I recently joined a gym. I would like to work on my paddling muscles. There are so many machines....what are good ones to use for paddling? I'd rather use machines vs other exercises. Also is there a good way to know what weight on a machine I should start with? Should I just try starting at the top and use whichever # isn't super easy but also isn't hard? I'm taking it slow and building up...in the past I have done too much too soon and then quit.

Also I only have time for 2-3 workouts per week. I want to jog (I've started a "couch to 5k" program already) and do weights. Once the weather is nicer but before it's hot I will be able to run at home and could add in another workout in a week. But work and taking care of the kids only allows for 2-3 workouts otherwise. So advice on how often to jog vs weights appreciated (or can I do them the same workout?)

My trip starts at the beginning of august.

Great first step in joining a gym! It would be very difficult to try to set you up on a fitness program on the computer. Does the gym have fitness trainers? If so sit down with them and outline your fitness goals. They should be able then to set you up on a program that will address those goals. When starting out on a weight lifting program the trainers will be able to test your currant level and be able to start you on a weight that is appropriate for your level of fitness. Having a trainer help you get started can make all the difference in the world. Make sure you kind of "evaluate" your trainer. If they don't ask questions like, do you have any physical limitations or medical issues that I should know about? They may even ask you to get your doctor to give you a medical clearance before you start. If a trainer doesn't ask those kind of questions, that's a red flag. Good luck!!!
Larry

I second working with a trainer. Barring that look for motions that mimic paddling but do an all around workout. Definitely look for exercises aimed at core and core rotational motions which are important for paddling and lifting a canoe for portaging.

There was a recent study that found that it doesn't matter if you do light weights and lots of reps or heavy weights and just a few reps. Either way you will add the same amount of strength and whether you bulk up or not has more to do with your genetics than your program. The key is to work until the muscle is tired. If that's 25 reps with light weights or 6 reps with heavy weights won't really matter. But you are less likely to hurt yourself with lighter weights. So, start low and lots of reps and move up slowly in small increments. Stop when your form starts to suffer. Good form is safe. Also, for safety think of yourself as a chain. Don't start to put in force until the links are all extended and the force is through the entire system, including an engaged core. A loose link that isn't ready can be the cause of injury.

For machines, I like the cable machines. They have some of the advantages of free weights which is forcing you to control the weight's path with the smaller muscles and not just push with the larger ones. Fully fixed machines have some uses but don't give you that more realistic movement.

Warm up.

And stretch afterwards.

And set up a program with a trainer. It's worth it.

Two weight workouts a week gives you a lot more development than one. Given your schedule ask a trainer about body weight exercises (push-ups, plank, crunches) that can be done before or after your jogs and they can adapt them to your strength. For instance doing plank or push-ups with a chair or table can make them easier than doing them on a flat floor.

Don't necessarily have to choose between cardio and lifting. Last summer I began carrying light hand weights (2.5 to 10 pounds), doing sets of 50-75 curls, overhead extensions triceps, and various shoulder-related lifts while walking. Some days I also carry a pack loaded with 20-30 pounds. Doing this because of lack of time, and I feel like the lighter weights and higher reps are better training for the activities I do (canoe, ski, volleyball). Also, I like to work out with my wife, who won't run anymore, thus the walking. No scientific evidence, but I feel like this has helped me.

Taught Physical Education for 33 years and used to canoe race, so I have some experience on this subject.

The main muscles for paddling that are used the most are shoulder, back and abdominal. Your arms basically attach your paddle to the rest of your body so those muscle actually have a smaller role in paddling than people think.

Here's the thing, if you concentrate on only paddle specific muscle during the "off" season and you only plan on just casual paddling than you're doing yourself a disservice. You're better off doing an overall workout featuring shoulders, arms, core, and legs. Work both motions. What I mean by that is if you do a pushing lift, make sure you do the pulling exercise sometime during your workout.

For example, bench press is the pushing, sitting row would be the opposite pulling motion. This keeps you balanced. Free weights are great but machines usually give you the best opportunity to achieve the push/pull workout. If you know nothing about lifting, have a person at your club show you how to use them and ask them to create an overall balanced work out. Two to three times a week is all you need. Recovery time is when your muscles are getting stronger.

