HEART
I am not into the speed so much as the exercise. However, I am a bit of a hypochondriac. I don’t have any medical conditions but after 3 hours of steady paddling, I begin thinking about heart attacks. Paddling solo has few distractions and my mind begins to wander to such things. Does any body else think about this occaisonally when paddling solo?
Jim, look at the positive,
Just look at the cold water as a Defibrulator (spell?) , if your ticker goes, you will probably tip and the cold water will jump start that heart and you can continue on your trip. L
HEX
Unfortunately I do,
but I don’t worry about my heart. My husband had a heart attack six months ago, and it happened right after he finished sailing. Thankfully, he wasn’t on the water when it happened. His heart actually stopped by the time he got to the hospital. So because I am his wife, and a nurse-midwife by profession, I do think about what I would do if some one I was on the water had symptoms. Basically, I always carry a cell or a VHF radio to call for help and “paddle on” as Frank would say:)
And my husband is out sailing every chance he gets!
I don’t think you need to
worry too much. It’s true that the risk of heart attack rises significantly during vigorous exercise, but if you ramp up your exercise slowly and do it regularly over many years, then your heart attack risk is much lower, on average, than someone who doesn’t. And if you’re paddling for 3 hours, it doesn’t qualify as rigorous exercise (unless you’re pushing the whole time), so your risk probably isn’t any higher than at any other time of day.
Sanjay
stroke angle
On long paddles do most racers keep a low stroke angle with low hands or are some out there able to keep up a power stroke. Yes, I’ve been watching the Brent Reitz video. Makes sense but my shoulders fatigue quickly from the higher hand position. I work out regulary so I’m wondering if my shoulders just aren’t built for this style paddling.
When one area fatigues
it usually means you are not using other areas enough. Either that or your shoulder were pre-stressed from other activities.
More trunk muscle - less arms usually takes care of shoulder issues.
Two ways to lock this in, easy or hard.
Hard: Paddle as far as you can go until your arms/shoulders tire. Then paddle back! This leaves no option but to bring more back and abs into the stroke. Distance, the great equalizer.
Easy: Focus on technique with special attention to rotation and legs. Relaxed fluid motions.
Too tight of a hand grip can also translate all the way up to the shoulders.
Boat outfitting and comfort play a similar role. little things make big differnces.
My 2¢