Reflections On The Water

1. Discover your stroke and its energy cycle, how does it respond to different inputs and stimuli?
2. Are there some movements / actions that affect the continuity of your stroke cycle? For better or worse?
3. When you emphasize specific technique elements, does it help or hurt boat speed? Heavy catch? Accelerate finish? etc.
4. Can gravity and momentum be harnessed into your stroke cycle?
5. Notice the difference when using naturally occurring forces to generate stroke power VS ‘muscling it’. Which one seems easier and sustainable?
6.  Doing the same thing repeatedly can get boring, variability fosters versatility. Try mixing things up when you paddle. Change your stroke length and rate … notice the mechanical changes in your stroke cycle when this happens.  
7. When stroke rate increases does the range change? 
8. During your paddle imagine you’re watching from the shore, visualize how you look. 
9. During the recovery, are your hands moving in sync with your core? Maybe they’re rushing ahead?
10. As you paddle, feel the pressure under your back toes, especially the big toe. 
11. Is your top arm helping lead the stroke back to the catch? Or does it ‘just get out’ of the way’?
12. During your air phase (recovery + set-up), do you perform rotation and projection separately? Or do you combine them into one fluid movement?
13. Does your bottom arm fully extend before or after the catch?

Visualize these concepts – things like angles, gravity, twist, rotation, blending, projecting, momentum, rhythm … and how everything fits together to form an efficient and continuous stroke cycle.