+1 to all already written. I will add putting emphasis on the legs, especially the knee machines. Have staff explain the machines to you. There is too much to remember so ask often. You can get by without paying a trainer if staff can give you pointers.

So many people forget to strengthen the muscles in your lower back and abs. Thus back problems when lifting like canoe or pack.
Yes I do a lot for my legs for they drive my engine up those hills. Be it a leg press or those fortunate to still be able to do squats.
Also a great workout is a bike that you can adjust for resistance. A great aerobic and awesome leg workout.

The gym is Planet Fitness and it's taken me a while to figure out if they have trainers. Yes I could just ask but I go in very early in the morning and don't feel like talking to anyone, and when I signed up they were busy and I didn't get much info. Anyway...

I can get a free personal session to design my own program so I will do this ASAP. Today I did some random weight machines before I jogged. That seemed to work well. I had extra time today though.

Using kettle bells is one of the best workouts for functional strength - I highly recommend the Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout by Keith Weber

if you can finish the whole thing with a 35lb kettlebell then youre a monster of a human being. I started with a 15 and struggled..

Amazon Link

Take notes during that session to set up a workout. They may give you settings on the machines that will be hard to remember later.

Looks like you've gotten great advice so far from everyone... and getting together for that free session should make a big difference in your planning and training.

I have worked with a personal trainer off and on for several years and have found that I really enjoy it. He pushes me to do things I wouldn't normally try and it keeps me motivated. It also has helped to tailor my workouts to what I am specifically doing at the time, whether that is training for a big run or prepping for paddling season or both.

A strong core, incl strong back, is key for both activities but I find that I am not always good at varying my activity enough on my own to keep me motivated.

One of the exercises that he created for me a few years ago that I still try to do regularly was targeting paddling... sit on an exercise ball and then use a weighted bar to mimic the paddling motion. it helped target the proper muscles in a way that other exercises and weight machines don't do. At the gym I do this with weighted bars. At home I use a walking stick and add arm weights to my wrists.

Last but not least... figure out timing that works for you. I hear ya on the family and kid commitments. One of the things that I have tried to do is fit in smaller times throughout the day when I am too busy to go to the gym and/or get in a run outside. Do you have the ability to do some strength exercises at home in the early morning or late at night? Not always easy to do but I try to manage it several times a week... I have an exercise ball, some hand weights, etc at home. Even if I just get in 15 min in the morning before my shower and then get out for a run later in the day, I have managed both. When I am really motivated (have a big canoe trip on the horizon for example) I even manage to do some paddling exercises before bed at night.

Personally, I really like an elliptical machine for a full body work out.

As a distance runner and former PE teacher and track coach, I may have a few tips for you. Be careful with focusing too much on paddling muscles because it is important to have a well rounded workout so that your antagonist and protagonist muscles are working in harmony. Too many people hit the Seated Row machine to become a stronger paddler and it doeen't help much. Example, for pulling, you're mostly engaging your trapezius (traps) and lattisimuss dorsi muscles (lats). However, don't beat them up too much, train your pecs (chest) and deltoids (muscles around your shoulder/collarbone) as well. Most importantly, strengthen your core. Abs and lower back work is what will allow you to paddle all day without fatigue. An efficient paddler does not simply use their arms, they use their core and legs to create rotation which gives "torque" to your paddle stroke. If you have 2-3 days, you'll want to do some chest and upper back one day, leg work one day and you can run and do some lower back and ab work on the 3rd day. You'll see results in less than a month. You could really run any one of the other days too, just do the strength stuff first, it'll be easier and you won't sweat up the machines. ??

Workout like a marine. Pushups, Pull-ups, and real situps. Those combined with running or some other form of cardio should get you where you need to be for canoe country.

For what its worth, the local gym has a Technogym machine called a "Top Excite", basically a sort of arm cycle that imitates the paddling motion remarkably well. the hand holds are moveable and adjustable on the fly so you can paddle a set on one side and switch to the other as you would when paddling a canoe. Its not a weight machine per se but similar to the experience of paddling a canoe, particularly a racing stroke. I mean that it does not allow you to move your hand past your torso (unless you were sitting very close to the machine) which is basically not where you want to exert power in your stroke.

