There are a lot of factors involved in going faster on a SUP. This is part 2 in the “How do I go faster” series of thoughts from me but first … the February Recap.
The start of the month was very cold with freezing water everywhere, I haven’t seen my training lake for weeks because it is still frozen solid! But training was going great and I posted a decent 10 km TT on Tuesday 21, using the Blackfish because conditions weren’t choppy with some wind and it was really cold but at the end, I was satisfied. Not a great time but also not a bad one for February.
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| Local lake before it froze completely |
And the stats update
January 2023 | February 2023 | March 2023 | |
KM Paddled | 208.69 km | 122.34 | |
Weight | 98.0 kg | 96.1 kg | 96.3 kg |
VO2 Max | 46 | 47 | 47 |
Resting HR | 54 BPM | 50 BPM | 50 BPM |
HRV | N/A | 48 | 48 |
Training Load | N/A | 851 | 161 |
5km PB | 38m 18s | N/A | |
10km PB | 1h 9m 47s | 1h 8m 44s |
Those stats tell part of a story, the short version is that the month was going really well until it wasn’t!
After the TT effort something went wrong and I was unable to paddle at all for a week despite the great (cold!) weather, I have just started to train again a week into March.
Not sure what happened but whatever it was it may have been exaggerated by the end of my 12-week Testosterone cycle, I had my injection on March 2nd. Resting HR before this happened had dropped to 45, which is super-low for me and maybe that was an indication something was wrong, it then rose sharply to 58 and is now on the way back down.
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| HR Data February |
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| Training Load February |
The reason I mention this is to highlight that sometimes things go wrong and we need to listen to our bodies, rest is very important. The programme I am on with Michael is difficult and hard to complete but it is worth it.
Going faster - board trim and where to train
After last month you’ve worked out why you want to go faster, you have identified a place you can test yourself regularly and you have your kit. What next?
There are lots of things that combine to go faster and in this blog, I am going to try to cover two that I think are very important; board trim and where to train.
Before you go for a paddle there is one simple, and free thing you can do first, check out Michael’s social media - Instagram, Facebook and YouTube - and watch the short videos he regularly publishes that contain simple things for you to think about and work on when you are on the water.
One of the things he has covered is your position on the board, how to get the trim right so you can go faster. His tips apply equally to a skinny race board and to a shorter all-round board, where you stand is important for maintaining speed.
Board Trim
When your board was designed the designer had to make some assumptions, one of those is that the board will be flat in the water when you are paddling when you want to go faster. And that is great in fluid dynamic modelling software until you add a paddler who is almost constantly moving and has a huge effect on the trim of the board.
When we paddle stroke upsets the balance of the board, as we lean forward our centre of balance shifts forward and then moves back through the power phase of the stroke until we start to recover the blade when our centre of balance is furthest from the nose. On each paddle stroke, we upset the balance of the board from front to back and from side to side
Front to back
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| Nicely trimmed board in Sweden |
Every paddler and board combo is unique, even if you are the same height and weight as your paddle buddy with the same paddles and fins and using exactly the same boards your positions will be very slightly different. This is because we all have different strengths and weaknesses, different paddle strokes and varying degrees of flexibility. So trimming your board is not simply a case of standing beside the handle and paddling.
One way to get trim dialled in is to get someone to video your session from both sides. If you have someone who can do that then do a warm-up first and paddle some distance to get into the shot so that you pass the camera at a constant speed, not sprinting to get up to speed and not so fast that you cannot maintain that pace for several passes. And then repeat several times. This is also a great way to sort out paddle technique but you’ll need a coach for that, not an enthusiastic amateur!
As a visual guide to board performance video is very useful but, no surprise, I think your GPS is better.
When I get a new board one of the first things I do is go paddle several 1km intervals at the same pace with a good rest in between on a day when the water is flat and the wind is low. After warming up my first interval is with my feet forward of where I think the right position is and then for each subsequent interval I move back slightly. On my Infinity Blackish the deck pad has chevrons in them making this an easy exercise, paddle and move back one chevron. When I get to a position where I feel I am too far back on the board I reverse my course and paddle the same intervals again, starting at the front and moving back.
If you have kept your efforts consistent across the session then as soon as you look at your data you will see where your feet should be in order to maintain the highest speed in those conditions. On my Blackfish the difference between the best and worst positions was 0.3 km/h over 1km.
Another way to do this has been suggested by Jayson Smith on SUP My Race, he mounts his GPS on the board and which gives him a real-time view of his speed and he adjusts his position as needed when training to maintain the best trim. A very good tip.
Side to side
Naturally, the side we are paddling on will dip slightly as we hinge forward and plant the blade in the water and to offset that you need to counterbalance with the rest of your body. Michael explains this far better than I do in this video but the short version is you may need to stick your bottom out to counter your stroke.
One key factor in your side-to-side balance is how far apart your feet are. You may think that the wider the board the less you might need to counterbalance but if you are on a very wide board then you may need to lean further to the side on each stroke to get your paddle in the water, again this depends on your size and build. Conversely, if you are on a very narrow board you may need to work a lot harder to stay upright and that will slow you down!
My stance is different on the two boards I use most, on my narrowest race board, my McConks my feet are closer together than on my wider, winter board. My feet have moved closer together as I got more used to the shape of the McConks and this is partly down to the design, the board works best with my weight over the edges of the concaves in the hull. On my Blackfish I move my feet much more from side to side to keep the board level, my non-paddle side foot is closer to the rail and I do a little bit of an inelegant reshuffle when I swap sides.
Disclaimer - I think this gives you the best position for good conditions, you will need to adjust your trim in different conditions and stationary feet are not good in waves or wind.
Where to train
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| Winter training at the coast, frozen water... |
This might cause some discussion but my feeling/experience is that flatwater makes you a faster paddler, and moving water makes you a better paddler.
If you want to paddle faster then technique and fitness are key. Fitness can be worked on almost anywhere, on the water, in the gym, cycling, running, rowing, swimming and many more activities. Variety is great when training but paddling is best.
Technique though is different and harder to work on. Flatwater sessions allow you to concentrate solely on your technique, the phases of the stroke. Flatwater also allows you to work on pacing and recovery. Flatwater gives you the chance to do repeatable efforts that you can use to gauge your progress. And those repeatable efforts are the key to improvement.
While lakes and still water are perfect for training, the sea or moving water is the best place to improve your skillset and it is important to mix up your session if you can. Going faster is not just about having the best technique and fitness, reading the water is a skill that cannot be taught and practice is the only way to build on fitness and technique.
Invest in yourself
Investing in yourself is the BEST upgrade you can make, with no exceptions. And that is what this series of blog posts is all about, investing in this paddler with the help of World Champion Michael Booth.
You can find out more about Michael's training from his website Booth Training, from his Booth Training Instagram account and on his YouTube channel BoothTV.
You can find me running the Facebook group SUP My Race, writing about all sorts of paddling for TotalSUP and now, occasionally, on Instagram.
See you on the water!
You can read the previous training logs here Training Logs and you can get to individual blog posts using the labels in the sidebar.