Vol 39 Here Comes the Rain Again

Where Oh Where Did Those Workout Links Go ?

Just in case you have lost track the Pinks Stay Strong Workouts link has been renamed Workouts and Resources. This Google document has all the links to the workout videos and other resources we have posted in this blog. The link is : Pinks Stay Workouts and Resources  

If you need to find the link at any time it is on the right hand side of the newsletter page under the heading Workout Videos and Resources.   

Did you know that getting to the blog is pretty easy: Just type into your browser https://pinkphoenixfitness.blogspot.com/

Starting Training in the New Year

by Coach Anita

Muscular conditioning is done by athletes in all sports whether they are brand new to it or have been training for years. While the needs are not the same for every sport or every athlete, there are some basic principles applicable to all athletic training. 

After an athletic season concludes there is a transition time where athletes recover by taking time off from their sport and reduce their training volumes. This transition time varies between sports but typically lasts 2-4 weeks. After the transition time (like at the beginning of a new year), athletes begin again with a general preparation period - often before they get on the track, field, court or water. Even for professional athletes, the general preparation period begins with an anatomical adaptation phase, which is the period that lays the foundation for the other phases of training. The purpose of the anatomical adaptation phase is to “prehabilitate” in hopes of preventing the need for rehabilitation. The main objectives are to strengthen tendons, ligaments, and joints; develop overall core strength, improve cardiovascular fitness and establish general muscle strength. The anatomical adaptation phase can last between 4-12 weeks depending on the training age of the athlete (e.g. how many years they’ve been training in the sport). Most amateur athletes benefit from at least 8 weeks. This is why it’s so important to begin training BEFORE we get on the water.

After a good foundation has been established, the focus can be narrowed to more sport specific strength training. In training for dragon boat racing, the sport specific goals of strength training is to develop power and muscular endurance. 

Power is the ability to apply the highest force in the shortest time period, and is the result of both strength and speed of muscle contraction - think of the start sequence in a race. Muscle endurance is a muscle’s ability to sustain work for a prolonged period of time - this is everything after the start. Power requires intermuscular coordination (the ability to synchronize all of the muscles in a kinetic chain involved in a movement), intramuscular coordination (ability to recruit and quickly activate muscle fibers) and hypertrophy (size of the muscles involved).  

There are four types of muscular endurance: power endurance (10-30 seconds), muscle endurance-short (30 seconds to 2 minutes), muscle endurance-medium (2-8 minutes) and muscle endurance-long (more than 8 minutes). Dragon boat paddling requires mostly muscle endurance-short when racing 500 meter distances. 

All sports have different compositions of what are called biomotor abilities - speed, power or endurance - which relate to both energy system training and strength training. Dragon boat paddling requires muscular endurance-short, acceleration power, and starting power. The energy system usage in a 500 meter race is roughly 60% aerobic, 25% glycolytic, and 15% ATP-CP.  

Understanding the needs of our sport directs the training focus, but the timeframe available for training ultimately dictates what can be accomplished. The more time we spend off the boat preparing our bodies for what is needed when we get on the boat, the more time we can spend in sport-specific training when we get on the boat. 

The Truth About Stretching

By Suzanne Frank

Question: Do you need to stretch prior to and following a workout? It's a good idea according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

In general, stretching is a great practice to incorporate into your daily routine even if your don't exercise often. Stretching keeps your muscles flexible and able to perform their entire range of motion. If you aren't flexible enough, your muscles won't extend to their full length, and you will face a greater likelihood of muscle strain, joint pain and injury.

Stretch to de-stress. These are stressed out times, and stretching can help. During times of emotional stress, the muscles in your body contract. Gentle stretching of tensed muscles provide relaxation to the mind as well as the body.

Believe it or not there are 7 types of stretching. The two I will focus on are dynamic stretching and static stretching.

Dynamic stretching involves running a muscle through its range of motion 10-20 times like swinging a leg back and forth or rotating your trunk to warm up the back.

Static stretching involves striking a pose and holding it for 30 seconds, like the classic touching your toes or holding one arm across your chest to stretch your shoulder.

