; made up of a 5-6 stroke slow stroke followed by 20-30 strokes at a rating of 80-90 spm. Many in the community deem it the NORM which I find a fallacy when it comes to racing at the international standard where boats like the Champion are used.
The New Starts: 5-5-5 method
A recent blog I read suggests using a 15-20 stroke routine broken up into 5-5-5 strokes to increase the instantaneous increase in speed to hit the top speed of the boat.Each of the 5 stroke increase in spm of 10 strokes spm to ramp up as high as the paddler possibly can handle. I find this radical but yet very logical at the same time. Why? Because extended starts although suitable for heavier boats, do little to increase instantaneos boat reaction at the start. It ramps up the speed over a longer time which also hampers total timings.
The new way of doing starts emphasises the importance of the use of ATP in the muscles in the window of opportunity where it comes and goes within a span of 10 seconds. Any energy expended beyond that is in the part aerobic region which defeats the purpose of using all out Power at the part of the race. Therefore an extended starts that run almost 20 seconds into the race do little to the athletes to maximise their aerobic energy systems which could have already been expended in the starts.
I don't mean to deny the merits of the starts that we already have been using for the years that i've been paddling for. However, it does not hold ground when we really figure out the energy systems that we use. I think talk is cheap so I'm trying this new method out with my team to really see if we can get any results from this method. I hope this information has been useful to you guys. Till then! Paddles Out!
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Featured Team of the Month: OneWest Dragon Zone Canada
As part of my exclusive takes on Dragon boat teams around the world, I will just do a simple feature on dragon boat teams in the world for my readers to really think about what it takes to be a phenomenon in the dragon boat world. As this is my first post on a feature and without much information from the team themselves (I'm sure they prefer to keep their training secret), I shall have to just base on facts that I have picked up on videos and the type of training methods they employ to achieve the level of success they have today.
ONE WEST Dragon Zone (Canada)
This team was initially built from a backbone of under 23 paddlers who have come from all sorts of backgrounds in Vancouver Canada. they are a competitive team based out of Dragon Zone Paddling Club in Vancouver. Only in their 3rd season, they have climbed the dragon boat ranks to become of the most prolific dragon boat teams in Canada.For those who have trouble figuring out where Vancouver is, the google map screenshot will give you a really good idea.
Accomplishments (from their FB page)
Club Crew World Championships 2014
Anyway, it has come to my attention recently that they have just recently qualified for a place in the upcoming Club Crew World Championships aka CCWC in Ravenna on the east coast of Italy. Of course, there are definitely better teams with better timings with the likes of Slip and Ares. But this bunch of people I felt were very special because of the uniqueness of the crew and ultimately most of them being Asians. A friend of mine, Sunny who was involved in dragon boat when he was on exchange in Singapore, ultimately moved on to paddle for this team when he went back to Canada. It was really a good feeling to see how we have contributed to his achievements in the sport.
The CCWC will definitely be an exciting race to watch in such an exotic location (at least exotic enough to Asians anyway). FYI Ravenna is about a 2 hour bus ride away from Florence which is where you can find all the romance you can get apart from Rome. Congratulations again to Team ONEWEST for their achievements. The following are the race timings they achieved over at the Canadian National Championships where they pitted themselves among the best in Canada.
Having clocked a 2:02.35 min for a mixed team is indeed a feat many would admire because few teams can ever reach these timings as far as they have been training. Of course, there may be many other factors that have favoured them to get these remarkable timings as a club team which in Singapore only achievable by the tertiary teams. Indeed, the use of champion boats in local races in Canada has allowed paddlers to fully maximise efforts in training as they are able to race in the boats they train in which is far from the case in Singapore. Our teams in Singapore can only dream about these timings as they don't see the possibility of doing so unless they come from the few top level teams in Singapore. But what exactly makes One West so strong?
