Stop training blindly! For the first 10-12 years of my paddling journey, I just paddled. I did what my coaches said, but I never actually looked at my numbers. I didn’t know how to. Start training the right way and invest in the right tools. Getting a HRM and a Garmin watch to track the distance you’re paddling and the effort level you’re paddling in will help you get faster, faster! If you found this video helpful, please give a like, drop a comment about which watch or HRM you use, and send it to a friend who can benefit from hearing this. Thank you for tuning in and getting some TLC! I'll be organizing these talks into the Classroom courses soon so that paddlers can learn these tips on their own time.

When it's raining and pouring outside and you have a workout planned, you get tougher and get it done! It's hard when you feel like you have to go through it alone. When you have a training partner or a coach hold you accountable, it gets easier to overcome! Has there been a recent time when you struggled to show up, but made it happen? What helped you overcome it?

Which of the three strategies speak to you the most? Share it in the comment below and give a like/support to each other. I’ve been paddling for over 15 years. I've spent over 10 years helping develop paddlers and grow a team organically. Now I’m boiling all that experience into a blueprint to speed up your training and learning. There's many reasons why someone joins a paddling team, whether dragon boat or outrigger. There are many reasons why someone joins any hobby-based team. I started TLC with the mission of developing community-focused paddlers and leaders. I hope to inspire people who start off as paddlers to then use what they've learned to become leaders in their communities, because that's exactly how I got to where I am today. I started paddling in high school in 2006, so it's been close to 20 years of paddling now. I started off as a paddler my first year and soon became the captain and eventually the coach of my university team and then later my adult team. I have made many mistakes along the way, as well as successes. Today I wanted to briefly share strategies that I have for people to develop as new or intermediate paddlers. 1 - Figure out your why Why are you paddling? What is the reason why you come out to paddle and train? What do you enjoy the most about the paddling? This will help us anchor why we show up time and time again. In order for you to develop as a paddler, you need to look within and figure out why you do it. Note that this can change over time, but it's still important to dial down and figure out what drives you. 2 - Figure out your short term and long term goals I think it's safe to say that everyone wants to make improvements and want to get better. That should be the general direction that you are heading in. However, often times the biggest challenge is actually focusing. When we have a goal that is generally well-intentioned but no actual steps, we don't end up going anywhere. Depending on what is most salient to you at this time, write down 1-2 short terms goals and write down 1-2 long term goals. At this time, they don't need to necessarily connect but do write them down. It will help you focus on how you want to improve and take the next step.

✅ I made this video to help show how to put a bungee onto a canoe. If this video helped, please share it on your social media to help others understand how to put one on as well. Bungees around the canoe acts as a resistance to stop the boat glide. It is a helpful tool for training pressure throughout the whole stroke. It also helps to reveal inefficiencies in your technique. The goal isn't to go max speed with a bungee on (unless you want it to). The use of the bungee as a training tool is usually for you to go at around 70-80% intensity while pushing through the entire stroke. After 10-20 minutes of paddling with the bungee, you want to then take off the bungee and achieve the same HEAVY stroke despite not having the bungee.

I got a question recently about the target audience for the WOWs. The workout of the week is for everyone that is able to get on the pErg or on the water. (honestly, you can use these WOWs for running too if that's what you have access to). The target audience are busy athletes that might not have time to plan out a specific workout, but would like to train and get better. Similar to when people make time to go to the gym, but don't have a plan when they walk in, you don't have a focus. These WOWs help you gain a focus for when you're training. Different weeks will hit different categories: endurance, sprints, and mid-distance. The percentage keep it so that it's scaled for each person. If the workout calls for 80% effort, then it is each individual's 80%. The competition is yourself. These workouts are once a week. For coaches out there, I also encourage you to take one of these WOWs and run it with your dragonboat or outrigger team, as it can be one of your few training sessions too.