There are probably much better methods and possibly machines for strengthening but this thing gives you a great workout.

I'd agree with the whole body work outs. You want the endurance to go all day and it only takes one sore spot to make that difficult. The first trip I took, I didn't know what to prep for so I just went biking a couple times a week for about a month and a half before I went. While I was certainly lacking in my arms, I did have the endurance to keep going. Biking does tighten your abdominal muscles too so that why I think I did as well as I did. Getting into shape at all is going to help a lot so don't worry too much about specific muscles until after you get your whole body in shape. That mean jogging, lifting, free weights and various machines. No sense in limiting yourself at all.

Master T25 Gamma crossfit training and you'll plow through any canoe trip. Guaranteed.

quote anthonyp007: "As a distance runner and former PE teacher and track coach, I may have a few tips for you. Be careful with focusing too much on paddling muscles because it is important to have a well rounded workout so that your antagonist and protagonist muscles are working in harmony. Too many people hit the Seated Row machine to become a stronger paddler and it doeen't help much. Example, for pulling, you're mostly engaging your trapezius (traps) and lattisimuss dorsi muscles (lats). However, don't beat them up too much, train your pecs (chest) and deltoids (muscles around your shoulder/collarbone) as well. Most importantly, strengthen your core. Abs and lower back work is what will allow you to paddle all day without fatigue. An efficient paddler does not simply use their arms, they use their core and legs to create rotation which gives "torque" to your paddle stroke. If you have 2-3 days, you'll want to do some chest and upper back one day, leg work one day and you can run and do some lower back and ab work on the 3rd day. You'll see results in less than a month. You could really run any one of the other days too, just do the strength stuff first, it'll be easier and you won't sweat up the machines. ??"

wow, you must be using some sort of rowing machine or technique I am not familar with,

in fact, the poster did not say what type of paddling this is being done for, so all these responses may be for naught, is the poster a skinny little guy or built like a tree stump?

in general, I'd say if you could do only one thing indoors, a rowing machine will give the type of workout that will help you to paddle

now, if you are a skinny little dude with chicken wing arms, maybe pumping some iron has merit ...

I'm going to assume you're not training to be a marathon canoe racer, that you just want to be in good basic shape to do what you do a canoe trip - paddle a canoe, lift and carry packs and a canoe. You've also said you have limited time. I'd suggest you do exercises that most closely replicate that.

Cardio - hill-walking, add a pack later, increase the weight as you go. Some jogging/running is OK too. Hill walking will increase the cardio effort without as much pounding.

Strength - here are a couple of things you can do without even needing time for a workout. Planks - front, back, sides, 30 seconds each, 2 minutes total.

Get a 40-lb sandbag (or 20 or 30 lb bag of something if 40 is too much to start), stand it up (the top two corners will be about knee-high) somewhere you'll walk by every once in a while. Stop, squat, grab the "ears" (top corners), and in one motion lift as high as you can 8-12 times. It takes maybe 30 seconds, just do it a few times here and there. It's a compound exercise - works more than one muscle group - that hits the legs, core, back, shoulder, arm muscles that you'll use to lift the packs and canoe. It also recruits the smaller stabilizer muscles that you'll need.

You can also use 2 dumbbells at the gym - squat and as you rise lift the dumbbells overhead, repeat.

This stuff will give you a lot of bang for the buck in your limited time. The sand bag will cost you $3 at the garden center and sitting right there in the garage, laundry room, etc., you don't even need to have time for a workout. But you get one anyway. It only costs $3 to find out and you can always put in the sandbox or garden. A 20-lb bag of rice you can always eat :).

I agree with Anthony. A rowing machine doesn't work rotational core muscles, although it does work core if you keep that engaged while rowing and it is a good, overall workout. There is a paddling attachment you can get for Concept 2 rowers.

For rotational core, one exercise we do is to take a cable weight machine, set up so the cable will pull sideways at mid-stomach height. Hold cable arms out, rotate quickly to one side to pull the weight up and then go back slowly as the weight drops. Turn around and do the other side. The arms shouldn't move. The motion should come from rotating the core.

Maybe most important thing is to find stuff you like to do so that you will do it. I didn't lift or run at all today. But I did play squash. Not sure that is a paddling specific workout but I like doing it. And so I do it.