Apart from the usual training in a dragon boat as well as trainings in the gym, OneWest has clearly emphasised on the ability of the paddler to take up personal accountability through paddling an OC1 (Ocean Canoe 1 single paddler). Although I may not have tried paddling on the OC1, it definitely has very similar benefits to paddling a flatwater C1 or kayaking in terms of building up individual fitness and refining technique on the dragon boat. I did mention about this in my previous article here. They have a strong sense of camaderie nonetheless understanding that the goals of the team are made of up of the sum of the individual's goals.
Coaching takes a different approach in the West (no pun intended) where the coach is more of a facilitator to manage the team's expectations and apply his teaching skills to maximise the potential of the individual. Very different from that of the Singaporean team coach where he is mostly instructional by nature; whether it has been by habit or by copying styles and approaches that his previous coaches have used for him. Such is this "western" style very suitable as an approach to mould the paddler at the highest level possible. These guys have jobs and other stuff to do, but their unwavering effort and determination to get them towards their goals are deeply inspiring.
Yes I'm pretty sure that they are not the best in the world, knowing how much other teams from around the world train as well. But this team is definitely going places and a team to watch. In fact, I am largely following their stroke style to the team that I am coaching because they have a simple stroke that fits the style of my team.
All the best to Team OneWest! For those who want to find out more. Catch them at their Facebok Page @https://www.facebook.com/oneteam.onewest
ONE WEST Dragon Zone (Canada)
This team was initially built from a backbone of under 23 paddlers who have come from all sorts of backgrounds in Vancouver Canada. they are a competitive team based out of Dragon Zone Paddling Club in Vancouver. Only in their 3rd season, they have climbed the dragon boat ranks to become of the most prolific dragon boat teams in Canada.For those who have trouble figuring out where Vancouver is, the google map screenshot will give you a really good idea.
 |
| Courtesy of Google Maps |
Accomplishments (from their FB page)
2013:
-
Gold, Division A (FCRCC Spring Knockout)
- Gold, Division A (Dragon Zone 500m Regatta)
2012:
- Gold, Premier Open (Canadian National Championships, Montreal)
- Silver, Premier Mixed (Canadian National Championships, Montreal)
- Gold, Competitive A (Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, Division A (Harrison Dragon Boat Regatta)
- Gold, Division A (FCRCC Spring Knockout)
- Gold, Division A (Deep Cove Dash)
2011:
- Gold, Comp A/Open/Women/Visitor's Cup (San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, U23 Division (IDBF World Championships in Tampa Bay)
- Silver, Competitive A (Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, Division A (FCRCC Spring Regatta)
- Silver, Division A (Deep Cove Dash)
- Gold, Division A (Dragon Zone 500m Regatta)
2012:
- Gold, Premier Open (Canadian National Championships, Montreal)
- Silver, Premier Mixed (Canadian National Championships, Montreal)
- Gold, Competitive A (Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, Division A (Harrison Dragon Boat Regatta)
- Gold, Division A (FCRCC Spring Knockout)
- Gold, Division A (Deep Cove Dash)
2011:
- Gold, Comp A/Open/Women/Visitor's Cup (San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, U23 Division (IDBF World Championships in Tampa Bay)
- Silver, Competitive A (Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival)
- Gold, Division A (FCRCC Spring Regatta)
- Silver, Division A (Deep Cove Dash)
 |
| At the Rinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival |
 |
| Sunny acting weird.. I think its a Korean thing |
Anyway, it has come to my attention recently that they have just recently qualified for a place in the upcoming Club Crew World Championships aka CCWC in Ravenna on the east coast of Italy. Of course, there are definitely better teams with better timings with the likes of Slip and Ares. But this bunch of people I felt were very special because of the uniqueness of the crew and ultimately most of them being Asians. A friend of mine, Sunny who was involved in dragon boat when he was on exchange in Singapore, ultimately moved on to paddle for this team when he went back to Canada. It was really a good feeling to see how we have contributed to his achievements in the sport.
