In true Papillon fashion, we improve by the day - this Saturday we had... 6 (+1) rowers! Jon, Dawn, Desmond, Xiuhuan, Lin and Joe enjoyed a healthy dose of sunshine. (Good for calcium absorption, you know. But also good for pigmentation... bring on the sunblock and shades!)
Anyway, we welcome Mighty Joe Young back to the boat - it's been a few weeks since he got entrusted with night shift duty and it was great to finally have him back! (As it turned out, Joe quickly pole-vaulted up the learning curve - not only did he grasp the new stroke well, it seems we have discovered a new 'wild card' after Christy! Coach Patrick shifted him left and right, but Joe was equally adept at both.)
Focus of training was on technique and stroke correction - as is usual for the beginning stage of every season. Hmm... interestingly, do you notice that, with each training, it takes us less time to 'remember' the stroke?
True, it still took at least half to three-quarters of the session (of individual and pair rowing) for us to put everything together:
Slightly rotate torso for the A-setup, top arm plunge paddle into the water, 'de-rotate' by cranking rowing back muscle, pull until you 'hit the wall' at the hip, elbow out whip out the paddle sideways and torso rotate back to A-setup... repeat.
Then it was about the timing. Pacers Jon and Dawn (very confusing when Patrick calls us. We don't know who he is correcting!). Anyway. Pacers Jon and Dawn seemed to be doing an awkward duet - the timing was just 'off'. And it trickled to the back such that the boat was not gliding too well. So Jon suggested to imagine Patrick's whistle beat. It worked! A strange "hooooooo... peept!" sound started emitting from Dawn, but with that, pacers got their beat together and soon the Papillon boat was cruising down the canal beyond Cosy Bay.
We then did a series of 2 min and 3 min rows, which Patrick observed to be 'much better!' and improving.
The key was in maintaining a steady, powerful pace, with technically-sound execution of each stroke. "Move the right way, do the right thing" - was the order of the day, so it wasn't about how fast our strokes are, but how efficient. We can be tired, but each stroke must still be properly executed, nevermind about the stroke rate at this point.
... I think we're getting it quicker now. When we have the other Level 3s back with us to train as a full boat, we should all be on the same page - and it should show in our glide!
To end off, again, must stress that good attendance at water training is important - we only have that one training, and the key in getting the most out of it, is to turn up and make each training count. As a full boat, the glide is more powerful, we feel good rowing together, and it creates a positive drive for each of us.
Next up would be to restart gym workouts, to get our muscles in tip-top shape so that we don't feel so tired during water training (from lifting the paddle!!) But let's take it step by step. We can start by including push ups before hitting the water, and dips after!
Hope everyone had a nice long Easter break. Till next Saturday... rest up and see yous!
= Chief Editor D.L. signing off =
Anyway, we welcome Mighty Joe Young back to the boat - it's been a few weeks since he got entrusted with night shift duty and it was great to finally have him back! (As it turned out, Joe quickly pole-vaulted up the learning curve - not only did he grasp the new stroke well, it seems we have discovered a new 'wild card' after Christy! Coach Patrick shifted him left and right, but Joe was equally adept at both.)
Focus of training was on technique and stroke correction - as is usual for the beginning stage of every season. Hmm... interestingly, do you notice that, with each training, it takes us less time to 'remember' the stroke?
True, it still took at least half to three-quarters of the session (of individual and pair rowing) for us to put everything together:
Slightly rotate torso for the A-setup, top arm plunge paddle into the water, 'de-rotate' by cranking rowing back muscle, pull until you 'hit the wall' at the hip, elbow out whip out the paddle sideways and torso rotate back to A-setup... repeat.
Then it was about the timing. Pacers Jon and Dawn (very confusing when Patrick calls us. We don't know who he is correcting!). Anyway. Pacers Jon and Dawn seemed to be doing an awkward duet - the timing was just 'off'. And it trickled to the back such that the boat was not gliding too well. So Jon suggested to imagine Patrick's whistle beat. It worked! A strange "hooooooo... peept!" sound started emitting from Dawn, but with that, pacers got their beat together and soon the Papillon boat was cruising down the canal beyond Cosy Bay.
We then did a series of 2 min and 3 min rows, which Patrick observed to be 'much better!' and improving.
The key was in maintaining a steady, powerful pace, with technically-sound execution of each stroke. "Move the right way, do the right thing" - was the order of the day, so it wasn't about how fast our strokes are, but how efficient. We can be tired, but each stroke must still be properly executed, nevermind about the stroke rate at this point.
... I think we're getting it quicker now. When we have the other Level 3s back with us to train as a full boat, we should all be on the same page - and it should show in our glide!
To end off, again, must stress that good attendance at water training is important - we only have that one training, and the key in getting the most out of it, is to turn up and make each training count. As a full boat, the glide is more powerful, we feel good rowing together, and it creates a positive drive for each of us.
Next up would be to restart gym workouts, to get our muscles in tip-top shape so that we don't feel so tired during water training (from lifting the paddle!!) But let's take it step by step. We can start by including push ups before hitting the water, and dips after!
Hope everyone had a nice long Easter break. Till next Saturday... rest up and see yous!
= Chief Editor D.L. signing off =
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