Juegos-Trabajo-Empleo | Swimming With Paddles - Triathlon Training
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Paddles are often used by swimmers and triathletes in order to get faster. Are they worth it?
The answer…it depends. When brand new to swimming the most important thing is to develop swimming skills and technique. This involves developing proper mechanics through the whole stroke and a good feel for the water. At this time paddles are not beneficial. As the paddles will prevent you from truly feeling the water and developing the proper mechanics needed when swimming in a race situation.
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Paddles may also be harmful if an athlete has upper body injury issues such as the shoulder or elbow. Pulling a pair of paddles through the water may put extra stress on these areas creating more pain or break down of the area. It is important to note that in most cases the paddles are not the issue in the injury. Usually it is due to a muscular imbalance and paddles are just exposing it.
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On average, the power produced to pedal a bike on a flat road is 60% rider drag. This is, obviously, where the biggest performance gains can be achieved. If you are serious about triathlon, you need to be selecting the best, most efficient equipment that you can afford for your triathlon cycling needs.
Road bikes are generally designed for comfort to allow a cyclist to compete over long distances. The triathlon cycle is generally over a shorter distance (relatively) and so some comfort can be compromised in exchange for speed. This is the fundamental difference between triathlon bikes and road bikes. The shorter the distance of the triathlon cycle, the more weight and aerodynamics will come into play. For a sprint triathlon, 20k, comfort is far less a factor than for an Ironman distance as for the Ironman, comfort becomes paramount to continual optimal performances over long periods of time.
You can’t get something for nothing…
There is a slight tradeoff however. Try this experiment. Get on your bike on a flat stretch of road or trail. Use the easiest gear available on your bike (the granny gear) which will be the smallest gear in front and the largest gear in the back. Now pedal as fast as you can for a minute or more. Are your legs tired? THey should be…it takes energy to move the pedals in circles.
Now repeat the experiment in the hardest gear. Your legs will be tired in a different way…it takes more forces to push the pedals in a harder gear.
So if both extremes make you tired, why is one better than the other? Choosing a higher cadence uses requires less strength from the muscles and shifts the work effort to the cardiovascular system. In addition with less forces used on the pedals, less force is transmitted to your joints. Higher cadences are easier on your knees and hips which can make the difference between enjoying the bike leg and dreading it.
What cadence should I aim for?
A cadence of between 80 and 90 seems to work well for most triathletes. With training, you will discover your own best cadence. In general, I advise my athletes to use slightly easier gears in the beginning of their training in order to get used ot a higher cadence and aim for a goal cadence of 85-95 rpm.
95 is definitely on the higher side, but there is no harm in overshooting a bit to help reprogram your muscle memory. At first it may feel foreign or very fatiguing. This is a skill that needs to be trained just like any other physical skill. But once your become accustomed to a higher cadence, it will begin to feel more normal, and will actually become more efficient for you you can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.
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