Technique Clinics Session – 1 of 6: Balance

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Technique Clinics Session – 1 of 6: Balance

admin | Sep 09, 2011 | Comments 0

Technique Session { Balance }

This set of six technique drill sessions has been designed to support you along your journey to improve your paddling.

Starting with the Balmoral Blast in Sydney, Australia, we will be running these clinics on a regular basis, on a rolling six week window. As the programme is developed and grows, we will be rolling it out across as many of the Blast paddle groups around the world as we can.

Our aim is to have an ongoing rolling six week programme of paddle technique clinics and drill sessions designed so that if you miss one of them you can still jump into the very next session, knowing that the same session will be available five weeks down the track.

Each of the six sessions builds on their predecessor, although each session has also been designed so you can do any one or more of them as stand alone sessions and still gain the full benefit of each relevant session.

We’re running these clinic’s as free sessions for paddlers who regularly participate in Blast time trials, fitness squads or races. You are of course welcome at any time to bring a friend or a paddler you know who might light to join us for any of these clinic sessions, but if they aren’t participating in any Blast events regularly they will be asked to make a $25 donation to their local Blast per session.

This session, the first of six runs for 30 minutes, and includes:

05 mins preparing off the water covering the key points
20 mins on the water where we put everything into practice
05 mins off the water wrapping up and reviewing what we covered

Introduction

During this technique clinic we’re going to work on the following areas:

Core strength
Sitting position
Focal Points ( visual and mental )
Fatigue ( physical and mental )
Hurry up and slow down
Relax and just breathe

OK, let’s get into it

What are some of the key things that can effect your balance when you’re paddling?

1. Core strength

If you are having issues with feeling stable and keeping your balance when you are paddling, it could be that your core muscle groups are not supporting you ( abs, obliques etc ). This is probably one of the most common issues we all face.

To address this you can add some basic core strengthening elements to your regular daily and weekly workouts / training sessions such as:

Crunches ( full range of central and side combinations )
Planks ( front and sides, elbows and hands )
Superman
Sitting twists ( coin pick up and put down / ball roll )
Bicycle pedaling and leg raises

Our core “tummy” muscle groups are the big muscle groups that power us through the day, basic things like walking for example are driven from the core muscles in our abdominal region. Every one of us can easily walk for hours and hours without too much issue. These very same muscle groups support us when we paddle if we engage them correctly.

+ Try some of the moves in my core strength workout sheets

I’ve prepared a handout for you to use when you put your own workouts together at home. If you haven’t already received your copy check with your coach and I’ll get a copy to you as soon as possible.

2. Sitting position

Your sitting position when you’re on your ski can dramatically effect a number of key areas of your paddling technique, from basic balance which is what we’re going to be focusing on today, through to causing you injury ( lower back pain, sore shoulders etc ).

What is the correct sitting position? It’s actually surprisingly very simple, as are most elements of good paddling technique. I once has a paddle coach say that paddling was a simple sport made complex by people.

One of the best ways I’ve found to find the best sitting position is to simply sit on the ground before you jump on the water on your ski, and put your legs in the same position they are when you’re in the ski, with the same sort of “bend” in your knees as there would be when your bum is in the seat and your feet are on the foot pedals.

Once you’re sitting on the ground with your feet at their usual position they are when you’re sitting in your ski, simply rock your torso back and forward a few times, and what you’ll quickly find is there is a natural “comfort zone” where your body will naturally rest into a sitting position.

You will have to review just what that natural comfort zone is, because we don’t all have perfect sitting posture, so if you have bad posture when you sit, then you’re going to find you are sitting the wrong way in your ski. Slouching forward or leaning too far back are both wrong and will cause you a whole bunch of issues over time.

The best position I find is one you’d probably tell a five year old kid to assume if they were at the kitchen table eating dinner, upright and sitting squarely facing forward, it’s that simple. If you’re sitting up straight, your skeletal structure and the relevant bio-mechanics will be able to move naturally.

And if your body can move naturally and not feel like it’s fighting itself, you will find you have much better balance and you can just sit in your ski more comfortably. So make time to just sit on the ground, grass or sand at the beach, and find where you feel the most comfortable when you’re just “sitting” and you’ll usually find that this is the best sitting position for you when you’re in your ski as well.

3. Focal points ( visual and mental )

If you are focusing on your feet or the front of your craft, your focal length effects your balance, the shorter your focal length, the more “tippy” you will feet.

+ Look up at the horizon

To address this, simply look up – ideally look at the horizon, or some high point, if you’re paddling around the harbour, then look at the tree line at the top of the hills, the link where the tops of the hills meet the sky.

Your eyes will accommodate for all the visibility you need with your peripheral vision, you can see a lot out of the side of your regular line of sight and you just need to practice using your peripheral vision – it will come to you quickly.

+ Try my peaked cap trick

If you find it hard to keep your head up and your eyes on the horizon when you’re paddling, try a simple trick I’ve used to help many paddlers lengthen their focal point, just wear a regular peaked cap, and pull the peak right down so it’s lower than you would normally wear a peaked cap. This will force you to lift your head up to see ahead of you.