The CCWC will definitely be an exciting race to watch in such an exotic location (at least exotic enough to Asians anyway). FYI Ravenna is about a 2 hour bus ride away from Florence which is where you can find all the romance you can get apart from Rome. Congratulations again to Team ONEWEST for their achievements. The following are the race timings they achieved over at the Canadian National Championships where they pitted themselves among the best in Canada.
 |
| Premier mixed A Final |
 |
| Premier opens A Final |
 |
| Time Trials in OC1 with a Dragon boat paddle |
.jpg) |
| Sunny racing his heart out in his OC1 |
Having clocked a 2:02.35 min for a mixed team is indeed a feat many would admire because few teams can ever reach these timings as far as they have been training. Of course, there may be many other factors that have favoured them to get these remarkable timings as a club team which in Singapore only achievable by the tertiary teams. Indeed, the use of champion boats in local races in Canada has allowed paddlers to fully maximise efforts in training as they are able to race in the boats they train in which is far from the case in Singapore. Our teams in Singapore can only dream about these timings as they don't see the possibility of doing so unless they come from the few top level teams in Singapore. But what exactly makes One West so strong?
Apart from the usual training in a dragon boat as well as trainings in the gym, OneWest has clearly emphasised on the ability of the paddler to take up personal accountability through paddling an OC1 (Ocean Canoe 1 single paddler). Although I may not have tried paddling on the OC1, it definitely has very similar benefits to paddling a flatwater C1 or kayaking in terms of building up individual fitness and refining technique on the dragon boat. I did mention about this in my previous article here. They have a strong sense of camaderie nonetheless understanding that the goals of the team are made of up of the sum of the individual's goals.
Yes I'm pretty sure that they are not the best in the world, knowing how much other teams from around the world train as well. But this team is definitely going places and a team to watch. In fact, I am largely following their stroke style to the team that I am coaching because they have a simple stroke that fits the style of my team.
All the best to Team OneWest! For those who want to find out more. Catch them at their Facebok Page @https://www.facebook.com/oneteam.onewest
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Kim Kardashian in a Dragon Boat Race; Seriously?
I was just surfing through the web for hot chicks in a dragon boat (Nothing of the erotic sort I swear), and guess who I found.. Kim Kardashian actually paddled in a dragon boat before! Much of this story was publicised openly in many news and tabloids I couldn't believe she was actually paddling in a dragon boat. As you can imagine, her whole family and friends were in on the act but who am I to judge when someone so famous tries out my beloved sport. Enough of the talk. Its time for the pictures!!
.jpg) |
| Who else can look as cool as her scratching her crotch? |
.jpg) |
| Warming up: Stretch! |
.jpg) |
| Of course don't forget to do a few squats |
+(1).jpg) |
| And remember to bend over |
.jpg) |
| Time to get wet and wild |
.jpg) |
| She's probably laughing at her ex-husband |
.jpg) |
| I think wearing Ray Bans are gonna be the next in thing. Photos courtesy of http://celebrity-gossip.net/ |
I'm never gonna look at Kim the same way again! . If you like this post please share it!
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Why Dragon Boat is Still and May Not Be an Olympic Sport
Everybody
wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” – Joe Louis
 |
| Will dragon boat be able to raise its torch? |
Brazil seems to have its work cut out when it was recently announced to be successful bidders for the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Who wouldn't want to be part of the Olympic movement and have their sport played as a medal event in the quadrennial Olympic Games; watched by millions around the world, gaining millions more in followers, possibly leading to an acknowledgement in the sport like how the Iranian ladies have astounded the world, paddling for the World Dragon Boat Championships in 2010. However, it may mean sacrificing more than what we wish for, just to harbour a hope of representation in the biggest sporting event the world has ever seen. As dragon boater myself, I seek to really understand why there have been roadblocks in this path towards the Olympics and I hope that my readers will be enlightened by my findings.
