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Surfski paddlers are as familiar with the benefits of weight-training as any other athlete, more muscle mass equates to more power and so lifting weights forms an important part of off-season training. The physiological stimulus for muscle development is tension, more tension placed in the muscle, the greater the growth of new muscle.

What changes occur in muscle during weight training? Muscle tissue becomes larger through development of either new muscle fibers (hyperplasia) or through enlargement of existing fibers (hypertrophy) – its not clear which is the prevalent mechanism. Regardless, trained muscle fibers show biochemical changes that promote the production of more tension (power) . The contractile proteins (actin and myosin) that together generate muscle tension are found in greater density in trained muscle, as are mitochondria, the power-plants of the muscle fiber that ensure sufficient energy is available for contraction/tension generation. With more contractile protein and energy production, the muscle’s ability to generate tension is increased.

What changes in muscle does paddling promote? On-water training obviously benefits muscle development as well, as tension is applied to the paddling muscles - although to a lesser extent as during weight training. However, other beneficial changes in muscle occur with this form of exercise. Promotion of new blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) is more prevalent in endurance exercise. Angiogenesis results in more capillaries running through trained muscle tissue to supply greater amounts of oxygen and fuel and just as importantly, waste products (CO₂ and lactate) are removed more efficiently. The mitochondria also move closer to the surface of the muscle fiber and thus are closer to the capillaries and the oxygen they supply – making for more efficient energy exchange.

Prolonged paddling also increases the muscle’s ability to use fat as a fuel, which offers an advantage in long distance events. Endurance-style training increases the enzymes needed to process fat molecules as fuel in the muscle. The greater ability to use fat means the muscle can save its local supply of carbohydrate, glycogen. Since glycogen depletion causes muscle fatigue, the ability to use fat and save glycogen postpones fatigue.

But paddling offers something that weights do not - specificity of training. A muscle is made up of bundles of fibers called fascicles, each fascicle containing hundreds of individual muscle fibers. Each individual fiber has its own nerve, or motor neuron, and together the fiber and nerve are referred to as a ‘motor unit’. When the motor neuron fires regularly to deliver the signal for contraction from the brain, it also begins to train and become more effective at activating the fiber it is connected to – making that motor unit more effective as a whole. So the form of exercise becomes important for neural development as well as muscular growth. The best form of training for paddling therefore is paddling, as only the motor units used in paddling will be activated and therefore develop. Even concentrating weight training on paddling muscles generates a different pattern of individual motor unit recruitment and perhaps activate and develop fibers (or even fascicles) within a muscle that are not used during paddling.

So the answer is balanced training – but you knew that. Weights are a better stimulus for muscle growth as more tension is placed in to the muscle than during paddling. However, paddling offers specificity of training and the cardiovascular benefits of endurance exercise. In winter, weights are a great alternative to paddling to keep and develop muscle mass and in summer weights can provide an effective, additional stimulus for muscle growth during the racing season – but, muscle is heavy and over developing muscle that isn’t providing power to the paddle blade is detrimental to your power:weight ratio.



	Winter weight training: good for summer? Surfski paddlers are as familiar with the benefits of weight-training as any other athlete, more muscle mass equates to more power and so lifting weights forms an important part of off-season training. The physiological stimulus for muscle development is tension, more tension placed in the muscle, the greater the growth of new muscle. What changes occur in muscle during weight training? Muscle tissue becomes larger through development of either new muscle fibers (hyperplasia) or through enlargement of existing fibers (hypertrophy) – its not clear which is the prevalent mechanism. Regardless, trained muscle fibers show biochemical changes that promote the production of more tension (power) . The contractile proteins (actin and myosin) that together generate muscle tension are found in greater density in trained muscle, as are mitochondria, the power-plants of the muscle fiber that ensure sufficient energy is available for contraction/tension generation. With more contractile protein and energy production, the muscle’s ability to generate tension is increased. What changes in muscle does paddling promote? On-water training obviously benefits muscle development as well, as tension is applied to the paddling muscles - although to a lesser extent as during weight training. However, other beneficial changes in muscle occur with this form of exercise. Promotion of new blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) is more prevalent in endurance exercise. Angiogenesis results in more capillaries running through trained muscle tissue to supply greater amounts of oxygen and fuel and just as importantly, waste products (CO₂ and lactate) are removed more efficiently. The mitochondria also move closer to the surface of the muscle fiber and thus are closer to the capillaries and the oxygen they supply – making for more efficient energy exchange. Prolonged paddling also increases the muscle’s ability to use fat as a fuel, which offers an advantage in long distance events. Endurance-style training increases the enzymes needed to process fat molecules as fuel in the muscle. The greater ability to use fat means the muscle can save its local supply of carbohydrate, glycogen. Since glycogen depletion causes muscle fatigue, the ability to use fat and save glycogen postpones fatigue. But paddling offers something that weights do not - specificity of training. A muscle is made up of bundles of fibers called fascicles, each fascicle containing hundreds of individual muscle fibers. Each individual fiber has its own nerve, or motor neuron, and together the fiber and nerve are referred to as a ‘motor unit’. When the motor neuron fires regularly to deliver the signal for contraction from the brain, it also begins to train and become more effective at activating the fiber it is connected to – making that motor unit more effective as a whole. So the form of exercise becomes important for neural development as well as muscular growth. The best form of training for paddling therefore is paddling, as only the motor units used in paddling will be activated and therefore develop. Even concentrating weight training on paddling muscles generates a different pattern of individual motor unit recruitment and perhaps activate and develop fibers (or even fascicles) within a muscle that are not used during paddling. So the answer is balanced training – but you knew that. Weights are a better stimulus for muscle growth as more tension is placed in to the muscle than during paddling. However, paddling offers specificity of training and the cardiovascular benefits of endurance exercise. In winter, weights are a great alternative to paddling to keep and develop muscle mass and in summer weights can provide an effective, additional stimulus for muscle growth during the racing season – but, muscle is heavy and over developing muscle that isn’t providing power to the paddle blade is detrimental to your power:weight ratio.

Winter weight training: good for summer?