Early in the morning? Joined a gym?

My red flags are going off.........no one has talked about warming up and then stretching before workouts. If your walking in the door and then jumping on machines you are asking for problems. Start with jumping jacks for at least a minute to get the blood flow up and then arm circles before any weight training to warm up and protect your rotor cuffs.......very bad injury. After your warm up you should stretch. THEN you can work out safely without debilitating injuries. Plan to spend 15 minutes for warming up / stretching especially if you have a cold body.

I have a Concept 2 rower and find it quite useful for paddling as it replicates the motion while strengthening various muscle groups and core.

While you will develop core strength while on a trip it should be a serious focus before you go and probably the most important thing you can do. Without a good base everything else is for naught.

You should also get yourself a DVD yoga disk to do while at home. Yoga will help with flexibility, strength and balance as well as making yourself more durable. I have the P90X yoga disk and when my daughter borrowed it and promptly lost it I had to replace it. You can pick the single yoga disc up on Ebay for around $20. Very helpful and perfect for total beginners. Funny story.......I was working my way through the P90X video series for the first time and I got to the Yoga disk and thought "oh good, a break, stand in one spot and move slow......how hard could it be"? Well long story short it totally kicked my ass and I couldn't get through it........stand in one spot, move slow and drenched in sweat (what does that tell you?)........Anyway, very worthwhile and cheap for what you get out of it.

I've lost 20lbs since December, and gained a lot of strength. With kids and work, it has come down to carb and time management for me.

I cut out ALL my "bad carbs". And if I eat any starches that I allow (oatmeal, lentils, beer), I measure them and limit myself to 1 cup per day.

I get to the gym at 5am every day right when they open, so family and work do not get in the way. It was very hard to get this habit going, but once I developed the habit I have never stopped.

If I do too much cardio, I get ravenously hungry. So I focus more on weights and a bit of high intensity cardio after a warmup. To echo what has been said above, good old fashioned situps (crunches, bicycle) and pushups (use knees if too hard) I think help canoeing most. But more importantly, if you have time conflict issues, you can add them into a 7-10min HIIT routine that you can do at home before you go to the gym, or when you can't get to the gym at all. It's not so much what you do, it's the time management aspect.

There are some good videos on youtube by Micheal Mosely/BBC on carb management and intermittent fasting, which I have also been doing. Also, there are many videos with 7-10 minute HIIT routines that incorporate pushups and situps that have worked well for me. The other new thing I have been trying for time savings is something called "super slow mo" with weights/machines. I think it has helped me. There are lots of videos on that on youtube too. But I would also strongly consider getting a personal trainer for a bit to show you these things, as I am far far from an expert.

MT makes good points about making sure you do a proper warm up and also don't forget the cool down. I see so many people at the gym walk in and start pushing weights or busting their butt on the treadmill. A good active warm up is really important to injury prevention and if you want to burn some fat it gets your body primed for that to actually happen.

When you start to exercise your body is going to burn off the simple sugars first, once those are burned off then you'll start to burn real calories/fat. The active warm up helps with that. Another thing is after your warm up lift weights first, that will burn those simple sugars before you get on the treadmill so your cardio time will be much more productive.

By active warm up I mean don't walk in and start doing static stretches right away. I only do static stretches after a full active warm up but really 90% of it isn't done until after the entire workout. After my active warm up I will only static stretch if something feels tight otherwise I go right into my workout. A good active warm up would be jumping jacks, a really light jog, or various other exercises. Back in my competitive running days I had a 15-20 minute warm up routine that I did before I did any training or races.

Yoga is also a great idea. I just started to get into it recently, i'm probably 2 months in at this point. Yoga is fantastic for building strength and flexibility in your joints and also building up your balance and core strength. It will make paddling easier by strengthening your shoulders and improving flexibility and it will help on portages by improving your balance on uneven ground and by increasing your core strength and by making all of your joints more stable. Many gyms will offer yoga classes as part of your gym membership, otherwise there are good online videos to follow. I've been doing all of mine yoga at home and have found a pretty good series of videos on you tube to follow if anyone is interested.

I've recently hopped on the Yoga bandwagon as well. I use it as a destresser at the end of the work day, and it also has loosened up and leaned my muscles since I've been doing it.

