On Tuesday, June 10, 2003, at 10:41 PM, WhiteRabbit wrote: > After a too short presentation the forward stroke by Brent Reitz at > Canoecopia I saw the light on body rotation. It has made quite a > difference > in the power of the stroke, and the chicken wing has certainly eased > strain > on the wrist. The DVD is on my father's day list. > > Question: When paddling at a more leisurely pace, is it more better to > lower > the cadence (pull slower) or reduce the stroke length (less body > rotation?)? I advocate doing a very different stroke when going at lower speeds than what you would use at high speeds. As I slow down, my hands and arms drop down and the paddle position becomes less vertical. I end up doing less torso rotation but keep the strokes fairly long, the cadence probably slows down as well. I think it makes sense that the biomechanics of applying full effort are probably different than what is most works "best" at low effort. Holding the paddle vertically takes effort. When you are paddling hard, this is worth while because compared to the effort required to move the boat, holding your arms up is small. And if you move your arms in a more-or-less circular motion the effort is relatively small. This effort makes less sense at more relaxed speeds. I also think it makes less sense to keep your whole torso moving a lot when the relative effort of paddling is smaller. A more relaxed paddling speed calls for a more relaxed paddling motion. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** 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. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jun 11 2003 - 11:00:39 PDT
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