Training Tips | |
10-November-2005 The 5 Golden Rules from Gavin The 5 Golden Rules For Successful 200 Metre Racing 1. Train hard - Race easy. My old coach Trevor Wetheral always used to say this to me. Do the work in the training and the racing will take care of itself. Before the Nationals especially, I already knew I was capable of a win because my time trial results at Richmond on the runway told me so. 2. Structure your regatta weekend and race build up sensibly - for example if you have a particular ritual in place in training don't change it on the day of the race. Competiions are not the forum to change any aspect of a routine. 3. Eat well, sleep well, play a little and train bloody hard - If you are going to be a winner you are going to need to look after yourself and at the same time train hard + smart !! 4. Be comfortable with all of your race equipment - Rather like the bit on routine above, always try to avoid changing equipment (paddle, seat, clothing) if at all possible at an actual regatta. You need to be able to sit on the start line and have the confidence that: 'the paddles are good, the boat is running well, my feet won't slip etc. Don't bring unknowns into the equation like wearing a new pair of shorts on the day of the race only to find your bum is sliding around the place before the start - you may laugh but I have done it and it only adds to the pre-race nerves. 5. Relish your victories and learn from your defeats but above all love the whole experience ! - The majority of us do not get paid to race and even those who do can hardly retire once they hang their paddles up. Enjoy it and take everything from the overal experience. You are doing it because you want to - the pain, the glory, the disapointment and the elation. Rather like the ingredients in a recipe, mix them together and they make one hell of a dish !! Now get out there and 'bust a gut' boys and girls ! :) Ciao, Gav 'Paddling Through the Line' Philosophy. It is very important in any race to keep paddling to the finish line. Apart from anything else it is the only way to complete or win a race but at what speed you cross the line is also very important as well. In an event like the 200 any ease off before the line can be the difference between first and last. We are not talking about consciously slowing down before the finish but basically you need to be concentrating on flying through the line on a 200 and easing off 5 metres after the line. This is not a complicated thing to do, simply go into your 200 metre
races determined that however much the lactic acid is stacking up you
will still be going at warp speed when you cross the line. Not Looking Sideways However temping it might be in a 200 metre race to look sideways at the people/person in the lane next to you during the race, this is not a wise thing to do. 200 metre sprinting demands tunnel vision and this means not allowing yourself to be distracted by any movement or colour to either side of you. All you need to be aware of is the runway in front of you and that elusive yellow line of buoys!!!!! All looking sideways will do is slow you down and tap in on your concentration, this action will always slow you down. Only look across once the finiish line is crossed.
Gavin Turrell - British 200 Metre Champion 2002, 2003 & 2004 2-August-2005 More Top Tips from Gavin 'Paddling Through the Line' Philosophy. It is very important in any race to keep paddling to the finish line. Apart from anything else it is the only way to complete or win a race but at what speed you cross the line is also very important as well. In an event like the 200 any ease off before the line can be the difference between first and last. We are not talking about consciously slowing down before the finish but basically you need to be concentrating on flying through the line on a 200 and easing off 5 metres after the line. This is not a complicated thing to do, simply go into your 200 metre
races determined that however much the lactic acid is stacking up you
will still be going at warp speed when you cross the line. Not Looking Sideways However temping it might be in a 200 metre race to look sideways at the people/person in the lane next to you during the race, this is not a wise thing to do. 200 metre sprinting demands tunnel vision and this means not allowing yourself to be distracted by any movement or colour to either side of you. All you need to be aware of is the runway in front of you and that elusive yellow line of buoys!!!!! All looking sideways will do is slow you down and tap in on your concentration, this action will always slow you down. Only look across once the finiish line is crossed.