On youtube there is countless free yoga videos. Yoga with Adrienne has 3 different 30-day programs and they're great. I suggest starting with the 30-days of yoga, then Yoga Camp and then Yoga Revolution. You'll find muscles you never even knew you had.

HREF="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBu-pQG6sTY&t=61s" TARGET="_blank">Yoga with Adrienne

quote BigCurrent: "I've recently hopped on the Yoga bandwagon as well. I use it as a destresser at the end of the work day, and it also has loosened up and leaned my muscles since I've been doing it.


On youtube there is countless free yoga videos. Yoga with Adrienne has 3 different 30-day programs and they're great. I suggest starting with the 30-days of yoga, then Yoga Camp and then Yoga Revolution. You'll find muscles you never even knew you had.


HREF="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBu-pQG6sTY&t=61s" TARGET="_blank">Yoga with Adrienne "

Yoga with Adriene is the same one I'm following and she is really good and makes it very accessible. I'm in the middle of the 30 days of Yoga and I feel for a beginner like myself its the perfect place to start. Most of the sessions are between 25-30 minutes and after a hard day she follows it up with a shorter easy day.

I've been doing them later at night and have found I've also been sleeping better which is a nice bonus.

I couldn't believe how tight my right shoulder was until I started doing yoga. Finding extra flexibility in that shoulder should really help paddling.

There are a fair handful of ways to gain functional fitness and then, of course, there is targeted fitness.

Assume the warming up, etc.

Movement with a time component is a great way to increase strength, mobility, and conditioning at the same time. It is like focusing on all three at once yet it isn't as good as focusing on one at a time. Do you have the time to focus on one at a time, or maybe combinations, or do you have a limited chunk of time to do this? I'm assuming you don't have all the time in the world to spend on it. I'm sure in this thread you have stated how many times a week you can get in a session and for how long.

I would first assess if you have any imbalances in your body that may lead to injury now or down the road. If you had any, which you probably do, then that needs to be part of your focus.

Core - If you made core the central focus of your workout you are doing very well. Having a strong core will greatly add to paddling strength and endurance and make it so the rest of your muscles are not working as hard.

CrossFit - If you find a GOOD crossfit box then you can get what you are looking for out of that. People have various opinions on CrossFit but if you find a box like the one I use, it's good for anybody, to include my mom, who takes classes there. With CF you could add auxiliary work on the rower, which would help the rowing endurance and burn some calories.

Regular Workouts - I like compound movements. They involve more parts of the body, gets the heart rate up, and keeps things interesting. I personally work these in every other week and do various movements the other times. You can do a chest/front-middle shoulder/tricep day, a back/rear shoulder/bicep day, then a leg day, or you can do a push/pull approach like chest/back day then a shoulder/bi/tri day then leg day, etc. I generally do one for a few weeks, then the other, just to keep from falling into a rut.

Whichever approach I do I like to end with time on the rower and do sprints or longer steady-state.

I forget that I've become relatively unknown 'round these parts. My mega posting days are long gone. Back in the day most folks just knew: nojoBRO is actually a girl.

:)

So...I met with the trainer. I am not really very impressed.

She showed me four machines that should help with paddling. Then I asked about core strength because I knew from reading this very thread and from experience portaging that it's very necessary, so she showed me a couple things to help with that. So I'm going to do the ones she suggested and add in some others of my choosing. Whatevs. Also she was emphasizing arm strength and from reading here I think that's not the most important paddling exercise, is it? Paddling is a body movement, not just arms. Right?

She was also setting the weights too high for me. I'm starting at total zero here, and think I have a natural base strength that is under most women's already. But I am going to work hard and move forward...just more slowly than she was recommending. I did like 5 reps on each of the machines she showed me and I can totally feel it! I need to avoid making myself completely miserable.