What type of stretching should you do prior to and following a workout? You should alway start with some mild aerobic warm up to get the blood moving to the tissues before doing any stretching. 

Once this is completed you will then want to perform dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching improves range of motion and decreases injuries by getting your muscles properly prepared for the exercise and helping them achieve full functionality. Many strained muscles happen when the muscle is forced into movement it is not ready for. Some examples of dynamic stretching are leg swings and walking lunges before a run and arm circles prior to upper body weights. Consider Yoga, try 2 minutes of sun salutations to stretch multiple parts of the body or downward-facing dog dynamic by pedaling your feet or lifting alternate legs.

Following a workout you should do static stretching. Static stretching is beneficial to do after you finish your workout to help your muscles recover. Following exercise your body temperature is higher than normal and your blood vessels are dilated. Stretching can help reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which can lead to muscle cramping and stiffness.While stretching won't make you less sore the next day (the microscopic damage that causes sore muscles has already happened), research suggests that it helps improve blood flow to the limbs you stretch. The blood delivers nutrients and oxygen to the affected muscles, helping aid in recovery and rejuvenation. It is also associated with helping your nervous system calm down. You never want to stretch to the point of pain and do not bounce. Breathe while you are stretching. Exhale as you stretch, inhale while holding the stretch.

Although all this warming up and cooling may seem like a waste of time, properly easing into and out of your strenuous activity is vitally important for warding off injury and decreasing stress on your heart and other organs. So, if you are really crunched for time you might want to consider shortening the actual workout in order to get your stretching completed. Your health and wellbeing will thank you in the long run.

The Decision

Chapter 2 

Fast forward to 2016. I had heard about international dragon boat racing but had never thought it was something I wanted to do. Then some other teammates and our coach mentioned the race that was coming up in 2017. My ears perked a little bit. So many fears of the unknown started to fill my head. I had absolutely no idea what competing for a seat on an international dragon boat team meant. That became quite evident when I decided to just go for it.

So where did I start? Well, it was August of 2016 and some of the coaches from the USA team were going to come to Vancouver lake to do time trials on a OC1 in August for anyone interested. I was interested. I had never been on OC1 but I thought, what the hec. I had two weeks to get ready. Thinking back to that time now, I was so nervous. I got out in an OC1 two times before the tryouts. Was  I ready, no, but I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

This is where the real journey began, when I said yes to me and yes to the commitment!

Coach Oden

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Vol.38 Kick Starting 2021

Preparing Your Muscles to Train

by Coach Anita

Muscular conditioning plays an important role in being prepared to perform on the boat. This is what Coaches Oden and Pat are providing through the weekly workouts, as well as the Monday workouts provided by Mo Kelly, Deb Amar, and Theresa Garcia (coaches’ note: Thank you!!). Muscular conditioning is a natural complement to energy system training and can be done concurrently. Like aerobic work, if done during the off-season, it better prepares you to get back on the water.

One of the most important benefits of muscular conditioning is the increased ease with which large amounts of muscle mass can be activated. We have often heard how humans use only a small percentage of their brain's capacity. The same holds true for muscle. Until a muscle has been trained to work maximally, it will seldom become fully activated. This means the muscle will not be generating maximal force for speed or power - the very elements we’re training to develop in practice. Through muscular conditioning you can train to be able to fully activate almost all muscle fibers at almost any time.

Most of the changes in strength are primarily due to learning factors rather than physical changes in the muscle. As a novice learns to perform various movements under resistance, the neural pathways become more efficient, resulting in more muscle use. Sport scientists estimate that people who are untrained can’t activate much more than 50% of their available muscle. Through increased muscular conditioning this use can approach more than 90% in well trained individuals. This can explain why some people quickly demonstrate proficiency in a new physical activity: they have developed neural pathways that allow them to activate high muscular responses and quickly learn new motor movements.

Therefore, continue or begin resistance exercises to develop the neural pathways which enable you to activate your muscles more forcefully.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Fitness Team Challenge for You.. 2021' Pinks Strong!

