Re: [Paddlewise] Greenland Style Paddles

> In the case of a Greenland paddle, when I used one __very briefly__ I
could
> not get as much instantaneous muscle demand as I could with my wimpy
> small-blade-face 220 cm Euro paddle, especially on entry, which attracts
me
> because it will help me with my tendonitis problems.  Could be when I use
one
> for more than a short period, and develop my technique, I'll find myself
> using "strength" in different muscle groups ... which I must, in order to
> maintain the sorts of cruising speeds I achieve with my Euro paddle.  This
is
> a consequence of conservation of energy, I expect, inasmuch as I will have
to
> work about as hard whichever paddle I use -- but the muscle groups used
might
> be different, and I might be able to even out the force throughout the
> stroke, instead of having peaks and valleys in the force applied.

I've been using a GP for just a season, but have decided to stay on it - for
the nearest future at least.  Even though my hands and elbows are always wet
now - didn't notcie that with a Euro paddle. Wrist problems are less likely
with a GP, and torso muscles are used more (while hand muscles - less),
compared to Euro.  I know, hands are not supposed to be the main propulsion
tool in Euro, but GP is easier on hands.  To maintain high cruising speeds
with GP, stroke cadence is increased - anything else just won't work.  It
feels (with my poor technique, of course) that GP will still cause you to
conserve energy, compared to Euro (even at higher speeds, i.e. higher GP
strokes cadence), but will provide lower acceleration than Euro in most of
the paddling speeds range.
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