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Paddle Skool by Tek
125 members • $62/m
14 contributions to Paddle Skool by Tek
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Jul 10 •
On my way to Germany! 🇩🇪
Started packing at around 10pm and didn't get done until 2:30am. Got about 15 minutes quick shut eye and then it was time to head out to the airport. 5.5h flight to Newark. Then a 2.5h layover. And finally an 8h flight to Berlin. Two young kids in tow... let the adventures begin! What should I do once I get to Berlin?
2 likes • Jul 10
Berlin Wall Memorial (or Checkpoint Charlie) .. memorial is life changing!
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Apr 9 •
2025.4.1: WOW (Workout of the Week)
Join us for the next Tek Talk about [How to Choose Your Timing Box] on Thursday at 6:30pm PST. Here is 2025.4.1 WOW 5' WU at 70% 5' WU at 80% 2’ full rest to get ready 45’ at 90% 5' CD at 70% This workout is a strong aerobic workout. Once you’re warmed up, you will be going for 45 minutes at 90% effort level. You can switch sides at whichever intervals you choose. I recommend every 14 strokes. Good luck! Top 30-day contributors will be winning prizes or $$$. (to be announced at 5PM PST on 4/30!) 1st - 1:1 on-water session with me ($400 value) 2nd - 2 weeks of Personalized Training Program ($170 value) 3rd - 1 gift of a month to a friend for to join TLC Skool Community ($50 value) Note: must be redeemed within the following month. What did Tek do this past week?: This past week, I completed my 500m time trial in Tampa and did stellar. It surpassed my expectations. Then I continued to train with the candidates and did my best to learn as much as possible. Main takeaways were to do the d-around, top hand can drop down lower to feather, bottom arm can stay straighter to match others’ techniques. Upon returning from Tampa, we rested a few days and then I went out to Coach Dragon Warriors and that was spectacular. I had so much fun! What will Tek do this upcoming week?: This upcoming week, I was going to rest, but we are actually going to head down to SoCal to put in another time trial. Initially I was only going to do the 500m so that I didn’t need to make another trip down. However, Eri wants another crack at the 500m TT so I’ll accompany her down. I will be putting in a 750m TT as all the premier men will be doing that distance. Fingers crossed I can pull off a solid time! Have a fantastic week! What is something you're looking forward to this week?
2 likes • Apr 9
Good luck at SFD this weekend! I saw Bob's spreadsheet with all the Premiere and SrB guys signed up. A little surprised that Danny Ching's name showed up on the list! I'm not sure if he has ever TT'ed for Bob in the past. There will be a flock of people going just to see/video him do his TT i'm sure 🤣
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Apr 2 •
Behind the Numbers: My 500m Time Trial Journey and What It Means for Your Training
Hello TLC Paddlers, I recently completed a 500m outrigger time trial in Tampa, clocking in at 2:25.13 - a time I'm both proud of and eager to improve upon. I wanted to share this experience with you because the lessons learned apply directly to your paddling journey, regardless of your current level. This result didn't happen overnight. It represents: - 4-6 weekly water sessions focusing on technique refinement and hard intervals - Deliberate warm-up and recovery protocols to maintain performance - Mental preparation techniques to maintain focus during maximum effort During the time trial, I focused on several technique principles: - **Patience at the catch**: Ensuring full blade burial before applying power (but it happens lightning fast during the time trial) - **Acceleration through the stroke**: Progressive power application rather than an immediate "hit" - **Maintaining connection**: Keeping the blade fully engaged throughout the power phase - **Consistent cadence**: Finding the optimal stroke rate for sustained power, should be on the high side to get that fast score The most valuable insight from this experience is that improvement comes from consistent application of fundamentals. The same principles we practice in our sessions are what drive performance at every level. When you feel challenged by a drill or technique adjustment we're working on, remember that these small refinements compound over time. Trust the process - the stopwatch eventually reflects the work. I'll be analyzing the footage from this time trial to identify areas for improvement in my own technique. This continuous self-assessment is something I encourage all of you to embrace - we never stop learning on the water. I'm excited to bring these fresh insights into our upcoming programming. As always, I'm grateful for your trust in me as your coach, and I'm inspired by your dedication to improving your paddling teknique. See you on the water! Coach Tek --- P.S. I've posted the full time trial video on my Youtube if you'd like to see these principles in action. Your comments and questions are always welcome! I recommend lowering the volume a bit because the seat squeaked A LOT hahaha
2 likes • Apr 2
Way to go!!
