Vol 54 - Dryland Week Thirteen

 

Information in this week's blog

• Dryland call format 
• Week 13 workout information
• Paddle length: What does a longer paddle do?

Dryland Call Format

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5077148729

The workout begins at 6:30pm. Please be logged on at least 10 minutes early.  If you are not well versed in using Zoom the call is live at 6:15 pm and we suggest you get on the call then and once you are set you can leave the call going.

If you are having trouble accessing the call, please contact VP Lisa O'Malley, at 360-909-1072 or Communications & Technology Coordinator Natalie Gaston at 480-748-7773.    

Once the workout starts everyone is working out and not answering their phone. 

If you are unable to opt-out of practice on TeamSnap, contact Practice Coordinator Sandy Moore at 503-708-7929. 

Week 13 Workout Information

This is our last week of dryland before taking a one week break. Please plan on doing your 2nd fitness assessment during the break week. Refer back to the email sent via TeamSnap for details (by logging into TeamSnap, going to the Messages section and selecting Email you can find any previously sent email). 

This week we are increasing the resistance to 50% and the rep count total stays at 72. We will be doing 3 rounds of 4 sets of 6 reps. 

The load alternates from medium to hard and repeats throughout this segment of dryland. The rep counts and resistance level will continue to increase. It is important to be increasing your resistance as we proceed. If you need, refer to Coach Pat's video on how to make weights. 

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know. 

If you haven't been able to participate regularly, don't worry about being behind. You start where you are and that's just perfect. Everyone is welcome. Showing up is the biggest step of this process.  

See you on Monday!

Click here to print the workout.

WEEK 13	Load: MEDIUM		MAX HEART RATE RANGES - 10 sec count
Cardio - 2x 4min				age 30s	- 20-25
75-80% MHR				40s	- 19-24
1 min per exercise; complete 2x	1. Skaters with hop, lateral shuffle or grapevines			50s	- 18-23
	2. Inchworm, alt straight leg toe touches or walking toe touches			60s	- 17-22
	3. Spider mt climbers, high knees or jump rope			70s	- 16-21
	4. Squat or jumping jacks, or sit-stands			80s	- 15-19
Warm up stretches	Y-T-W - 5 rounds		Use the lower numbers in the range the older you are in the decade.
	Cross body - 12 each side & middle		Use a 3 pt spread for your 70-80% (e.g. 50 yr old use 20-23; 59 yr old use 18-21)
	Side stretches - alternating for 20 total
Exercises		Reps
Perform an exercise for 6 reps, take a quick break, repeat 2 more times, then move onto the next exercise. When all of the exercises are completed in this manner, that's 1 of the 3 sets.
Thrusters w/Band		3 sets (4x6 reps @50% 1RM)
Seated Body Rows
Boxing w/Band (reps per side)
Scapular Retraction
Standing Oblique Crunches (reps per side)		25 reps
Cool down stretches
	Standing quad stretch
	Standing hamstring stretch
	Arm across chest - deltoids
	Window sill stretch - lats/upper back
	Door jamb stretch - pecs
	Standing side stretches

Paddle Length: What Does a Longer Paddle Do?

This is an excerpt from a Kialoa blog post that addresses several questions I've heard about paddle length. If you have yet to get into a dragon boat, don't worry about these details. But you might tuck this information away for future reference :-) 

It is usually a general consensus that a longer paddle is better, but what exactly is the effect of having a longer paddle?  It's safe to assume that your arm length will remain constant, regardless of what paddle length you use.  Also, it's safe to assume that your bottom hand height is constant at the catch since the blade length is constant and your hand should be placed just a hand-width above the blade (you are doing that right?).  So when you go with a longer paddle, what's moving is your top arm.

Longer paddle length vs. top arm angle.

As you increase the paddle length, the effect on the catch is that you get a more positive blade angle, and effectively increasing the length of your stroke.  The counter effect is that your top arm position is at a higher angle.  As you increase this angle, your ability to apply force at the catch becomes sub-optimal.  In the image above, you will see that in figure 2 the paddler has her top arm in a full 90 degree overhead position.  This is considered to be the optimal case since the shoulder is stable in that position.  In figure 3 the arm is over extended, which may cause injury due to the way the pressure is applied to the shoulder.  Your top arm angle will be limited by your top arm mobility (overhead position mobility), so you need to consider this when choosing your paddle length.

Longer paddle length at limited shoulder mobility

When your shoulder mobility is limited, the overall effect of a longer paddle is detrimental.  What will happen is that the catch angle of your body will decrease because you will hit the water sooner.  As your catch angle becomes more and more upright, your ability to reach your bottom arm forward is reduced and your stroke becomes shorter.  If you find yourself paddling with a very upright torso, it may be because your paddle is too long for you.  But, conversely, what happens when you go too short?

Paddling with a short paddle

**This portion is altered from the Kialoa blog. The blog article references a different stroke than we use. The images are Kialoa's, but the information pertains to our stroke.***

We bury the blade with our body prior to initiating the stroke, so a paddle that is too short  requires more hinge to get the blade in the water. Paddlers with restricted hamstring flexibility, long torsos, or range of motion issues who paddle with a short paddle will not be able to enter their blade with a positive angle. 

This makes the paddle catch less positive (in fig 2 it's almost perpendicular with the water) and the length of the stroke is reduced. The fully extended catch position is determined by your ability to rotate your torso and the angle of your torso at the catch (limited by oblique/lats mobility). To

Conclusion

Your optimal paddle length will depend on your top arm's overhead mobility, your torso's rotation and oblique/lats mobility.  This is the "experience" level stated by paddle manufacturers.  So now let's address their other measurement: your height.  Your overall height is actually not a good metric for paddle length. However what does have an effect is the length of your torso and your arms.  So if you want to good way to ballpark an appropriate paddle length, sit down on the bench and stand your paddle next to you (blade on the bench, and top arm over the handle).  If you can barely reach the top of your paddle, then the paddle is probably too long for you.  If you can reach the top and your elbow is extremely bent, then the paddle is probably too short for you.  Ideally, you should have a slight bend to your elbow while being able to comfortably grab the handle of the paddle.  From there, check your catch angle and adjust accordingly with a longer or shorter paddle.

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