5 reasons why Singapore Dragon Boat is Stagnating

More often than not, you will hear your dragon boat friends rave about the recent races at the Singapore Dragonboat Festival (SDBF) and exclaim how well they did during the races and how well the top teams did in the Opens Category. Congratulations to NTU for coming in first in the Men's Opens.While it seems like a true feat to be the best in Singapore, to the trained eye, I have seen a not much improvements to the timings clocked over 500m race distances. 

Before I touch on the 5 reasons why our dragon boat scene is stagnating, I would like to emphasize that none of these are gathered facts but truly opinions of my own. Based on observation and fact finding plus a few interviews from coaches, I think its fair to be a critic so that our Singaporean paddlers to continue to improve beyond the standards we have today. Maybe you may find a better reason and we could share over a cup of coffee:)

#1 Singaporeans are too impatient

Dragon boat paddling is a very very very very technical skill that requires years to master. Honestly, in my short athletic career I only really learnt how to paddle the best way to my ability when I got the experience after 4 years of paddling. Yes, you heard right. 4 years. But it seems many of us tend to treat learning this skill like writing your name. As long as you can write your name down properly, you can buy a Mont Blanc pen to sign your name on anything that needs it. 

This attitude of learning is probably a Singaporean thing. When we learn something in the workplace, it has to be learnt fast and as efficiently as possible to make sure we get the job done. Many paddlers bring this idea to the water, that when they can paddle with a wooden paddle after 1 month, they need a carbon fibre paddle. I only got mine after I paddled for 5 years. This impatience has created a big boom to the paddling business. Everyone can afford to buy one because it looks good, but sadly few know how to properly paddle with one. 

#2 Getting bigger and stronger is always the first priority

As I have covered in a previous post, generations upon generations of paddlers have come to believe that paddling requires monstrous biceps and a huge chest to be able to paddle well. Oh man, they are so wrong. One of my ex-teammates who was paddling for one of the tertiary teams in the PM cup was a mere dwarf at 48 kilos. But was he any weaker than the rest of the squad? His team came in 0.23 seconds behind another which had 2 thirds of them weighing over 70 kilos. The paddler's experience made the difference not his size. Of course size can be a factor especially in the eyes of coaches who were brought up in the era of big = strong, but these days, the complexity of the sport has evolved so much that winning teams require so much more than just brute strength to win races, much less clock world class timings. This myth has been debunked on many occasions but still, the legend continues. 

#3 Singaporeans are too vocal

As far as history is concerned, dragon boat is a Chinese tradition that has evolved into a spectacular sport that has gained many enthusiasts all over the world. The sport just like its original predecessors believed that it was a communal sport where it brought together people in the village together to row as one. It is very much "let's just follow what our seniors has taught us and not do our own thing kinda sport.". Well, that just doesn't happen in Singapore. Competitive teams face issues of paddlers who may have come from different backgrounds and experiences to dictate their own way of the perfect stroke. In the end, we end up with a mish mash of strokes in the same team that may not truly optimise the performance of the boat in general. Teams have been stuck at timings which they see year after year of races which sadly does not justify the number of hours they put into training. We put creativity in the wrong place in a very communal environment where everyone should be doing the same thing every time. 

#4 Paddling is only a hobby

In all honesty, coaching has brought me a new side stream of income that allowed me a few more luxuries in my life and I love it. Fact is we can NEVER make real money off dragon boat either as an athlete or a coach.  It is sad to see the turnover rate of many of our top teams in Singapore either due to the more practical reasons like work, NS or in some students' cases. overseas exchange which is something well worth giving up dragon boat for. Our standards will only improve if people take it as seriously as the PM cup, where the standards for winning races become high enough to our regional neighbours. But it will never take shape because we won't earn money from it. Yes I do, but not as a paddler. I have struggled through school because I chose paddling over working part time but that was a choice I made. But for many people who are definitely more pragmatic, who would want to give up 6 months of exchange for a race that lasts 4 minutes? 

# Singaporeans teams are generally selfish

I was having a conversation with another coach in the dragon boat fraternity and we were exchanging views of how the race timings were barely improving year upon year. We have never gotten to the levels our regional neighbours are at internationally and I was searching for answers. 