Not only will this cause you to practice paddling with your head up, it will also help you correct your sitting position as you can’t slump into a fetal curl when your head is held up high and looking straight out at the horizon.

+ Where’s your head at

Another cause of balance issues is not having your mind on the game. It’s very easy to find yourself paddling along and loose track of what you’re doing and before you know it you’re feeling wobbly and may even end up in the water.

This is a no brainer ( pardon the pun ) but it is easy to find yourself loosing mental focus, something might distract you, and your mental focus gets pulled away from your paddling and things quickly fall apart and you get wobbly.

So it might sound obvious, but when you’re paddling, keep your mental focus on the game, especially while you’re learning to paddle or if you’re still getting comfortable in your ski or if you’re upgraded to a new ski. Keep your head in the game and your balance will follow.

4. Fatigue

Another big cause of balance issues when we’re paddling is fatigue. If you have been paddling for a while and have been putting in some big efforts, and your body is starting to feel tired, your balance can be effected.

You may find that as you get near the end of a paddle, be it a race, a time trial or even just a social paddle or a training session, that your balance starts to go and you get frustrated that for some reason you feel like you’re all over the place.

This is related to point #1 as your body is tired, and your core muscle group is struggling to support you, and your mind is probably wandering a bit, so concentration starts to laps, and before you know it you are wobbling all over the place, and you may even start to fall out of your ski.

There are a number of factors that cause fatigue and most of them are pretty straight forward. They usually include the obvious factors such as hydration, energy levels or plain and simple running out of power.

+ Physical fatigue

Physical fatigue is easy to combat – when you are training, make it a habit to get to know your body and your fitness levels so you know when you are going to start to feel physically and mentally fatigued.

If you get to know when you are about to run out of steam, and you can be aware of it and work with it you’ll be able to manage it rather than be surprised when it happens, and it happens to all of us.

If you know you’re going to start to get tired 30 to 40 mins into a one hour time trial, then be mindful of it and back off the effort for a while, rest your body by reducing the effort and focusing on technique for a few mins, and then put the effort back in when you feel you can.

+ Mental fatigue

We covered this in part in Focal points. Mental fatigue is just as important to feeling stable on the water, if you are starting to feel mentally tired and start to loose concentration you will find you’re no longer connected to your ski, and in some case physically ( because you’ll fall out ).

This is easy to combat, again when you’re training or if you’re on a long paddle, keep taking check of how you feel, and if you thing you’re starting to drift off and loose concentration, break your routine up, do something different for a few mins, throw in a burst of effort, count your strokes for a few mins, you’ll find easy ways to bring your focus back.

I can tell when I’m starting to loose mental focus, as my spin rate starts to drop off, I find my water speed is backing off and I might have a couple of “oh crap, that was close” moments where a wave catches me out.

One of my favorites is to simply start counting out double taps, the old “one.. two.. three..” counting when the left end of my paddle goes into the water. This helps me keep my spin rate up if I hit the wall in a race as well. You’ll develop your own fun wake up tricks quickly.

+ Hydration

Hydration is a huge factor in muscle and mental fatigue, if you are not hydrating property prior to, during and after a paddle, you will have a much higher risk of becoming fatigued. A basic water bottle, or ideally a water bladder and feeding tube with a mouthful of water every five minutes is the simplest way to stay hydrated.

If you can it helps to include a hydration assisting supplement in your bottle or bladder. I’ve had great success with produces like Agent Orange from Australian Sports Nutrition ( ASN ) for example will dramatically decrease the onset of hydration related issues when you’re paddling. It’s easy to mix with water and tastes great.

+ Keep the fuel tank full

Energy levels can also be managed by ensuring you are putting fuel back into your body at the same rate you’re burning it up, and again you can gain huge benefits from the smart use of supplements such as protein shakes and energy gels such as the GU and SIS brands.

One of the better products I’ve have huge success with for paddle sport in general is ASN’s Anabolic Injection ( comes in two great flavors ). Mixed with water or milk ( milk slows down the absorption rate ). I use it with milk myself, but most use it with water.

When taken prior to and after a paddle a protein mix like Anabolic Injection will help top up the fuel you’re burning off when you paddle, and will help get rid of that feeling of lethargy after a big paddle. I find a 400 ml water mix 20 mins before I paddle, and another 400 ml milk mix within 15 mins of getting off the water works best for me.

5. Hurry up and slow down

So many paddlers get into the water and start paddling flat out and don’t take time to just sit in their surf ski. It’s a lot easier to feel stable in your craft when you’re paddling, due to the simple fact that when your paddle is in the water it’s acting like an outrigger.

It’s always so tempting to jump into our surf ski’s and start padding flat out, but that takes a lot less skill and practice than paddling slow and more importantly, sitting still in the water. So make a note of adding some slow paddling to your sessions, as well as floating “dead in the water”.

Too few of us get into our surf ski and practice just sitting in the water without moving forward. A very basic skill to develop and work on every time you get on the water is balancing while just sitting in your ski while you’re “dead in the water”.