Stay with me here cause my rambling will come around to a point that I think you'll find helpful. I've worked out on and off for years. +/- five years ago I was disgusted enough with myself to go from "off" back to "on". Lost 20-25 pounds, all of it gut, and felt and looked much better. Then.......I got sick of it and was about to go back to "off" when a couple of guys convinced me to try CrossFit. Now, before you stop reading understand I am NOT recommending you try CrossFit (although that could work well for you provided you can find a good instructor which is not a foregone conclusion unfortunately). In fact, I'm no longer involved with it myself, but I learned a lot from it about getting results quickly and for the last year and a half I've been doing my own scaled down CrossFit style workouts because done properly they're more effective than anything else and, here's the best part, thirty minutes is a long session. The other cool thing is this style of workout is intense enough that you're automatically covering cardio as well. Unless you're one **** of a beast that won't happen with machines. Generally speaking I pick three to five exercises and string them together into a workout that covers most of the body. I might do rounds for time or AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) depending on how much time I have, what kind of mood I'm in, whether I'm afraid my younger GF will put me to shame :), etc. Following are some of the movements I pick from divided by the group(s) they work. Picking any three to five and doing enough rounds is guaranteed to leave you sweaty and feeling accomplished. It's important to mix it up. You'll have to decide what your body can handle which will change as you progress, and you'll find that many of them actually target several muscle groups. That's a good thing! You'll have to Google the ones you're not familiar with, otherwise this will become a dissertation, but if you have specific questions please ask. Just remember; stretching and warming up joints and muscles before is critical.

Abs/Core:
Russian Twists (my absolute fave and will yield incredible results for your core)
Crunches (do em right or they'll just hurt your back and suck)
Planks (start with 30 seconds and work your way up)
Situps (use a lower back wedge if they have them, ask for them if they don't)
Weighted Sit-ups
Ball Crunches (thankfully not what they sound like)
Scissors
Levers
Hollow Holds

Shoulders/Chest/Triceps/Back:
Pushups
Kettle Bell Swings
Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
Medicine Ball Slams (great way to take out aggression)
Ground to Overheads
Pullups
Ring Rows
Ring Dips
Rowing Machine (form is critical)

Legs/Cardio:
Air Squats
Taters
Goblet Squats
Walking Lunges, weighted or not
Walking overhead lunges
Box Jumps
Box Stepups, weighted or not; work way up to weighted
Single or Double Unders (jump rope)
Run Stairs
Weighted Sled Push
High Knees Run

I know you want to stick to machines, and that's fair enough, but you're unlikely to really get the results you want unless you get over that prejudice (assuming you're physically able). I like machines fine, but only on days when I want to pay extra attention to my upper body. On those days I start with some machine and free weight/dumbbell work then do a workout. Trust me, I've done the machine thing, and it's certainly better than nothing, but to achieve any real results you'll have to engage in long monotonous sessions and you WILL burn out. Intensity, good form, body weight and weights will get you there. Look around the gym at the folks who look the fittest and watch what they are and aren't doing and you'll see what I mean.

Also, carefully consider your diet. All the working out in the world will be undermined by a bad diet. It's amazing how many people don't get that.

One last thing. Check out Tabata. Great little way to wring a little lagniappe out of your workout. Good luck!

If you don't mind could you post the routine she suggested?

As far as arm strength, I do think it's a good idea as your arms move more than the rest of your body on a normal cruising stroke. The core, etc. are there to stabilize and of course move a bit to assist in everything.

Let's think about a paddle stroke on the right side. Assuming your left hand is on the knob and the right hand is on the handle. If you make that motion it is REAL close to basically holding your arm out in a fist like you just punched someone in front of you. If you then move your arm like you are going to elbow someone right behind you that mimics the approximate motion. See below.



And here is someone who is really getting into the stroke, but in general it does show the movement. When you are cruising you don't lean into it this much but the point is clear.



Core, back, shoulder, arm (not much bicep on right arm but left is some), lats, etc. An exercise that is very close to doing that is a bent over one arm dumbell row. See below.



You can work this in as it hits many of the parts you need. However you can't do hundreds of them for endurance so it should just be part of your strategy.

my recommendation is to stay as far away from a gym and exercise nuts as possible
get outside and enjoy some biking, go for a brisk walk, do some paddling on one of our lakes, hopefully you got outside and did some skiing or snow shoeing, ...

you can save yourself a bunch of money by building your own weights
take one of those 5 gallon buckets and fill it with concrete
now carry it around with you all day

you can thank me whenever we meet

quote ZaraSp00k: "you can save yourself a bunch of money by building your own weights
take one of those 5 gallon buckets and fill it with concrete
now carry it around with you all day


you can thank me whenever we meet"

Only one? Then she'll have one huge arm and one tiny one.