...Coach Oden

Full Body Workout Challenge

First two weeks of challenge do each workout 2x. Third and fourth weeks do workout 3x. Refer to all of the exercises and modifications from our prior challenges. The core exercises are off of the chart below.

https://darebee.com/ab-exercises.html

This link has beneficial information beyond core exercises. Check it out!

Workout 1 Tuesday & Saturday

Lower Body(refer to squat challenge for example squats and modifications)

15 Squats

Upper Body-Anterior(refer to upper body challenge for example exercises)

15 Biceps

15 Shoulders

15 Chest

Core(refer to darabee link for 1, 2, & 3 category of exercises)

15 Upper

15 Lower

15 Six-Pack

Plyo(anything that increases your heart rate and gets your feet off the ground)

1 Minute Jumping Jacks, ex.

15 High Knees, ex.

Workout 2 Thursday & Sunday

Lower Body

15 Lunges R/L

Upper Body-Posterior(refer to upper body challenge for example exercises)

15 Triceps

15 Shoulders

15 Back

Core(refer to darabee link for 4, 5, & 6 category of exercises)

15 Obliques

15 Complete

15 Core

Plyo

1  Minute Jump Rope, ex.

15 Burpees, ex.

Dress for Success 

by Coach Pat

During the colder months getting on the water can be a bit daunting.   The air temperatures and water temperatures are low.  When canoeing or kayaking during the summer and early fall a dunk in the water may be a fun occurrence but after November 1st or so it can be scary and dangerous.   To be safe in the colder weather you need to dress for both the outside weather and the chance of an unscheduled swim.   

There are many things to take into consideration.   How experienced are you on your craft?  Where will you be boating -- a flat river or out in the ocean?  If you go into the water, how long will it take before you can get back into your boat or get to shore?  What is the water temperature?  Answering these questions before getting dressed or purchasing clothes will help keep safe and comfortable, regardless of the weather.   

The Willamette River has a high temperature of about 75 degrees during the summer and a low of 36 during the winter.   This winter the water temperature low to date has been 46 degrees.   Fortunately the probability of going into the water as a paddler during the winter / spring season from a dragonboat is fairly small.  The river is running but generally flat and there is little motor boat traffic to make wakes.   The probability of a swim from a kayak or outrigger is higher.   In cold weather on a dragon boat you can get by with a good base layer, rain or wind pants and jacket.   A good addition when it is cold is to use neoprene as your base layer.   

For kayaking, canoe or outrigger during cold weather a neoprene layer is the least expensive option.   Dry suits are available but they are expensive and can be constricting as well as hot.   The goal is to keep yourself safe should you go swimming and neoprene will allow a thin layer of water that can be warmed by your body heat.  The thickness of the neoprene has to be balanced with the amount of time you are likely to be in the water.    If you are not comfortable with going out of and getting back on your craft you should consider putting off the excursion.  

When going out with water temperatures below 60 degrees and the air temperatures are between 40 and 50 you will see me in full neoprene bottoms, somewhere between .5 mm and 1.5 mm and a neoprene top of the same.  When the air temp falls belows 45, I will add neoprene booties and wetsocks.  If it’s raining or windy I will add another layer on top to counter the wind chill.   In a dragonboat I will continue to wear the bottoms but will likely replace the neoprene top with a wicking base layer and a second warm running type of top.  I will replace the booties with waterproof shoes or waterproof socks.   

The National Center for Cold Water Safety say to always follow these rules:  

1. Always wear your PFD . 

2. Always dress for the water temperature—no exceptions

3. Field-test your gear

4. Swim-test your gear every time you go out (you probably won’t do that - but how about the bathtub) 

5. Imagine the worst that can happen and plan for it

I’m going to add the following : 

1. Don’t go out alone, stay close to shore.

2. Carry extra clothes and a towel in your car or your dry bag 

3. Stay hydrated, during cold weather you may not realize your thirst.  This will help maintain body temperature. 

   

How to Beat the Post-Holiday Blues

By Suzanne

Ever wonder why it is so hard to get back into the swing of things after the holidays? Post-holiday blues are a thing. 64% of people report being affected by post-holiday blues. This year many if not all of us experienced the holidays differently from previous years or how we had dreamed of spending them. 

