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Why do Physical
Training for Racing?
The aim of physical
training is to increase your capacity. Most competitors are not performing
anywhere near their capacity while racing. The following world running
records show how speed drops over distance :
· 100 meters 36.76 kph
· 1 mile 25.81 kph
· 26.2 miles 20.08 kph
· 100 miles 13.99 kph
· 1,000 miles 6.42 kph
The reason to increase
capacity is so that you operate at a low percentage of your maximum
while racing.
Let us assume you
can just lift a 60kg boat. This is then 100% of your capacity. If you
try to lift a 60kg boat in a race obviously you won't last very long.
After some training with weights, you can now lift 100kg. Racing with
a 60kg boat now seems relatively easy.
So, to reiterate,
increase your capacity so that you operate at a low percentage of your
maximum while racing.
You should be doing
strength, endurance and skill specific exercises.
Strength
Use weights.
Endurance
You should increase your exercise regime by about 10% every two weeks
until you have reached a point where you find you are not recovering
adequately and then back off to recover.
Skills
Nothing replaces time spent in your boat. Take every opportunity to
race a river - if you can negotiate Grade IV white water, Grade II is
easy.
General Comments
Consistency: Most important for physical training is to be consistent.
This means doing a consistent routine. There is no point doing a stop-start
program to achieve your desired goal, just as you wouldn't stop and
start during a race.
Effort
You must
put effort into any training to stimulate a training response. This
means an effort that is greater than you are used to. Not necessarily
extreme, but with exertion that provokes your bodies "build and
repair" cycle.
Time
You must spend
a useful amount of time training, especially for endurance. On the extreme
end, zero time spent training equals zero gains. On the other extreme,
too much training will not give you time to recover and build on your
efforts.
What to Eat and Drink Before a Race
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