Mar 13 •
Z2 Cardio Base Building in DB
Our club (AZ Gila Dragons) have been looking for alternative ways to build our Cardio Base (Zone 2) as a team. As this requires weeks/months/years of boring and tedious training, most of us just head out in our OC1's along doing endless mind-numbing laps around Tempe Town Lake (TTL). But as many are at different places in their training and conditioning, its rare to find multiple paddlers who are at the same place, so most go it alone. This is a challenge for some, as the reason they got into DB in the first place was for the social/comradery aspect. It starts to impact their mental well being, training in isolation like this over long periods. We started to do Z2 base building in a Dragonboat once a week, so that we can at least do it together as a group. We do 2 laps around TTL, which is ~9miles (14km), doing 40 minutes on each side, stopping only to swap sides. We try to keep it within Zone2 although sometimes we'll try to push it to higher zones to keep things fun and fresh. Its effective, as we are slowly seeing progress in overall speed/distance increases as we try to go for 1hr 20 minutes exactly each Thurs session. Anyone doing anything similar, have some variations of this, or can suggest some fun alternative things to try to build their cardio base?
4 likes • Mar 13
Its kinda haphazard.. whenever I remember to record the session in our speed coach and record it. Here's the data that the graph is built on.. the graph is over a year or so since we started Jan 2024
1 like • Mar 19
Yah, its tough to do an apples-to-apples comparison, since our Thurs Z2 endurance practice is just an open practice to the team, and anyone can show up. So it will never be the same number of paddlers or the same paddlers individually .. exactly. We do try to at least keep the total duration of the practice (1 hr 20 mins) the same each time to remove one variable. Other factor will also make the comparison less meaningful also (paddlers who decide to go above Z2 on their own, wind/lake conditions, etc..). The purpose really isn't to try to make any type of scientific conclusions about it, but as a whole, the primary purpose is to allow paddlers to build their cardio base through z2 training, over a loooong period of time (months/years). Over time, they will naturally build up their STMF mitochondrial function, and 1) build up better lactate clearing ability and 2) adapt the body to using fat as a primary fuel source even at higher intensities and 3) naturally get faster/stronger at the same Z2 HR intensity. First time I heard of it was training with 13-time Premiere paddler Ed Lau, who turned me onto Arthur Lydiard's philosophy, also known as the Maffetone Method, or the 80/20 periodization rule used by a lot of long-distance runners. World renown endurance coach/scientist Inigo San Milan, who coaches 2-time Tour DeFrance winner, Todej Podacar, is the innovator here (he has a lot of YT videos on the topic). During Thailand WC cycle, I found out just about every TUSA paddler trains with periodization methods. Johnny Puukea, April Zilg, and Danny Ching are also big believers in periodization methods also. This should have more benefit for longer format races, but I would argue that even for a 2-minute 500m sprint race, the ability to clear out lactate faster and more efficiently will allow you not to feel that burn near the end of the race when most paddlers start to gas out at Z5+ intensity levels. The graph was just a fun and unscientific way to show that progress over time, knowing that its not a perfect system (# paddlers being the biggest variable), but if you look at the lines where you can match up # paddlers you can see improvement from an earlier date to a later date.
Feb 11 •
Hello from Tempe Arizona!
I started paddling in 2015 in Tempe, AZ as a part of a corporate team in our local/annual AZDBA Festival in Tempe Town Lake. I grew up in Hawaii, so being near/on the water has always been a happy place for me. As I get older, trying to balance personal achievement while pouring into other people and seeing them grow has been a huge passion of mine. I tried out for the US National Team in the 2023 Pattaya Thailand cycle and it has been my biggest thrill and personal achievement to bring home 3 WC medals including gold in the 2k with the SB crew. A huge shout out to Tek for getting the ball rolling in that endeavor by submitting my time trial video to Bob McN to get me in front of the coaches, and it was a whirlwind from there. At the beginning of 2024, I was asked to take over the helm of the local club I have been paddling with since 2016 (AZ Gila Dragons), and have been putting most of my energy there over the past 12 months. Since coming back from Thailand, its been my dream to put together an AZ Select team and take it to CCNC in a bid to earn a berth to CCWC. I am in the birth pangs of that currently with a few other AZ club coaches, so lets see where that takes us this year! So happy to be here among other passionate paddlers!
0 likes • Feb 19
@Tee T I'll be at SFD this weekend for the camp!
1 like • Mar 13
@Matt Norfleet Awesome! Looking forward to it Brotha!! Saw your times... you are a LOCK for this cycle!!
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Active 81d ago
Joined Feb 11, 2025