Muscular Endurance Program
Due to the fact that kayaking can be an activity where you are required to work for extended periods of time, it’s important that you work on developing a strong muscular endurance level.
This is going to come in very helpful for longer runs when normally you might start tiring out. The more you train your muscles for muscular endurance, the more capable they become at not only storing muscular fuel as glycogen which prevents fatigue, but also powering you through the continuous activity.
The goal of this program is to take the rep ranges slightly higher, forcing your muscles to continue to contract over time. While pure strength based programs may only have you working within the 5-8 rep range, for this program, we’re bumping this up to 10-15 reps per set.
Please note that it is important to alternate strength based training with endurance based training so that you get the best of both worlds. By doing so, you’ll not only have more muscular force (which comes from strength based training) but you’ll maintain this force for more than a few brief seconds.
You’ll notice that most of these exercises are compound in nature, meaning you’ll work more than one muscle group at once. This allows you to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible, leaving more time for the important things – like getting on the water.
Aim to complete the following workouts 2- 3 times a week, alternating between the sessions with at least one day off in between.
Workout 1
Perform all sets of each exercise before moving onto th next. Take about 45-60 seconds of rest between each set).
Bench Press – 4 sets of 10 reps
Squats – 4 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows – 4 sets of 10 reps
Incline Press – 3 sets of 10 reps
Bicep Curl – 2 sets of 10 reps
Overhead Tricep Extension – 2 sets of 10 reps
Calf Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
Workout 2
Perform this workout in a circuit style fashion where you aim to complete one set of each exercise all in a row. Once you’ve cycled through all the exercises, rest for 1-2 minutes and perform a second and if you can, third time through.
Weighted Push-Ups (place a plate on you back while doing these) – 3 sets of 15 reps
Dumbbell Walking Lunges – 3 sets of 15 reps
Pull-Ups – 3 sets of 15 reps
Bench Dips – 3 sets of 15 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
Bicycle Crunches – 3 sets of 15 reps