About Off-Season Training for Canoeing

Canoeing is one of the most effective and challenging workouts. The activity involves most of the muscle groups in the human body, especially the core muscles--so being out of shape is a big deal. This is why off-season training is so vitally important. Luckily, even on land, sans a canoe, one can maintain muscle strength and endurance for next season's canoe races.

History

Off-season training for canoeing only became necessary after canoeing first appeared as a sport. Of course, canoeing itself has been around for thousands of years, but real training for canoeing had its start in the nineteenth century as Europeans, who had borrowed the idea for the watercraft from the natives of the Americas, began racing canoes in organized competition. In 1924, the International Canoe Federation was born in Denmark, after which canoeing as a sport spread quickly across the world--and with it, a variety of off-season training techniques.

Function

The function and purpose of off-season training for canoeing is to keep the body in shape for the races of next season, with a focus on the muscle groups associated with canoeing. These muscles include the biceps, rhomboids, lats and forearms, as well as the abdominals and obliques. Off-season training also serves to strengthen the "pushing muscles"--the triceps and pectorals, the forearm extensors, and, vitally, the lower back muscles.

Types

There are two major types of off-season training for canoeing. The first is muscle-centered, with a focus on strengthening the vital muscles and muscle groups associated with the act of rowing or paddling. The second is aerobic, with a focus on endurance and breathing. Both types of off-season training are essential to adequately prepare for a full season of races.

Time Frame

The time frame associated with off-season training for canoeing is entirely dependent on the climate in one's area. The general rule, of course, is that the best way to train for canoeing is to canoe--so the moment the weather allows you to work out in a canoe on the water, you should do so. In some parts of the world, where long winters are the rule, the off-season might be long, in which case off-season training might be longer than the canoe season itself. In others, where the water is ideal for canoeing year-round, there exists almost no need at all to train on land--in which case off-season training for canoeing would entail, simply, canoeing.

Exercises

Off-season training for canoeing might include several exercises. Among them could be the dry-land paddle (mimicking the motions of paddling, with a paddle, while straddling a bench), various torso rotation exercises, straight arm standing lat pull-downs and dumbbell standing rows. Of course, off-season training typically also includes running, cycling or some other endurance focused exercise.