Gavin Turrell - British 200 Metre Champion 2002, 2003 & 2004
6-January-2005 Gavs current training plan Goal – Sub 39 & Final in K1 200 Metre. Schedule from Monday 20/12/04 – 01/03/05 – 10 week programme Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Do the graft (that’s easy) and get the result !! 5-January-2005 Johns Favourite sessions The session is as follows: 100m effort from standing start. (alternate between head/tailwind) x 10. Recovery = full Warm up: paddle 1-2 KM at a moderate intensity with a few explosive bursts and increase in stroke rate. it important to make sure the muscles are warm, or else you will most likely cause yourself an injury. The Efforts: These must be executed at about 120% (faster than your 200 pace) Aim to be dying within 70 metres to ensure maximal muscle failure. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU PADDLE BETWEEN EFFORTS
Warm down: A nice gentle 1-2 km paddle at a low stroke rate (40-60) will ensure most of the Lactic acid is broken down. Aim to do this session once a week, I like to add 2 bungees to my boat for the first 5, just to help build power generated on the blade, when the bungees are removed..Prepare to fly. Till next time John To all the elite paddlers of this world I am preaching to the converted
but for those less experienced and who don't already practice it, a good
warm down after your 200 metre race is absolutely essential. 24-September-2004 Gavs Latest 200 Tip. - The Wake Up Call.[Gavin Turrell - Great Britain] For the 200 especially it pays to be really alert before a race. Sometimes when you have been sitting in a car waiting for the time to pass and then get up to prepare you feel a bit sluggish. In order to immediately feel alert, sharp and ready to go try the following. Stand up straight on any surface (keeping your legs and feet together) and start to jump up and down. Jumps should be as high as possible but it is important to keep your legs straight and to bounce on the balls of your feet. Imagine the way a boxer does speed work with a skipping rope. Your stance should be similiar. 30 repetitions followed by a short rest and then a further 30 repetitions will suffice. What the above does is give your nervous system a jolt and gets all your systems firing. Tom Egan (Irish Sprint Team Manager) showed me this technique at the Paris World Cup in 2001. I have incorporated this routine into into my preparation plan ever since then. In addition it is equally effective just before you get on the water. Give it a try in training before hand and notice the difference.
27-August-2004 Gavs Latest 200 Tip. - Visualisation Techniques.[Gavin Turrell - Great Britain] One of the visualisation type techniques I used whilst racing the 200's was as follows. It worked for me time after time and certainly helped me piece together a good race. When I had got to the regatta course and settled in, I would plug in my walkman and stroll up to the 200 metre starting point and then sit down by the starting tower looking down the course. I would then visualise myself through the different stages of the race, the start, middle and the gut wrenching finish. As I imagined these different components of the race, I would actually be able to see the specific stretches of water involved. By doing this you are also facing what can be a daunting race. You are living and breathing the race before it has started. By the time I got onto the start line, I had no worries or anxieties. I had already raced the race several times in my mind. I am a strong believer that you need to believe you can win in order to do so. You have to want, need and desire it and when you get onto the line nothing else must matter. Your mind needs to be totally clear of all other thoughts except that narrow stretch of runway in front of you! There are lots of visualisation techniques around but this is just one little gem I wanted to share with you. Sitting on the start line and measuring up the race was something I first saw Gerard Shappard (Belgiums No 1 200 paddler) doing at Seneffe in 2001. I thought it looked like a good part of a race preparation programme, so decided to incorporate it into my own pre-race plan. Give it a try at the interlubs. I shall shortly be doing a detailed piece on my wieght training programme and general philosophy towards strengh training over the years. 17-June-2004 Tapering for your 200 Metre Race [Gavin
Turrell - Great Britain] It is important to come into any regatta 'fresh' and when focusing on the 200 metre event it is of paramount importance that you are very explosive on the day! To achieve this requires some form of taper in the final days before the competition. A 'taper' in sport basically means a period of reduction in workload leading up to a competition that still allows an athlete to stay sharp but at the same time the body is given the chance to recover because the daily 'workload' is less. My own preparation for each regatta involves cutting my workload to 50% of the norm from the Sunday before the regatta, through to the Friday (the day before the regatta). I sill do my 8 sessions (which is what I would normally do in a 6 day period) however the workload significantly reduces. By following this regime although you will still do the same number of sessions; since each session is cut in half, you should come off the water actually wanting to do more. This is a good feeling to have. You need to be 'chomping at the bit' on the start line, not lagged because you have put in a hard week of work immediately before the regatta. Speak to your coach before altering your training however if you follow the above basic principles you should feel fresher, sharper and more powerful when you race and thus should achieve better results.
I only weigh 72kg, but i find this as an advantage to me in the 200m event due to it being easy to build up my power to weight ratio, there for allowing me to be able to have a really fast start, which i believe is psychologically one of the most important factors in the 200m... Bearing in mind Iam ALOT lighter than all of you, you will have to increase the weight, but don't make it too heavy that your repetitions cant be high. In this session I do: Bench Press: 40Kg The session is quiet complicated, but ill try explain it to you... You work off three set times of 20minutes (an 1h15 in total) between each 20minute set there is 5minutes rest... Each 20minute set is broken down into 30 second intervals... You will start on the bench, doing repetitions as fast as you can for 30seconds, then rest for 30second, and on again for 30seconds, rest for 30second, and on again for 30second, you then use the next 30seconds rest to move to the next machine ie: Bench Pull and so on... You continue this circuit for the full 20minutes, take 5minutes rest and start again where you left off, another 20minute cycle... Trust me this session works!!!!! This session also helps increase the "fast twitch fibers" in your muscles, due to the explosive an fast repetitions. At senior nationals i went up against guys much older, heavier and far stronger than me, however i was able to blast out ahead of them, and maintain that speed due to my low lactic acid levels... Hope you guys find my concept interesting...
