Canoe Wales Performance Team Winter Development

The Canoe Wales Slalom programme came to the end of a long Winter of training, with races starting to take place around the country, the teams can't wait to put that training into action. The Performance, Talent and Regional squads have all been working hard towards their goals, set out at the end of last year's racing season and reviewed periodically throughout the Winter. Everyone has put in an incredible effort to work on their weaknesses and personal growth has gone through the roof. All helped with midweek and weekend training camps across the country to get the most exposure and variety of white water possible.

The introduction of Athlete Development Camps this Winter not only gave great exposure to training but also gave great opportunities to bond all the Regional, Talent and Performance squads. These weekends included classroom learning on a wide variety of topics including Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning to Physiology. 

The most notable work set out this Winter has come in the sports science sector with the introduction of the Canoe Wales Strength and Conditioning Framework, led by Ben Hawkes. The idea behind this is to give structure and education on how land-based training can help benefit us out on the water. The longevity of the framework is determined by the broadness of the resource, meaning that it is accessible and relevant to all disciples of paddlesport and as such sport and fitness in general. This resource is for anyone that wants to improve their fitness and strength whether that’s for club, recreational or performance. You can find the written resource below and follow the document through, a huge part of the resource emphasises taking ownership of your own training, thus giving you the resources and knowledge to build your own sessions; with a library of exercises provided and videos explaining the key points of each. You will find many of the exercises can be done without the need for any or minimal equipment.