This is the second article in a series of of tips and hacks to help you go 10% faster in your next race. Obviously, since you’re here, you realize the most important thing you can do is get on a systematic training plan, but these tips can help you eke even more speed out of your training. For some athletes, implementing just one of these tips will net you a 10% gain. For others, combining the tips in these articles will produce that 10% improvement at your next race.
Warm up? Well, duh…
I know, I know, warming up prior to a race seems like a no-brainer, but this is something I’ve seen time and time again before a paddle race. It’s easy to skip the warm up — you’re hanging out with friends, unloading your gear, trying to find a parking place, organizing your gear, pinning on race numbers, running back to your car to get your paddle/PFD/hydration pack you forgot, attending the race meeting… It’s easy to let the warm up slide by. But…
Not warming up prior to the race is a big mistake.
This is not an article about the virtues of warming up, but rather an exhortation to NOT skip the warm up on race day. As an athlete, you’re probably already aware warming up is an important part of your training and athletic performance. Studies and experience have shown that a proper warm up can decrease chance of injury and improve performance. You know warming up wakes up neuromuscular pathways, creating effective two-way communication between the brain and muscles, which is crucial for optimal performance.
And it’s no surprise to you that a proper warm up serves as “practice” for your brain, preparing you mentally for the upcoming race effort.
So, if you’re an athlete who wants to perform well on race day, why oh why would you skip the race day warm up? This is the day you’ve been training for, so it would be crazy to skip the pre-race warm up and actually increase chance of injury and decrease performance.
“But I need to save energy for the race…”
Having worked with a large number of athletes through the years, I’ve never seen someone who trained properly for their event and failed to finish a race because their warm-up “wore them out”. The benefits of the warm-up FAR exceed any risk of fatigue.
In fact, if you’ve been training properly, you’ve been warming up prior to, or more accurately, as a part of, every workout. A good training plan has trained you to warm up before your race, so you’re prepared for it. The warm up is crucial tool in your race day toolbox. Use it.
Quick Tips for Your Race Day Warm Up
- Use the same warm up you’ve been using in your training. We recommend using the On-Water Movement Prep routine found in Basic Warm Up for Paddling.
- Nice and easy is good, but do throw in some race pace accelerations to “wake up your brain” and prepare the neuromuscular pathways.
- Try to finish your warm up within 10 minutes of the race start. This can be tough in our sport, since paddle races are notorious for starting “sometime around the start time”, and many times the race meeting is held 15 minutes or so prior to the race start. Just do the best you can, and don’t stress about the timing. Doing a two-stage warm up might help — go out and finish your standard warm up prior to the race meeting, and then sneak in 5-6 minutes of movement prior to the race start.
- Generally, the shorter the race, the longer the warm up. If you’re doing a distance race like Chattajack, you can use the race as a warm up (though I still recommend a warm up for all the reasons listed above). I find a 20-minute warm up is a good minimum. Keep in mind the shorter the race, the harder you’re going to go — so thorough movement prep is crucial even for shorter races.
- Find what works for you. Everybody is a bit different, so you feel free to take the On Water Movement Prep and adjust it for you. But DO keep all the components of good warm up in mind. Easy, easy, up the pace, throw in a few race pace pieces, then easy again.
- Older athletes may need longer warm ups. Keep that in mind.
Try It…You’ll Like It
Make a commitment now to improve your race performance in the coming season. Practice the warm up as part of your training. Remember, you should be training like you’re going to race, and you’re going to race like you’ve been training…so use your warm up on race day. And let us know how it goes!