Session Content: 4 x 200 Time Trials/Full Recovery How do I do the session ? A good warm up will be required ( 1 - 2 kilometres with 4 high speed bursts) before the actual session commences. You must already have a strip of water picked out and know approximately where the start and end point of your 200 metre distance are. If there are no natural markers, ie a tree, boat or mark on a wall then a couple of flags can be used. Have your watch on an 8 minute repeat countdown setting and ensure you are on the line for the first one with a minute to go. Sit there in position and imagine you are at the start of the race, focus down the course to the finish and channel all your emotions into the effort ahead. Total focus is of paramount importance. One mistake and you are just another statistic. When the watch states five seconds to go get into the start position. On the beep hit the water with everything you have got. Explosive starts are essential for winning performances. Treat the time trial like a race and only check your watch once your nose has crossed the line. From the finish of each time trail you will have a good 7 minutes to flush out, paddle along lightly to allow sufficient recovery and focus on the next effort. Repeat the above format for all four time trails and once the session is over, warm down for 1 - 2 kilometres. Why is the session good for 200 metre racing ? This session gets you in 'race mode'. In my opinion nothing is better that trialing over the race distance. Producing good, fast time trails in training does not mean you will definately repeat the performance at Nottingham, but at least when you get on the line you will have the confidence of knowing that that you are flying in training. Focus and confidence on the start line of a 200 goes a long way towards producing a good performance.
I would recommend doing this session once a week, especially in the summer
season. In the week of the regatta, a single time trail should be done
on the Tuesday/Wednesday - no later, you don't want to produce your best Top Tips for the Session 1. Always trial over the same stretch of water. This will allow for a
consistent comparision of time from one week to the next. 3. Use a watch with a countdown facility. 4. If you can get someone else to sit at the end of the course in their boat/on the bank and take your time then this can be good for really accurate timing. 5. Each trial should be approached and executed as if is the most important
race of your life - 'train hard - race easy'. Post Session - Complete training with a 1 km technique
paddle.
24-October-2003 - Winter Training Plan [Gavin Turrell - Great Britain] IMPORTANT - HAVE YOU READ THE DISCLAIMER? - [click here] 08-August-2003 - Start Training [Vitas - South Africa] 8-10 x 15-20" @ 95% with full recovery makes everybody a little bit younger! 07-August-2003 - K1 - Lactic Tolerance 10 seconds on/10 off x 6 X 4 sets (6 minutes recovery between each set). Purpose of Session To build lactic tolerance, which is extremely important as the boat starts to slow in the final 20- 25 metres. By training your body to paddle hard with lactic in the muscles, you will find you are able to cope at the end of the race better. You will not lose so much speed and in a close race situation, hang onto your position! How to run the session Always start with a good warm up, paddling for 1-2 km, with a few short bursts of 10-20 strokes thrown in, at around 80% intensity. Once ready, set your watch so it is running on a ten second countdown, This means you will have ten seconds of beeping and then ten seconds of silence, Race on the 'ons' or the 'offs' - whichever you prefer. Intensity of session This session must be attacked at 100%, so even though you are dying on the last couple of efforts in each set, you are still going as hard as possible. The rest between the sets is for light paddling focusing on technique and allowing muscular recovery before the next set. When to do this session I personally would recommend that this session is done 1if not twice a week, all year round. Don't do it regatta week though! We will talk about effective 200 metre regatta tapers later. End of Session At the end of this session you will be extremely fatigued. To aid recover on this and all sessions, paddle lightly again for 1-2 kms before, coming off the water. 09-July-2003 Standing Start efforts should form an important part of your training. At top level a 200 race is won or lost in the first 5 seconds. Practice a set of start (5 x 10 second efforts should be ample) 3 times a week. Stop your boat and sit in a stationary position for at least 30 seconds. Imagine you are in a pre-race situation. Use a countdown facility on your watch and when there are 5 seconds to go do not look at the watch any more, just get your paddle in the start position and as the watch beeps for 0, bang you are off. Hit the start with everything you have got. 09-July-2003 Often at the end of a 200 K1, the lactic hits hard and you begin to shake. At this point don't try to speed up or throw the boat around. Stay calm and focused and above keep the paddle movement smooth. This way although you may feel you are losing speed, you won't be. |