Michael wrote: - >In rowing, the legs are everything. The great >efficiency of the sliding seat is that at least >80% of the force applied to the oars comes from >the longest and strongest muscles in the body. SNIP >It is my legs that get sore, G'Day Michael, Thats my experience, sore legs and upper body no problem, in fact paddling fixes up my computer caused arthritis. The thing I don't understand is how flexing those leg muscles in a kayak generates the forward movement. I know it does help through listening to what everyone says and my own experience - I just don't understand why. In a rowing boat with a sliding seat I can see that flexing the legs extends and perhaps speeds up the stroke. But in a kayak that doesn't happen. I've tried to think it out and wondered if the leg action rotates the hips slightly but that doesn't seem to be a big enough movement to explain the improved effectiveness. I also wonder if leg movement somehow makes body movement more efficient but that is very hard to analyse, if it better transmits force to the boat that seems to contravene Newton's 3rd law. It clearly works, but why? I'll bet the answer is obvious and I've just not picked it:~) All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Sep 06 2004 - 14:20:27 PDT
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