In the quest for max power and speed, sprint kayakers generally focus the vast majority of training on improving the water phase of the stroke, often leaving the air phase unattended like a neglected house plant. (You’ll find a more in depth discussion of the issues arising from this below in the Coaches Corner). This set of 6 progressive Arm Isolation (dissociation) Drills is designed to improve efficiency and control from when the blade exits the water to the next catch. They work on dissociating the arms from the trunk/core. The drills increase one variable in difficulty at each step, and should always be practiced on both sides. The athlete should always strive to keep the body tight and motionless (stabilising the core with the core stabilisers) but the arms relaxed and free (cue ‘let the arms go’). The athlete may first need to learn where their core stabilisers are and how to engage them, before/simulatneously to working on these exercises.

Drills 1-4 should be practiced in different tempos – starting very slowly with absolute control, then gradually getting faster. Once the athlete has complete control at different speeds, the tempos should be randomised during practice.

Drill 6 is a transition drill. In contrast to drills 1-5 which all start with the core tight and the arms relaxed, drill 6 starts with everything tight. This drill is designed to train the athlete to be able to instantly switch from held tension to extremely fast, relaxed arm movement without losing core control. (It’s still a work in progressfor me – you’ll see a hint of the Drunk Dolphin in the video…).

Note – If an athlete has very muscular arms and shoulders, it may be difficult to see if they have fully relaxed them during the air movement. In this case pay careful attention to the hands, as the Tin Man will tend to keep a death grip on the ‘paddle’ throughout the drill.

COACHES CORNER

“If the athlete has fast, strong arms, does it really matter if they can’t fully isolate them?”

Training on the water and in the gym which centers around making the frame strong, and connecting the arms to the core and legs for good power transfer is of course crucially important to high level sprint kayaking. However it can result in an athlete who is unable to properly isolate the arms from the rest of the body, if the athlete has developed poor stabilisation strategies for the core and shoulders along the way. 

Athletes who take over the stabilisation role with the muscles intended to move the body will struggle with dissociation exercises. 

Whilst some athletes may be able to perform at a high level without true arm independence, (by covering this deficiency with physical strength), for many it significantly impacts their efficiency, control, and maximum stroke rate on the water (so yes, it matters!)

In my coaching practice, I commonly see the inability to properly isolate the arms during the air phase manifesting in three types of athletes; The Tin Man, The Drunk Dolphin, and the Transformer.

The Tin Man

The Tin Man keeps the entire body strong, stiff, and connected during the air phase, continuing to lock the arms to the core after the water phase is finished. This athlete frequently has dysfunctional stabilisation patterns, stabilising the core and shoulders with the movers, leaving the core stabilisers completely switched off. 

  • This requires excess force and tension to be used to move the arms during the air phase wasting a large amount of energy. This can lead to premature fatigue and increased injury risk
  • By moving the arms and body together during the air phase, the athlete creates inertia in the wrong direction(s). As a result the boat may get violently thrown from side to side or pushed heavily down into the water, disrupting the most efficient pattern of boat movement and in some circumstances creating a brake
  • Maximum stroke rate may be limited by excessive muscle tension or fatigue*
  • The athlete may appear to have ‘balance’ problems with the instability often obvious around the catch.
  • With excessive tension and internal braking caused by poor stabilisation patterns, this athlete will often ‘kill’ the water rather than ‘feel’ it
  • The shoulders, arms, and wrists are placed at a higher risk of injury as the Tin Man frequently doesn’t let the scapula move naturally during the air phase.

A more well-oiled Tin Man, may be able to isolate the arms from the core but still moves them with excessive force and tension during the air phase causing many of the above problems.

Note for the athlete: Remember the paddle weighs less than 800 GRAMS, (you can probably lift it with one finger), so unless you’re out paddling in a tornado, when it’s in the air you don’t need to move it with the same force as bench pressing twice your bodyweight – save that energy for when the blade is in concrete at the end of a race!

 
The Drunk Dolphin

Keeps the core, shoulders and arms tight during the water phase, but when the blade exits the water they simultaneously release the core (and sometimes also legs) with the arms. This is often due to dysfunctional stabilisation patterns during the water phase. 

  • Releasing the core (and legs) causes the boat to roll around in the water like a drunk dolphin 
  • The athlete leaks energy from multiple points in the body
  • Boat momentum is broken
  • The cyclical nature of the stroke interrupted with the athlete instead moving backwards and forwards from having control of the boat, to losing it. As a consequence they use extra energy to regain control of the boat with each new stroke.
  • Maximum stroke rate may be limited by the time taken to regain control of the boat*
  • The catch may be weak or poorly timed
  • The athlete may appear to have ‘balance’ problems, with the instability often obvious around the exit.

*If the athlete can isolate the arms at a slow tempo but not fast, they may only become a Tin Man or Drunk Dolphin at high stroke rates.

 
The Transformer

The transformer switches between the Tin Man and the Drunk Dolphin depending on the circumstances. They may start out a race or session as a Tin Man, but as they fatigue, turn into a Drunk Dolphin. Alternatively at a very low stroke rate, a Tin Man may temporarily turn into a Drunk Dolphin. 

 
Balance vs Stability

The above types of paddlers may all appear to have ‘balance’ problems on the water. In reality this instability may be stemming from a lack of arm independence not an undeveloped balance system. If the arms are tied to the body and moved with too much force during the air phase, or if the core completely relaxes with the arms, the resulting boat movement can be so big or unpredictable that even an athlete who excels at traditional balance exercises will become unstable on the water.