He explained to me in the most simplest of terms that Singaporean teams are a selfish bunch of paddlers. We like to come together to paddle and race but teams hate it when paddlers move over to another team better to improve ourselves. One example is how we gather paddlers for our National team (Nteam). It has been a well known fact that anyone joining the Nteam has to commit fully for all their trainings for obvious reasons, however these paddlers may come from many of the tertiary teams that usually prepare intensely for their most crucial races in the SDBF. Misunderstandings led to another and soon many of these paddlers lose the time to train with their tertiary teams causing a lot of rife between the National Squad and their tertiary teams. Today, it has almost come to a point that if you are ever in a tertiary team, you had better not join the Nteam because we will kick you out. Today, the Nteam has taken a beating knowing that the best talent that it can muster from the nation's limited pool of paddlers is clearly not trying out for the simple reason where these paddlers fear to be judged by their  "original teammates". Sad to say, as long as this persistence of being selfish stays, we will never be truly able to say that this National team is the best one that we have in the country. I guess it is really a mentality where being Asian, we have this stigma of being left out and being judged which is very unfair knowing how much we progressed as a "westernised" society. I guess some things are meant to stay in our very modern Singapore. 

Wrapping it up

I hope you have enjoyed this light-hearted article of 5 reasons why our dragon boat scene is stagnating. While there may be more reasons why we may be stuck, I guess these are the more salient ones for our situation now. 

Nevertheless, I always believe in the future of our sport and how well it progressed throughout the years. I will never discount the fact where many teams have seen incredible improvements in race timings on a local level. I hope this may generate discussions for people who are interested in a good debate. Till the next article!

5 Bodyweight Exercises that Work!

I've been into the calisthenics routine for a over 6 months now and I can sense a big difference in my strength gains. This post hopes to show the common man how 5 simple but electric body weight exercises can bring a whole new world of  strength into your routine as an independent workout or done as a hybrid with your weights training. So here goes..

1) Pull ups / One Arm Chin Ups

We overlook everything that is basic. Simply thinking that the most primal exercise of moving our bodies through space seems too menial. Many have done countless in our service in the army; thinking that we should progress beyond that to include lat pull down machine training to increase our strength. Much to our dismay we may never see gains as much as when you do pull ups. The most primal exercise that replicates our instinctive prowess to climb trees and branches. One arm chin-arms can be an excellent progression of the pull up for those who are seeking a need for an outlet to bust your guns. Its no mean feat to execute even one. But when you do, your confidence jumps by truckloads. 


2) Push ups / One arm push ups

Studying gymnasts, I have begun to understand very clearly how the human body is able to leverage its body to maximise the resistance on the body when it comes to doing push ups. Although it may look easy to some, try to do close push ups. Not the type you do one rep after the other but the type execute for for 3 seconds down, 3 seconds up. Just 10 of those will hurt your ego badly. Very badly. 


3) Handstand Push Ups (HSPUs)

I have yet to do more than 10 reps at each set but to push your own body weight (upside down!) through space (i weigh 72kg at the point of writing this post) is an exceptional challenge I have to overcome. Its extremely intense but it strengthens your shoulder rotator cuff joints while bulking them up. Forget the dumbbell shoulder presses. HSPUs are the way to go. 


4) Squats/ Pistol Squats

Everyone hates to squat. 1 out of 10 gym goers will use the squat rack. But no one can deny the power and strength that squatting brings. It forms an integral exercise to strengthen the posterior chain running from the lower back, glutes, hamstrings and not forgetting your quadriceps. Don't forget the pistol squat; a hardcore version of the squat that make grown men fall to their knees (literally!). No one that I know looks strong with stick thin legs. Go figure!


5) Towel hangs 

An exercise that I picked up recently from a book called Convict Conditioning. Never in my life have I been humbled by an exercise that took my grip to limits I have never reached before. The feeling you get in your forearms from just gripping a towel hanging from a pull up bar is pure adrenalin. Sugar rush to the brain. You will never feel anything like it unless you climb ropes for a living (something I doubt anyone does). Give it a shot and feel how the burn feels like. 

Those are the 5 exercises that I recommend as part of a strength training routine; a routine tried and tested to surpass the dozens of wanna be workout programs you can find on the internet. If you like this post, do share it and train hard!

Dragon Boat accident caught on Camera!

SAVA international hosted their 2013 edition of the MR500 dragon boat races last weekend. It was an exciting surprise to catch some drama on camera.

The video showed 2 boats which veered off course and collided into 2 other boats almost causing a freak accident that could have involved more than 100 lives. As much as I respect coxwains for doing their duty diligently, this was a mishap that could be avoided through proper drills executed by the team. The teams should have been drilled regarding such collisions for their own safety and not assume to paddle regardless of the circumstances. Definitely more could have been done to educate both paddlers and coxwains alike to manage such situations. I sure hope there won't be more of such accidents in future. Till my next post!