Saturday, 21 September 2013
You Know You are a Bad Ass Dragon Boat Chick If:
1. You're just too lazy to get a manicure because your nails are going to chip anyway..
2. There is spilled protein powder some where in your home and you're just way too tired to clean it up after training
3. All of your training tights that you buy will eventually have holes in them.
4. Your friends ask you why you go to the free weights section instead of the elliptical machine
5. You get stares from the guys in the gym when you step into the free weights section and you look comfortable being there.
6. You spend more money on oakleys, Skins and shorts than you do on heels.
7. People wonder about the weird tan lines on your back and face (for those oakley aficionados) when you show it off at your best friend's wedding (or yours)
8. Fried food is off your menu until after the races.
9. Cute looking Havaianas are your best friends (other than your best friends)
10. You'd rather wear your sports bra to work because you know you have training later in the day.
11. When a guy friend says dragon boat is easy, you almost always want to take your paddle and swing it to their faces.
Finally,
12. Guys look at you; for doing pull ups.
Till my next post!
 |
| At least they match your CF paddle color.. |
2. There is spilled protein powder some where in your home and you're just way too tired to clean it up after training
3. All of your training tights that you buy will eventually have holes in them.
4. Your friends ask you why you go to the free weights section instead of the elliptical machine
5. You get stares from the guys in the gym when you step into the free weights section and you look comfortable being there.
 |
| I know they are checking me out.. |
6. You spend more money on oakleys, Skins and shorts than you do on heels.
7. People wonder about the weird tan lines on your back and face (for those oakley aficionados) when you show it off at your best friend's wedding (or yours)
 |
| She looks pretty happy doesn't she? |
8. Fried food is off your menu until after the races.
9. Cute looking Havaianas are your best friends (other than your best friends)
10. You'd rather wear your sports bra to work because you know you have training later in the day.
11. When a guy friend says dragon boat is easy, you almost always want to take your paddle and swing it to their faces.
Finally,
12. Guys look at you; for doing pull ups.
Till my next post!
Thursday, 19 September 2013
No Space in the Gym? No Sweat! Team OneStroke trains @ Hougang ClubFitt Gym Singapore
Do you often feel demoralised when you don't have enough space to train?
Do you always think that your team needs every weight imaginable to train effectively for trainings?
Are you afraid of other gym goers thinking that you are using up their all important weights?
Well no fret, a solution is at hand!
I always believed in the coming up with a training programme on the spot regardless of whichever equipment is available and the amount of space that we are given in a public space.My team ONESTROKE from Kaki Bukit CSC had a short training session in one of the most packed gyms in the country. Coming from a country of 5 million inhabitants, don't be too surprised if I say you can find more human beings than rats in a single square feet. Well, to give you a clearer picture these were the conditions we were dealt with;
Not enough space
1. We only had as little as a 4 by 4 meter space to train with free weights not inclusive of another 5 by 5 meter space where we decided to park ourselves at to do some bodyweight exercises.
Not enough weights
2. Everyone else who was at the gym was basically hogging free weights from 10kg onwards. Obviously most of them guys who insist on making sure they don't lose out to each other.
Overcrowding..
3. It was a noisy and crowded Wednesday night which had almost everyone walking in and around our training area. It was as full as a Zouk on a Saturday night. Just that it was brightly lit.
So my solution was to:
Do a circuit of 3 rounds of 1 minute sets of 8 exercises, alternating exercises between each pair. In layman terms,
For every station, each pair of trainees are to do the following exercises;
Station 1:
Bent over row
push ups
Station 2:
Standing barbell press
One arm rows
Station 3:
Squat curl press
One arm dumbell snatch
Station 4:
Plank
Burpees
Each pair will do 1 minute of each exercise at each station before moving on the next station. Time alotted to each exercise, 1 minute. They only get a 3 minute break after finishing all 8 exercises. I ended the 3rd set with a 30 second set instead to boost up morale and increase the intensity.
Of course, everyone was asking me.. Coach, can we get heavier weights, but we don't have enough weights leh?