This is a skill that becomes very important for a range of reasons, you should be able to comfortably just “sit” in your ski when you’re getting in the water or off the water. Being able to stop in the middle of the harbour or ocean and “have a chat” for example if you see a friend when you’re paddling is a lot easier if you don’t have to keep dipping your paddle in the water to stay upright.

You will one day also find you fall in and end up getting back into your ski and discover you’ve managed to let go of your paddle, and if you can’t sit in your ski without your paddle then you’re going to quickly be in a heap of trouble.

+ Sitting on your ski and just “floating”

This is really simple to work on, all you have to do is make a point of taking a minute or two every time you get in the water to just get into your ski, put your paddle across your lap, and sit still on the water, just float or drift, and focus on the feel of your ski when you’re not paddling.

You can do a number of things to build up to sitting still in the water if you are not initially 100% comfortable with sitting in your ski without paddling, you can build up to it very quickly with a couple of simple drills.

Here is a video I’ve put together with some of my basic Balance drills that you can do any time you’re on the water:

- Legs over the side

You should all know this one, it’s something we all learn when we start paddling a surf ski. You simply hang your legs over the side of your surf ski and instantly you have a lot more balance and stability than you do when your feet are inside the footwell or in your foot straps.

But it’s pretty hard to paddle far like this so although you can start out with your feet over the side of your ski to get comfortable just sitting in the water, you should try to quickly progress from both feet over the side to just one foot in the water, and then both feet back into the ski. But don’t rush it, do a bit at a time till you feel comfortable.

There’s no shame in stopping in the middle of the harbour or out on the ocean and chucking your feet over the side, even the best paddlers do it – you’re better off in the ski feeling comfortable rather than pretending to be comfortable and falling in.

- Hands in the water

Another simple way to feel more stable when you’re sitting still in the water on your ski is to simply lay your paddle in your lap and dip your hands in the water – run your hands up and down along the side of your ski.

This is the same basic principal as having your paddle in the water, and having your arms lower when your hands are in the water lowers your center of gravity which again makes it easier to balance.

It’s also just a nice feeling dangling your hands in the water, it’s one of my favorites in fact, to paddle along and then just relax, dangle my hands in the water and drift and take the world in, and let’s face it, that’s why we paddle in the first place isn’t it, to enjoy it.

6. Relax and just breathe

Again it may sound like a silly thing to do, but being able to just relax when you’re sitting in your ski is a very important part of paddling. If you let yourself tense up, and your muscles are all tight, then you will find your center of gravity feels higher, and you’ll feel more tippy.

Just relax into your ski

If you find yourself paddling along and a wave or boat wash starts to bump you around, just relax into the seat, move with your ski, and feel the boat move on the water and you’ll find if you relax and move with it, your balance will improve dramatically.

Take a deep breath and blow it out

Another thing we often forget to do when we’re a bit stressed and feeling uncomfortable is we stop breathing. Holding your breath is a natural response to getting out of your comfort zone, we all do it, and before you know it you’ll feel tense and tight and your balance will go.

So one of my regular drills when I’m feeling wearly, tired, or just find I’m bumping around a bit on a boat wash or some rough water out on the ocean, is to just take a couple of big breaths and blow them out.

It’s a pretty simple quick fix, just do the big “ah” sigh that actors do to reduce tension, take a big breath and blow it out hard with a “swooosh”. Before you know it you’ll have relaxed, your balance will be back and you’re powering along on the water feeling much more comfortable.

That’s it for this session

There are of course so many more areas to work on over time to improve your balance and your comfort sitting in your ski, but this session has been designed to focus on the initial set of drills to get you started on your journey to being more comfortable and more capable in your ski.

One golden rule to keep in mind with anything as mentally, physically and emotionally challenging as sitting on a surf ski is this stuff takes time. Nobody gets it right instantly, even if you may be a freak of nature and have amazing balance, or if you’re in top shape fitness wise, or are some sort of zen master or yoga guru – nobody gets on a surf ski and nails it immediately.

It won’t happen over night, but it will happen

A hard case line I like to quote from a TV advert the Kiwi model / actress Rachel Hunter became famous for years ago is the old “It won’t happen over night, but it will happen” – it’s not quote a mantra of mine yet but it probably should be.

You will have to work at all this stuff over time, it can take weeks, months or even years before it all comes together. So don’t be too hard on yourself, and pace yourself – you need to give yourself time to improve.

Any time you find yourself feeling frustrated, if you ever just get the “heebie jeebies” and think “oh crap, I’m never going to get this right”, give yourself a break, go easy on yourself, and just chip away at it over time.

The top paddlers in the world didn’t just jump out of bed one day, launch themselves on a surf ski and “get it” and start competing at the top levels. They have all invested life times in training and working on the basics, technique, fitness, balance etc, and frankly most of them do it full time, so hacks like us need to keep reminding ourselves that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Here’s a video I put together with a collection of drills I use, many of these will help you improve not just your balance, but also a number of other elements in your paddle stroke and technique