Symptoms of post-holiday blues may include insomnia or excessive sleepiness, low-energy, irritability, difficulty concentrating, loneliness and anxiousness.
The consensus among experts is that the adrenaline comedown is the main culprit of post-holiday blues. Even if your holidays were not so merry and bright, the brain exaggerates the realities of day to day life, making the return to the mundane seem disproportionately more anxiety producing and depressing than it actually is.

Working yourself out of a post-holiday funk requires putting some extra emphasis on the basics of physical and mental well-being and adjusting expectations. Here are some tips that may help.

Take care of yourself. Quality sleep, regular exercise and a nutrient-dense diet are known as healthy lifestyle cornerstones and are recommended by experts to boost mood and manage symptoms. Re-establishing these cornerstones as regular and non-negotiable support mechanisms in your routine are essential. 

Schedule time for fun. Social interaction is a critical component of enhanced wellbeing. It is easy to withdraw when you are feeling down. With the current Covid pandemic that may mean calling someone on the phone, using FaceTime or Zoom meetings to connect with friends or those people who are important to you. Meeting for a socially distanced and masked walk, hike, snowshoeing or other outdoor activity. Also, is there a fun hobby that you can engage in? I know that you are resourceful and can think of other ideas that are fun.

Look forward not back. Start out by setting just one goal for yourself. Setting a goal gives you long-term vision and short term motivation. By setting a goal you will know exactly what you want to achieve. Write down your goal. Next, make your plan on how you will achieve your goal. Write down your plan. Revisit your goal and your plan to reach that goal as often as needed to ensure you are moving forward.

Be patient and go easy on yourself. Post-holiday blues won't stick around forever. Don't beat yourself up for feeling the way you do and take the time you need to find your pathway to success.

Let's make 2021 a year for success and well-being!

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Week Thirty Five - Moving Ahead

 

After Aerobic Training

By Coach Anita

*** NOTE: The energy system pyramid is imagery I created to try to make understanding the body’s energy systems easier. It is not a formal or academic concept. The terms power, speed and endurance reflect what we train for in dragon boat practice. I have previously equated the ATP-CP (immediate energy system) with speed, which is not correct. It is used for power. The glycolytic (short term) energy system is trained to improve speed. I have updated the previous entries, but want to correct my error for those of you following along more closely. 

We have completed building the aerobic portion of our energy system pyramid. This portion of the pyramid is the base for two reasons: it takes the most time to develop because aerobic conditioning sessions involve longer work pieces, and it is necessary to develop the aerobic base before building power or speed.

For the imagery of the energy system pyramid, the glycolytic energy system uses longer work intervals (15-60 seconds) so it is the system that sits above the aerobic system. I’m calling that speed work. The ATP-CP energy system uses the shortest intervals for training (5-15 seconds - think of the first three strokes of our start sequence), so it sits at the top of the pyramid. I’m calling that power work. Speed and power work are done after an aerobic base is established, but can be trained concurrently. In contrast to aerobic work, speed and power work both require a lot of rest between pieces so the body can recover for additional efforts. Both types of work are performed at maximum intensity (90-100% max heart rate), and are important in successful dragon boat racing.

After the initial training of the aerobic energy system and technique at the beginning of the season, we prepare for racing by training the glycolytic and ATP-CP (short and immediate) energy systems for the purpose of developing speed and power. Every athletic activity has sport-specific speed and power. For example, developing speed on the soccer pitch is different from developing speed on a dragon boat, and one can’t be substituted for the other. While movements can be approximated and simulated in artificial environments, neuromuscular training for any particular sport requires physical training with equipment in the actual environment. That said, a system trained in an artificial environment will be much better prepared to perform than an untrained system. If you have spent your off-water time doing various workouts on a rowing machine, stationary bike, outrigger canoe or running, your energy systems will be well prepared to adapt to the specific training done for dragon boat paddling. 