Why Paddlers Should Squat!

It can be a mystery to the common dragon boater how squats can actually help in the performance of a dragon boater at all. Knowing that squats play a very big part of building the muscles in the quad area namely the rectus femoris, vastus medialis and vastus lateralis. Well it might sound absurd someone who has been paddling for years to be told that you need to squat to be a better paddler. If you have ever been to the gym looking like a gorilla with toothpicks for legs, here's 3 very good reasons why you should squat to improve your performance as a paddler:

1) Grow Bigger and Stronger - Squatting is one of the best if not the BEST exercise you can perform if you want a stronger overall posture and musculature for your entire body. Deep squatting with heavy weights release anabolic, growth hormones and testosterone in your body to make it a more functional machine that is able to withstand intense training for muscular endurance in a typical periodized training programme. In layman's terms, squatting will prepare you for highly intense endurance training that many high level athletes encounter.

2) Correct your Posture - Many believe that squatting will lead to stunted growth and less flexibility in their quads due to the increase in size of the muscle. That is far from the truth. Athletes who perform the front squats have scientifically shown to improve and correct thoracic extension (i.e.upper back posture) and their posture in their lumbar spine (the natural curvature of the spine) which inevitably will improve an athlete's height as a result of stronger abdominal wall and lower back muscles due to squatting.

3) Improved flexibility - One very good example of the version of the squat that improves flexibility is the overhead squat. Although it was excruciatingly painful to perform for the first time, the overhead squat is now an integral part of my strength training for the fact that it improved the mobility of my upper back as I became stronger in my upper back region namely the rhomboid. My shoulder stabilisers started becoming stronger and my upper back was less stiff than before.  Improved flexibility and mobility in your anterior, posterior and medial deltoids reduces the chance of injury from typical overuse of the muscle in paddling sports. 

Conclusion
Those are my 3 quick reasons on why squats form a big part of my current strength training regime. It was an irony that I  realised that my biggest mistake was that I did NOT do squats as part of my training programme when I was paddling in my varsity days. Well, the future is a choice and it does help that my current knowledge of how squats can help an athlete prevent injury and makes him or her stronger. I hope this article helped you in a way.

Till the next post! 

5 Simple Ways to Take Advantage of Your Body Type and Outperform your Competition!

In physiology, the human performance can vary from many factors which include body types or somatotype as it is scientifically known. We make references to these body types and refer to them as fat, thin or lean. To better educate the layman, it helps to know which category of the body types you fall under and to use the following general physiological terms to describe these body types. These definitions are courtesy of www.brianmac.co.uk. 

Are you fat, beefcake or athletic?

Mesomorph

A mesomorphic individual excels in strength, agility, and speed. Their medium structure and height, along with their tendency to gain muscle and strength easily makes them a strong candidate for a top athlete in any sport. They can sustain low body fat levels and find it easy to lose and gain weight.

Endomorph

An endomorphic individual typically has short arms and legs and a large amount of mass on their frame. Their mass hampers their ability to compete in sports requiring high levels of agility or speed and perform sustained weight bearing aerobic activities such as running. Sports of pure strength, like power lifting, are perfect for an endomorph. They can gain weight easily and lose condition quickly if training stops.

Ectomorph

Individuals in this category are typically long, slender and thin, and therefore power and strength sports are perhaps not suitable as their slight build leaves them susceptible to injuries. While they can easily get lean and hard, their lack of musculature severely limits their chances in sports requiring mass. Ectomorphs dominate endurance sports and gymnastics. They can archive low levels of body fat which can be detrimental to health and for females in endurance sports it can result in a cessation of periods and iron deficiency. 

So what can you do about it?

Nothing, absolutely nothing. As much as you would want to change your body type; genetics play a huge part in what kind of athlete you already are. However, here are 5 ways for you to get the most of your god given body. 

1)Master the technique of your sport well

Whichever the chosen sport that you engage in regularly, it makes sense to take advantage of your body type by mastering the technique well. Mesomorphs who play soccer can learn to sprint faster, ectomorphs in volleyball to spike better and endomorphs to powerlift with better form. You will learn to generate better performances simply by complementing your genetics.  

2)Take advantage of your strengths

God gave you your body for a reason so use that body in the best way possible. Try sports that fit your body type and you never know it might be the right direction for you. 

3)Adapt to a diet suitable for your goals

Eat right!

If you wanted to lose weight, eat a diet that will help you lose weight and vice versa. It will not help one bit if you knew you were an ectomorph but you are still eating like a mouse trying to gain weight. Fit your diet to your goals and see more performance increases in your strength and general health.  