I told them " just go with the lighter weights trust me.. *hint hint
We ended up using weights as little as 10 kilos for the barbell shoulder presses and 17.5 kilos for the bent over rows. Well, I already knew what was going to happen.
By the first minute of the first exercise in, I could see everyone's faces turning blue from the build up of the repetitions over a minute. Even a simple exercise like push ups can be incredibly torturous to hold for 1 minute straight. As each round was completed, I could almost hear a huge sigh of relief for finishing all the exercises. At the end of the day, it was nice to see smiles all round because they knew they accomplished something different in the gym than most gym goers that day.
Essentially, what I did that evening was a simple example of circuit training. Something that can be done with a few friends and a few simple weights as long as the technique of the exercise performed is sound.You will encounter a new level of fitness that most gym goers will never understand and experience.
I want to make a personal invitation to you readers out there to join us to take part in our workout just to feel the intensity of the workout and also to make some new friends.We will be doing a similar session next Wednesday at 730pm @Hougang Gym. Take the first step and I will promise you a fulfilling session full of fun, laughter and sweat! Do post a comment or text myself @98415142 to for more details!!
Do you always think that your team needs every weight imaginable to train effectively for trainings?
Are you afraid of other gym goers thinking that you are using up their all important weights?
Well no fret, a solution is at hand!
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| My back was feeling abit itchy.. |
I always believed in the coming up with a training programme on the spot regardless of whichever equipment is available and the amount of space that we are given in a public space.My team ONESTROKE from Kaki Bukit CSC had a short training session in one of the most packed gyms in the country. Coming from a country of 5 million inhabitants, don't be too surprised if I say you can find more human beings than rats in a single square feet. Well, to give you a clearer picture these were the conditions we were dealt with;
Not enough space
1. We only had as little as a 4 by 4 meter space to train with free weights not inclusive of another 5 by 5 meter space where we decided to park ourselves at to do some bodyweight exercises.
Not enough weights
2. Everyone else who was at the gym was basically hogging free weights from 10kg onwards. Obviously most of them guys who insist on making sure they don't lose out to each other.
Overcrowding..
3. It was a noisy and crowded Wednesday night which had almost everyone walking in and around our training area. It was as full as a Zouk on a Saturday night. Just that it was brightly lit.
So my solution was to:
Do a circuit of 3 rounds of 1 minute sets of 8 exercises, alternating exercises between each pair. In layman terms,
For every station, each pair of trainees are to do the following exercises;
Station 1:
Bent over row
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| Janaine and Jojo in action. Next time i'll ask them to smile. |
Station 2:
Standing barbell press
One arm rows
Station 3:
Squat curl press
One arm dumbell snatch
Station 4:
Plank
Burpees
Each pair will do 1 minute of each exercise at each station before moving on the next station. Time alotted to each exercise, 1 minute. They only get a 3 minute break after finishing all 8 exercises. I ended the 3rd set with a 30 second set instead to boost up morale and increase the intensity.
Of course, everyone was asking me.. Coach, can we get heavier weights, but we don't have enough weights leh?
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| You realised these guys shave right? |
I told them " just go with the lighter weights trust me.. *hint hint
We ended up using weights as little as 10 kilos for the barbell shoulder presses and 17.5 kilos for the bent over rows. Well, I already knew what was going to happen.
 |
| I think these guys look bewildered he's too strong for the weights. |
Essentially, what I did that evening was a simple example of circuit training. Something that can be done with a few friends and a few simple weights as long as the technique of the exercise performed is sound.You will encounter a new level of fitness that most gym goers will never understand and experience.
I want to make a personal invitation to you readers out there to join us to take part in our workout just to feel the intensity of the workout and also to make some new friends.We will be doing a similar session next Wednesday at 730pm @Hougang Gym. Take the first step and I will promise you a fulfilling session full of fun, laughter and sweat! Do post a comment or text myself @98415142 to for more details!!
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