There is a lot of good advise here. I coach track and most of this fits what I know about fitness. When I was shopping for a gym I was specifically looking for one that had a lap pool. If your gym has a pool, I would encourage you to add swimming to your workout. It's a great total body workout without the pounding. My routine has involved running, lifting, light bounding exercises, and swimming.

quote Good to laugh: "my recommendation is to stay as far away from a gym and exercise nuts as possible
get outside and enjoy some biking, go for a brisk walk, do some paddling on one of our lakes, hopefully you got outside and did some skiing or snow shoeing, ..."

I think the gym is very helpful,but your absolutely right. Some get so tied up in the Gym they don't get outside and exercise and enjoy the outdoors. There is a place for both.

5 reps does suggest the weights were set too high. Not that it won't make you stronger but it risks injury. Aim for settings where you can do 12 reps. Do two or three different exercises that work different motions in a little cycle. And aim to do 12 reps of each and do 3 cycles for the 2 or 3 exercises. Then move onto two or three other exercises.

I do agree about getting outdoors. Last week we played tennis outdoors and took a couple of nice walks.

Nola, I'd suggest joining a "body pump" or toning class if your gym offers it. It's lots of reps with lighter weights (usually to really bad pop music), and doing it in a class with an instructor helps with the motivation factor. The class I take twice a week hits most of the major muscle groups, focusing on the core. It's helped me tremendously.

quote nojobro: "So...I met with the trainer. I am not really very impressed.


She showed me four machines that should help with paddling. Then I asked about core strength because I knew from reading this very thread and from experience portaging that it's very necessary, so she showed me a couple things to help with that. So I'm going to do the ones she suggested and add in some others of my choosing. Whatevs. Also she was emphasizing arm strength and from reading here I think that's not the most important paddling exercise, is it? Paddling is a body movement, not just arms. Right?


She was also setting the weights too high for me. I'm starting at total zero here, and think I have a natural base strength that is under most women's already. But I am going to work hard and move forward...just more slowly than she was recommending. I did like 5 reps on each of the machines she showed me and I can totally feel it! I need to avoid making myself completely miserable. "

Getting a good fitness trainer is like finding a good car mechanic!! If you don't feel comfortable with the one who helped you, does the gym have more than just one? Did the one who helped you give you a packet outlining the exercises she wants you to do? Also in that packet is there a sheet that you can document your workout? What I mean is if you are doing bicep curls, you should be able to document at say 25 lbs, you did one set of 10, second set of 9 and third set 6. That way you can see your progress. When you can do all three sets of ten, you add more weight.
As for paddling and arm strength this is my take on it. Paddling, as most have already said is a whole body deal. However when you are paddling against a strong wind and your core is getting tired, switch to using arm strength to give the core a short break. Then back to core muscles. It helps giving each muscle group a rest. Works for me.
Good luck finding a good trainer, its worth the effort.
One more thing, it really helps if you have a workout partner. Shame someone into working out with you!!!

quote WonderMonkey: "If you don't mind could you post the routine she ssuggested?

Continute with my cardio. Weight machines: pull down, row, torso rotation, and chest press.

I added the seated leg press (she said my jogging would be enough for my legs. I disagree) and the back extension. I also will do the dumbbell row thing you showed me.

quote nojobro: "

quote WonderMonkey: "If you don't mind could you post the routine she ssuggested?

Continute with my cardio. Weight machines: pull down, row, torso rotation, and chest press.

I added the seated leg press (she said my jogging would be enough for my legs. I disagree) and the back extension. I also will do the dumbbell row thing you showed me."

I also disagree that the jogging would be enough for your legs. Jogging is good endurance and INITIALLY you will get a bit of strength, but that's it.

I know you have gotten a tremendous amount of advice in this thread. Probably enough to not really have helped. I think I'd do a generic full body workout and then throw in specifics for rowing.

For your legs, is there a set of steps that you could climb? Do them steady for a great workout, or slower and skip a step, or quicker for cardio. It would help create functional fitness, which is what you are really after. To build muscle you could embark on a dedicated leg day in the gym where you do goblin squats, air squats, barbell squats, lunges, etc. but are you going to do that? Probably not, but maybe you will. For your legs I would do things that you can achieve, safe for someone who doesn't have someone there working with you, and so on.

