If you train on a Concept II erg that's been converted to a paddler with an adapter, one of the things that might plague you is the boredom of not going anywhere and the unchanging scenery of your living room. Now, thanks to modern (and inexpensive) technology, you can make your workouts much more interesting and fun.
If you have a GoPro camera or a Flip cam with a waterproof case, mount it to the front of your canoe pointing forward and record one of your workouts. Try to capture interesting scenery going by - the more entertaining the better.
Once you get home, convert the video to play on your television. There are a number of free programs out there that will convert your training video and get it onto a DVD. I ripped my training video into iTunes and use my iPod for playback on a big TV. Situate your paddler and yourself in front of the television, start your video and paddle away. I've found this much more interesting than watching a movie (which I can't hear over the erg anyway) and with a little suspension of disbelief, you can feel like you're actually going somewhere without leaving the room. I have video of fellow paddlers getting passed, which makes the video training that much more fun.
Here's my blog entry and an accompanying video that I posted of my setup:
http://feljcruz.blogspot.com/2009/01/paddling-in-my-living-room-and.html
Please leave me comments or suggestions on my blog.
Let me know what you think and perhaps we can start a database of videos for other landlocked (or weatherlocked) paddlers that have an erg/paddler setup.
Submitted by DNAgent on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 10:30am
This is a subject near to my heart having spent countless hours training on my Erg with a paddling adapter. I have had my Erg for over 9 years and in some years it accounted for about 80% of my overall training time.
I have tried watching movies while training but you need a good set of earphones because the Erg can get a little noisy. Scarface was one of my favorites.....you can't help sprinting through the final scene. Another thing I used to do a lot was to rip a CD of music that mirrored that days particular training regimen. If I was going for a long 70% type of workout I wanted something mellow....Raiatea Helm was good for the long easy workouts. I f I was going balls to the walls Aerosmith Honkin on Bobo, AC/DC or Van halen did the trick. If it was a fartlec type of workout a combination of the two was good.
Also a heart rate monitor is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of your time spent on the Erg (which I later came to think of as the deprivation chamber)
Erg workouts are excrutiatingly boring. An hour on an Erg seems like two hours of normal time.But honestly, the one thing that really helped to make the whole experience more bearable was to take a bong hit immediately before my workout. Some may scoff at this bit of advice but try doing a three hour Erg workout on a regular basis and I think you'll start to see things my way.
#1 Mon, 01/12/2009 - 6:13pm
Sorry to report, but the Erg fuck's up (oops not supposed to talk l'dat) my technique and there is no way my HR get's to where it should be. Also try paddle open ocean after an Erg workout. Major lolo action. I Erg only out of necessity, which usually means I've got the Lack Of Interest, but feeling guilty syndrome. Living in the Tropics can have its draw backs. I sympathize with all that deal with weird work schedules, cold water and temps. The bong hit does not ring a bell with me. My contemporaries are into demon alchohol and/or opiates. Unfortunately I am easily influenced. Oh well.
#2 Mon, 01/12/2009 - 7:13pm
Have your wife throwing buckets of salt water on your face... it'll make it a more realistic experience !
#3 Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:07pm
lol
some people cross train to different sports like cross country skiing or basketball jogging swimming etc. personally I ease back and try to get something in a couple of times a week and wait for the snow to melt. tic tock tic tock
#4 Mon, 01/12/2009 - 8:14pm
Cool setup, DNAgent. You got me thinking - if you put a camera on your back iako on a diagonal to catch you paddling and some forward-looking scenery. Then when you play it back you'll have an interval/surf workout as you try to keep up with yourself on a Coyote run. :) Or playback some of the other videos that are out there - Dume runs, Rambo's vid's, etc. - those that show partial water, partial paddler, and do the same.
As for movies and TV - wireless headphones work wonders.
For music, "mix tapes." I have paddling playlists and cd's made with, for example, two songs at about 50 bpm for warmup, then alternating approx 62 and 54 for an interval workout.
Now I just have to get out in the garage and use those...
(long time lurker, first time poster.)
#5 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 9:41am
Verylowtide I couldn't agree more about your medical preparation before your workout. Sets the focus nicely and brings relaxation to the task. One bong hit before a work out doesn't tax your lungs much more then the fumes from the starter boat in a race. Before I race I use cannabis tincture. It's a liquid that's not alcohol, but vegetable-glycerin based. It's taken sublingual (under the tongue). You don't have to be worried about being stoned, but get all the benefits as in: relaxed focus, more energy, less pre-race and starting jitters and better overall alertness. The pre-race tincture should be a sativa type for the above reasons.
Your after race or work-out treatment should be an indica strain for pain, sleep and anxiety (particularly if you lost). Obviously medicating by smoking isn't much of an issue after a race or after a work-out.
Sativa for the head. Indica for the body.
My doctor recommends it.
#6 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 12:20pm
Some notes:
The GoPro Camera I use is in a polycarbonate case, so the sounds that do get recorded are muffled and can be likened to paddling with earplugs. I usually put on music that helps me keep pace; this morning it was a JunkieXL mix that was on my iPod. Since I have the video ripped to one iPod, I have another iPod connected to the stereo for music. I'll be making more videos with the camera and I'll try different angles to mix things up.
I notice that it seems that I have a more effortless workout if I have video of my friends paddling alongside with me, and from the e-Row software I can see that when I was paddling with my virtual friends, my power output increased and my strokes per minute went up slightly.
As for the bong hit before working out - seems like a good idea. Not that I'd try it or anything.
ARL NorthAm: The Research of Adventure. The Adventure of Research.
#7 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 1:02pm
painteur, you always do seem to be in an exceptionally good mood at the races. Speaking of which, see you at the Hanohano race, I'm coming over for a couple of days.
As for the possibilities of indoor trainers, check out the high end indoor trainers for bikes by Tacx or some of the other companies. Put in a DVD of whatever famous cycling course you want, not only do you get the visual scenery with other racers on the route that you can chase and pass, but as the route goes uphill the resistance on your trainer increases relative to the grade, and decreases on the downhill, headwinds, tailwinds, drafting, its all there.
Now imagine the same thing done for a paddling trainer, a virtual Maliko Run. Sprint to catch waves, glide as you surf, try to stay in front of the group. Technology is all there already, just need a paddling computer geek to program it. Or of course, just move some where warm and windy.
#8 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 1:10pm
If course if the paddling machine could dispense mid race TimTams, that would be an added bonus Jibofo. If you're going to deny yourself a real Maliko Run, then may as well be nutritionally optimized.
Cheers Rambo
#9 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 2:12pm
Sort of the carrot on a stick in front of the donkey?
#10 Tue, 01/13/2009 - 2:32pm