While the body has three energy systems, you will see there are many more than three types of workouts. There’s lactate threshold, performance threshold, endurance, aerobic capacity, aerobic power, anaerobic power, strength, speed, strength endurance, speed endurance, and more. They reflect the desire to achieve something specific with the particular workout. Sometimes terms are used universally and sometimes terms for the same thing differ between sports and coaches. My goal is to provide you with some basic understanding of the body’s energy systems to help you understand why we do what we do in practice, and help you make more educated decisions when it comes to how you train. 

What you’re doing today will make an impact when we get in the boat “tomorrow.” Keep it up. 

Evidence-Based Weight Loss Tips

By Suzanne Frank

With the holidays upon us and a change of lifestyle due to Covid I have started thinking about ways to take off those couple of pounds that have been acumulating. I keep telling myself it must be all muscle from all of the exercises and cardio I have been participarting in. While some is likely to be increase in muscle, I'm not going to kid myself that taking off a few pounds would not be a healthy choice for me.

I know that the weight loss industry is full of myths, many which have no scietific evidence behind them. This led me to investigating some weight loss tips that actually have the science behind them. Scientists have found a number of strategies that seem to be effective. I found several tips and will share just a few with you today. Here are some that you may want to try if you are looking to shed some pounds.

1. Drink water, especially before a meal. Drinking water can boost metabolism by 24-30% over a period of 1-1.5 hours, helping you burn off calories. One study showed that drinking 17 ounces of water about 30 minutes before meals helped dieters eat fewer calories and lose 44% more weight, compared to those that didn't drink the water.

2. Drink your quality caffinated coffee black. Studies show caffiene in coffee can boost your metabolism. Adding sugar or high-calorie ingredients will negate any benefits.

3. Cut back on sugar. Please refer to last weeks blog where I covered the topic of sugar.

4. Lower your refined intake of carbohydrates. Eating refined carbohydrates (such as white bread and pasta) is strongly linked to obesity.

5. Keep a food diary. Anything that increase your awareness of what you are eating is likely to be beneficial.

6.Exercise. Aerobic exercise (cardio) is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your physical and mental health.

7. Lift weights. One of the worst side effects of dieting is that it tends to cause muscle loss and metabolic slowdown (starvation mode). Studies show that weight lifting can help keep your metabolism high and prevent you from losing precious muscle mass. It's important not just to lose fat-but you also want to build muscle.

8. Get good sleep. Studies show that poor sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity Poor sleep is linked to a 55% increase in obesity in adults.

9. Chew more slowly. Some studies show that chewing more slowly and thoroughly can help you eat fewer calories and increase the production of hormones linked to weight loss. These are components of mindful eating.

10. Dont't Diet-Eat Healthier. One of the biggest problems with diets is that they rarely work in the long term. People who diet tend to gain more weight over time, and studies show dieting is a consistant predictor of future weight gain. Instead of going on a diet, focus on nourishing your body instead of depriving it. Weight loss should than follow naturally.

Most scientific evidence points to incorporating dietary and lifestyle changes that you can commit to as a permanent part of your daily life.

Coach Oden's Workout

https://youtu.be/jlOhnRVLNLo

Strength for Every Part of the Stroke

by Coach Pat

Last week we looked at the muscles needed for set-up, entry and propulsion. This week let us finish the stroke. The Exit phase , simply getting the paddle out of the water uses top shoulder abduction involving the deltoids. Then the rotator cuff stabilizes along with the rear deltoids. At the same time the obliques are starting the counter rotation of the torso. When the paddle is out of the water we think of Recovery or some call it the Glide phase. This happens in two parts. The first part , phase 1, requires the top shoulder front deltoids along with the pectoralis and biceps. The top wrist extensors are also assisting. Phase 2 of recovery is getting ready once again for setup. As this happens the obliques are engaged to rotate the torso with the glutes and hip flexors. The top arm continues to use the biceps and front deltoids as the bottom arm extension fires the triceps and wrist extensors. Strength training allows us to perform this intricate group of movements over and over. It takes strength to lift the paddle and exert pressure against the water. Building muscle endurance in the larger muscles of the back and shoulders will help protect the smaller muscles from injury.

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Week Thirty Four - More and More

Training for Aerobic Power

by Coach Anita 

In our energy system pyramid we’ve been looking at the three subsections of the aerobic base. We are exploring the third subsection: Aerobic Power.

