Hi Joshua, >From my point of view, you are still a young sprout. I took up kayaking in my 50's and am just turning 60. I too, am still working on my forward stroke. I can't break the 5 mile barrier over a ten mile course. But here are some of the things that still need improvement and some things that are helping. Make sure you are flexible enough in your waist to NOT have the boat rock from side to side as you paddle. The side to side motion increases drag. Be Sure you are getting your paddle out of the water before it gets to your waist, or at least have it in a drift mode if it needs to go backward to release. For more speed, keep your paddle more upright so you don't have the side to side swing which increases drag. Check your paddle. Do you have a light one? I use the Eddyline mid Swift which is light but there are even lighter paddles. This paddle has an excellent natural catch but it holds and doesn't give the quick release you need for speed. Now I want the modified wing shaped paddle which will not have as good a natural catch but will release faster. Are you paddling with straight arms? (just keep enough flex to not stress your elbows) Do you have your hands far enough apart? You should be hold your arms out to your sides and then bend your elbows so your forearms are at a right angle - hands up, upper arms parallel to the floor. Have someone put your paddle in your hands - this is the hold spots. Many people paddle with hands too close and lose power and stress the arms and rotator cuffs. Is your paddle the correct length? Try one 10 cm shorter and see if you can up your stroke rate. I had to do this. Are you pushing on your foot pegs and thinking of pushing the boat forward with your legs past the paddle? I only do this when I want to be really fast as I usually am paddling under 4mph with a group. I took some private lessons on racing and have a friend who is an ex slalom racer. Points I have gotten from them. Push with top hand until it almost is on the Opposite side of the boat. This goes with the torso twist. Hopefully you never have to use a skeg or rudder and are already paddling a long skinny glass boat. However, I just got a Mayan Seas Performa which I got because it fit me - my Eddyline Raven was too big for me to do advanced moves in - and which is a wonderful boat for playing in the surf. However it is also fast for it's length - about 16'. I paddled with some guys in Veracruz, Mexico (in a Performa) and one of their first questions to me was, "Do you race?" Then this weekend, I was paddling into a heavy wind with 2 (younger) guys in Azules - boats a foot longer. I could easily keep up and could easily accelerate ahead of them and both of them are good paddlers and one is working on British 4 and ACA advanced instructor Now for you: Any exercises that work the arms, back and rotator cuffs are good. Also I am walking with ski poles with rubber tips. It increases my walking workout by about 25% and is strengthening my arms and back. I also work on building more "quick twitch" muscle fibers by moving in bursts as fast as I can for as long as I can sustain it. Also work on your flexibility - the more you can twist, the better. I have tight muscles in my hips so I am working to stretch these. . I personally feel that I still need to improve my paddle, my strength, and the amount of quick twitch muscles to improve more on my stroke. Also, for years, I was a canoeist and paddled only on the right. I thought I had a beautiful kayak stroke and was faster than most people I paddled with . But when I took private lessons, I discovered I only had a good stroke and twist on the right. So have someone evaluate you for boat movement and your body movement. I'm sure there are a lot more factors but these have all helped me. Marilyn Kircus Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 10:06:45 +0200 From: Joshua Teitelbaum <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il> Subject: [Paddlewise] Still trying to increase speed! Dear Paddlewise: Last year I wrote about this as well. Since then I think I have done all I can to work on my forward stroke (I lean forward, I have good torso rotation, I concentrate on the catch, etc.), but I'm still slower than nearly all my paddling buddies, who are mostly younger and in great shape. I paddle twice a week, year round, for about 2 1/2 hours. I'm 44 years old. My buddies tell me what I need to do is increase my strength and muscle tone, and they are probably right. Are any of you fitness types who can suggest some exercises? I have a pair of dumbbells at home (3 kilos each). Something I could do while watching the news would be great. I am not the gym-going type, and was never big on exercise. In fact, paddling is the only kind of exercise I have ever persisted in. Thanks for any help. Josh Ra`anana, Israel (who still manages to paddle while the bullets are flying about 15 kilometers away. As long as they don't pierce my new Mega Cyclone surf kayak!) ============================================================================ == Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Senior Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 African Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel E-mail:teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il www.dayan.org ============================================================================ == *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. 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