Welcome to Winter Training

January 11, 2025By

Larry Cain, Paddle Monster Head Coach 449Views 0Likes

Hey everybody, this week, I want to dive deeper into a topic we touched on last week—improving your paddling technique during the off-season with land drills.

Understanding Off-Water Drills

When you’re frozen off the water or lack the gear for cold-weather paddling, it’s crucial to keep your skills sharp. This can be achieved through targeted drills that you can perform on land. These drills are designed to help you find and maintain key positions in your stroke, which you can easily transfer back to the water once the paddling season begins.

Why Focus on Technique Off-Water?

The off-season presents an excellent opportunity to build strength, endurance, and particularly, technique. While it might seem challenging to work on paddling form without water, land drills provide a practical solution. They allow you to focus intensely on specific aspects of your stroke without the usual distractions and variables that water introduces.

Things to consider adding to your practice

Video Analysis: Start by analyzing videos of your paddling from the previous season. Look for common errors, such as delaying the blade's entry into the water or inadequate forward body positioning.
Mirror Drills: Use a full-length mirror to mimic the positions of top paddlers. Focus on maintaining a forward lean from your ankles, not just your upper body, ensuring your hips are slightly ahead of your heels.
Positioning: Practice getting your blade into the water quickly and starting the pull immediately. This minimizes loss of stroke length and maintains an effective blade angle.

Learn from the Best

Collect videos from top paddlers and study their technique frame by frame. Notice how little their blade travels backward during the catch and how forward their body weight is positioned.

Regular Practice

Spend about 10 minutes, three times a week, practicing these positions. This consistency will significantly enhance your ability to execute these movements naturally once you're back on the water.

What's this leading to...

These land-based drills are not just a stopgap but a cornerstone of building superior technique. By the time spring rolls around, you’ll be ready to hit the water with improved skills and confidence.

Join Us at Paddle Monster For more detailed guides on land drills and extensive paddling techniques, join us at Paddle Monster. We’re here to support your journey to becoming the best paddler you can be.

Remember, every minute spent training off the water is an investment in your performance on the water. Happy training, and see you on the water!

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Latest Posts:

Coach Larry Cain, Land Drills, Off-Season Training, Paddle Monster, paddling improvement, paddling technique

Larry Cain, Paddle Monster Head Coach

Larry Cain began his career in 1974 at the Oakville Racing Canoe Club, now the Burloak Canoe Club, in Oakville, Ontario. Cain competed in three Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the C-1 500 m, and a silver medal in the C1 1000 m events. He also won a silver medal in the C-1 1000 m event at the 1989 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Plovdiv. In 1984, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1997, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. A trail in Oakville has been named in his honour running along the town's waterfront where Cain trained. He worked as a coach, preparing paddlers for the Olympic Games in Rio. In 2016 Cain co-founded Paddle Monster.