I suggest the following, and I'll give video below on the versions I like:
Air Squats - Great way to introduce you to the proper form for squats. VERY effective and you can get cardio out of this as well.

Walking Lunges - These will really work you, and help with balance. Make sure you don't bang your knee into the ground. Do them slow and controlled, especially at first. When you get to where you can do a million, you can add some hand weights in.

Stairs - Just so happens I have a video where I'm doing some stairs for a First Responder Challenge with my friend Mindy. Video way below.

Other things - Many things you can do but really if you start with the air squats and lunges, and maybe on the weekend go do stairs that is a very good start. If you choose to do the air squats and lunges I have opinions on how many to start with, what to work yourself up to, and so on.

Air Squat Video - This guy looks like he is going very fast and bouncing at the bottom (bad), but he isn't. He is very practiced at it and controls that bottom part. They slow it down for you to see. All he points on foot positioning, knees out, etc. are correct. THIS version of air squat is the safest on the body.


Lunge Video - This guy does a very good job of explaining things. Pay attention to what he says about the knee going too far in front of the foot.


Stairs

And ... if you have access to a rower those are nice to use. I usually do this at the end of a workout.

WonderMonkey, it sounds like you and I take a pretty similar approach, but I'd be willing to bet your form is better than mine.

quote DeuceCoop: "WonderMonkey, it sounds like you and I take a pretty similar approach, but I'd be willing to bet your form is better than mine. "

I'm an engineer by trade, it's a curse.

"I know you have gotten a tremendous amount of advice in this thread. "

there are very few people more rabid than Gym Rats/personal trainers/Exercise Nuts for claiming to have the Holy grail

quote ZaraSp00k: ""I know you have gotten a tremendous amount of advice in this thread. "

there are very few people more rabid than Gym Rats/personal trainers/Exercise Nuts for claiming to have the Holy grail"

She asked for help, and the fine people of this forum jumped in and tried their best to give her just that. If someone had information and they felt it would help her and opted to just go on by, then that would be the questionable act.

Heck people give me advice on stoves, canoes, etc. and it's all because they are stove nuts, canoe nuts, canoe nuts, and etc. nuts.

I appreciate the nuts of this forum.

I run - and like to hit up the rowing machines at LTF.

Came across this thread while searching for something else, but I'll add my 2 (amateur) cents.
I'm primarily an XC skier, but this includes plenty of running and biking in the summer to keep endurance up. This year I've been resolved to also add 2days/week of strength training. I've also been paddling more and more for the voyageurs challenge and a couple other races this year: so paddling-specific strength it is. It can be unsettling trying to walk into a gym and figure out where to start.

I went for the homegrown approach: for about $150 I got some floor mats, 15, 25, and 35# kettlebells, 15b medicine ball, and 10 and 20# dumbbells. A good place to start and I can add heavier equipment as strength improves. Youtube exercises for a while and you learn them pretty fast. My favorites are the combined movements that work several groups at once, along with balance:

russian twists,
standing kettle rows,
dumbbell pushup-to-rows,
Turkish get-ups,
walking lunges,
Goblet squats,
kettlebell figure 8's,
dumbbell box steps,
pullups.

I don't really do HIIT ,because I think some sort of careful form is important with all these (and I have an interval running day each week that I feel is much more effective than any strength HIIT). To the op: all these can be done at a gym, but I prefer my corner of the basement.

Ive seen improvements in paddling pace fairly quickly, and am looking forward to seeing what it will do for next years skiing.

Also: I really didn't realize how many full-body muscles are involved in paddling until I put a footbrace in the canoe.

After my spinal fusion (L3-4-5) My physical therapist who is also a BWCA canoe tripper, has me "paddling " in the dining room. I have those latex elastic exercise bands - one goes around the table center post - another ties to it with a loop on the end for my paddle. I sit on my exercise ball and paddle - the bands give me the correct resistance as I paddle. The ball simulates the wiggle of the canoe. Oh, and I have several other exercises to do too, that is just the very productive "conversation piece".