Review: In considering the body’s energy systems, I asked you to think of a pyramid horizontally divided into thirds. The top of the pyramid is ATP-CP (the immediate energy system) which can be thought of as power. The middle layer is the glycolytic energy system (the short term energy system), which can be thought of as speed. The base of the pyramid is the aerobic energy system, which can be thought of as endurance. We need to develop a solid aerobic base first in order to effectively train the systems above it. The analogy of a pyramid is to represent how training your energy systems looks in terms of development (i.e. aerobic conditioning is developed first) as well as how long the training sessions are for each type of energy system (e.g. power work is done in the shortest time segments so is at the top of the pyramid). 

In order to train for aerobic power, it is necessary to have developed your aerobic capacity, which was explained in the last blog article. Development of aerobic power is done by working in the Maximal Speed Zone (90-100% max heart rate) - which I will refer to as 100% or max effort - in intervals of 90 seconds or longer. The intervals must be long enough to tax the aerobic system. Aerobic power development requires training above the level expected for performance - it doesn’t develop when training at too low of intensities. Training at 100% effort is not just physically taxing but requires practice to develop the mental fortitude to resist the body’s desire to slow down or ease up. This is one of the most difficult types of workout to execute well because it requires an understanding of pacing as well as your own abilities. Therefore you need to be patient as you learn. To receive the full benefit of this type of training you really need to go for it. Most of us struggle with not pushing ourselves hard enough so this is where you bite the bullet and work on it. And like anything you train, the more you do it the better you will become at working at your highest intensity and the easier it becomes to execute.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) can develop aerobic power if executed at true 100% effort and paired with adequate rest. Unlike aerobic capacity efforts where the rest is relatively low, in aerobic power work the rest is at least equal to the work and can be up to four times the amount of work (1:1-4). 

Some training scenarios you might see on the boat are:

• 2x(4x90”/2’R)/5’@100% effort at above race pace. (Translation: 90 seconds work at max effort, 2 minutes complete rest, repeated 4 times. 5 minute complete rest. Repeat entire scenario.) 12 min work, 26 min rest. 38 minute workout.

• 3x(3x2’/4’R)/4’@100% effort at above race pace. (Translation: 2 minutes work at max effort, 4 minutes complete rest, repeated 3 times. 4 minute complete rest. Repeat entire scenario 2 more times.) 18 min work, 48 min rest. 56 minute workout. 

Training above race pace develops the ability to perform more effectively at race pace. Dragon boat races are generally run at about 80% max heart rate. Training in zones above race level improves your comfort and effectiveness in performing at race level.  

While these workouts are designed for work in a dragon boat, you can replicate this type of work running, on a spin/stationary bike or rowing erg (set at appropriate resistance), or in a single or double outrigger canoe. 

Oden's Corner:

My Journey to Kunming Dragon Boat World Festival 2017

Chapter 1

I never thought much about it. How far can I go in dragon boating? Where will it take me? I just knew I wanted to be on the water and competing a long side other athletes.

I started dragon boating in the year 2010. I was looking for a sport that I could compete in as part of a team. I played team sports growing up and through high school into my adult years. How hard can it be? Honestly, it was hard! I had never been a part of water sports. I am not sure at that time in my life I had ever been in a kayak. What was I thinking?

My first practice was a little rough. I was using muscles I had never used before. It seemed so unnatural. My body didn't want to do the things I was asking of it. Stay in time. Don't splash the person in front of you. Hinge, rotate, snap forward...I just didn't know what I was in for. I thought about not going back. Maybe it wasn't for me. No, don't let your ego get the best of you. Go back!!! So I did. Again and again and again. Day after day, year after year.

I loved it. I loved my team. I loved the sport. I was hooked.

Too Much Sugar Isn't so Sweet for Your Health

By Suzanne

Sugar has a bittersweet reputation when it comes to health. Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy. Consuming whole foods that naturally contain sugar is okay. Plant foods also have high amounts of fiber, essential minerals, antioxidants and dairy foods contain calcium and protein. Since our bodies digest these types of foods slowly, the sugar in them offers a steady supply of of energy to our cells.