4)Understand the training responses for your body type

Ectomorphs respond to training with heavy, low rep sets with a minimal number of total sets per workout.  Ectomorphs need to resist the urge to increase volume because it increases metabolism and depletes glycogen. 

Endomorphs are better suited to short-term high intensity cardio of 15-25 minutes total duration, 5-6 times per week. Endo’s also respond better to multiple short sessions of hard cardio spread throughout the day. Endomorphs rarely exhibit overtraining symptoms. 

Mesomorphs make good bodybuilders but have a tendency to gain fat easily. They need to follow a program geared toward building a harder and leaner physique. They respond well to heavy, high-rep work. There is also a need to include basic movements without neglecting detail and finishing exercises.

5)Create a positive image of what you want to be

You will never be happy with the body that you have unless you already have a positive mental picture of yourself. Your body is the physical ambassador of your thoughts so believe in the strength of your body type regardless of how it looks now. Believe in a stronger version of yourself and work towards that goal constantly. 

you can do it!

Although we have been given the body to start with it is very much a degree of 'you are what you train for' It does form a starting point for sports selection but learning to deal with it and taking advantage your body's abilities will psychologically push you ahead of the competition! If you like this post, please share it with your friends and like the Facebook page @  Paddlegeeksingapore 

New Research Shows Scoliosis in Dragon Boaters. How do We Avoid it?

A medical student friend of mine posted this scholarly research paper on a local facebook page and it caught my attention. It happens to be a biomechanics related paper that hypothesized on the possibility of Scoliosis of the back in dragon boaters of the Iranian National Dragon boat team. 

Is your spine aligned? if not you may be suffering from scoliosis

Here's some screenshots! 

What is it about? 
The basis of the experiment was to derive a relatioship between posture and body type and other biomechanical measurements of the body and test whether they may be suitable as a competitive athlete in dragon boat.  

 A quick read of the abstract suggest various variables that were tested including lumbar scoliosis i.e. curving of the spine from normal and uneven shoulders; common "side effects" of training intensively in dragon boat. This study was set against a similar group of women to be used as a control group and the results have been conclusive. In fact, the paddlers have shown to exhibit higher levels of lumbar scoliosis and uneven shoulders. However, it does proceed to conclude that a better interpretation of the results could be established if this experiment was conducted over a longer period of time. 

How does it affect us paddlers? 
So how does this affect us as dragon boaters? Should we stop dragonboating altogether? Fortunately, as most of us paddlers only do so for recreation on the weekends and participate in less competitive events, this  is unlikely to happen to the everyday Joe. 

However, I believe competitive paddlers who paddle more than 4 times a week face this condition more readily that their recreational counterparts. Unfortunately, many of them go unnoticed for the fact that athletes do not wish to be sidelined knowing that this may affect their paddling career. For a fact, I believe it can be avoided as well as reversible. 

Paddling on your weaker side
Many paddlers become stuck with the fact that they will and only can paddle on the side they started with, which is a load of BS. No one is born to start and end off paddling on one side only. I can paddle on both and I started learning to paddle on my left. Who is to say that you can't paddle on the opposite side? Not me. Paddling on your weaker side generates much as many nerve connections to your brain just as you were learning how to walk as a baby. It will be fun to understand and go back to the days where you learnt how to paddle wouldn't it? It will also help to balance your pulling muscles and exercise your central nervous system to learn to build new connections to the brain; creating new pathways for new learning. This can help your brain grow too. Killing many birds with just one stone. 

Have a Break!
Competitive paddlers simply love going through the hard part of training, constantly thinking about pitting themselves against their teammates or thinking about the competition in the next race. Most however, fall into the trap of not allowing themselves to rest and recuperate especially if the body tells them that it can't do any more or if they are at the brink of an injury. Rest is an essential component  to training and it cannot be more than emphasized in a training cycle. It also allows the body to regenerate poor muscle imbalances especially after injury. 

Kayaking
Participating in kayaking builds not only strength in both sides of your pulling muscles but its also a great cardio workout and creates good practice for your core rotational skill which is hardly emphasized in dragon boat. Any kayak will do and you reap the benefits of the exercise just as well. 

Strength and conditioning
For elite paddlers, conditioning will form a key function in the training cycles of the athlete. Does the recreational paddler benefit from it too? Knowing how strength and conditioning can play a vital role to increasing longevity of the used muscles in dragon boat and add years to your sporting life. 

Till the next post! PaddleGeek signing off! 

References: Click here for the research paper!