A high intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Problems do occur when we consume too much added sugar. Added sugars are foods that manufacturers add to products to increase flavor or extend shelf life.

About half of added sugar comes from beverages, including coffee and tea. A study from 2017 found that about two-thirds of coffee drinkers and one-third of tea drinkers put sugar or sugary flavorings in their drinks.

You might guess that snacks and sweets are the next biggest contributor of added sugar at 31%.

As modern shoppers, we try to be engaged and knowledgeable about nutrition. There is a lot of confusing information to wade through. Reading food labels is one of the best ways to monitor your intake of added sugar.

Look for the following names for added sugar and try to either avoid, or cut back on the amount or frequency of the foods where they are found:

• brown sugar
• corn sweetener
• corn syrup
• fruit juice concentrates
• high fructose corn syrup
• honey
• malt sugar
• molasses
• syrup sugar molecules ending in "ose" (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).

Some of the above choices like honey, maple syrup and turbinado sugar are perceived as healthier choices. Don't be fooled! your body sure isn't! Too much sugar is too much, no matter the source.

Experts agree that some added sugar in the diet is fine. The issue remains that Americans are consuming too much sugar. On an average, Americans consume nearly 57 pounds of added sugar per person, every year.

The American Heart Association recommends no more that 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women. It is easy to exceed those limits. A 12 ounce can of soda has 11 teaspoons of sugar and a leading brand of yogurt contains 7 teaspoons of sugar. So as you can see it can be difficult to stay within the recommendations. The sugar in one 12 ounce soda is as much as 1 orange plus 16 strawberries plus 2 plums.

Research shows that for some of us, eating sugar produces characteristics of craving and withdrawal along with chemical changes in the brain's reward center. Using brain scanning technology, scientists at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse were among the first to show that sugar causes changes in peoples' brains similar to those in people addicted to drugs such as cocaine and alcohol. WOW!

In a study published in 2014 physicians warned about being overzealous in your attempts to cut back on added sugar, as this can backfire. The reason, you may find yourself reaching for other foods to satisfy your sweet cravings, like refined starches, such as white bread and white rice, which can increase glucose levels, and comfort foods such as foods high in saturated fat and sodium, which can negatively effect heart health.

So, read those food labels when shopping, don't overdue it on your flavored or sugar added coffee and tea and try to cutback on holiday cookies and candies. Try to get most of your daily sugar intake from natural foods. 🎄

Workout of the Week

by Coach Oden

https://youtu.be/JZ8Rcf7_8IU

Strength for Every Part of the Stroke

by Coach Pat

Dragon Boating requires us to move the paddle forcefully over and over during a race. In a 500meter race we may take 150 - 180 strokes.   We strength train for greater and quicker force and the muscle endurance to go the distance.   We also train areas that are injury prone, like the shoulders and lower back.  I have heard many a coach and caller say, use your big mucles which brings vision of legs and glutes. This is a good instruction to the novice paddler but as we progress and mature in our sport,  we also need abdominals, back, shoulders and arms.    

Lets take a look at some of the stroke and the requirements of the upper body.  

In the Setup Phase of the stroke the shoulders extend which requires your lats, rear deltoids and triceps.  

Continuing to the entry the hinge requires strong hip flexors and abdominal stability.   While the muscles engaged in the Setup continue to work. 

In the propulsion phase there is  a lot going on.  Pelvis rotation initiates using obliques and adductors.  Torso rotation also relies on the obliques.  The pressure between your hands is using the front deltoids, pecs and biceps.  The upper torso posture is maintained by the trapezious and rhomboids.  The hinge reverse calls upon the glutes and hamstrings and a secret - the outside quad.  All the time the lowback is stabilizing your spine.  Coming through, the bottom shoulder uses the lats, rear deltoids and triceps.  Elbow flexion starts using the biceps.  

Are you in awe of your body yet?  This is why we strength train.   Next week we will complete the stroke.  In the mean time keep working these muscles.  Your strength is the marker for your speed.  

 

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