Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Characteristics of the Sport Canoe/Kayak Flatwater was first included in the Olympic Games, as a men's sport, at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Women's events were included shortly thereafter and made their first appearance at the 1948 Olympic Games. The Australian Institute of Sport Sprint Canoe Unit was established in 1991 and is located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. To find out more about the Australian Institute of Sport Sprint Canoe program visit their website at www.ais.org.au/canoeing/sprint Competition Both canoes and kayaks are raced at the Olympic Games. Athletes contesting kayak events, sit with legs forward, in a closed boat and use a double bladed paddle. Whereas athletes contesting canoe events, paddle an open boat in a kneeling position and use a single bladed paddle. The type of craft and the number of people in the craft are expressed in the name (e.g. K1 is a single kayak event, K2 a doubles kayak event, K4 a quad kayak event, C1 a single canoe event and C2 a doubles canoe events). Men compete over 500 m and 1000 m in the K1, K2, C1 and C2 and over 1000 m in the K4. Women compete over 500 m in the K1, K2, and K4 events. Races are contested on flat water and boats must keep to their own lanes, staying at least 5 m from the closest boat. A system of heats, repecharges and finals are used to determine which competitors reach the finals. The repecharge or "second chance" is used for competitors who lose the first heat. Training Elite sprint canoe athletes commonly train 2-3 times each day, 6 days a week. Training typically involves one to two on-water sessions plus either a weight training session, and/or a cross training session of aerobic running or swimming. On-water sessions vary in distance, frequency and intensity of effort according to the specific focus of the session. An aerobic session may consist of 12-16 km of steady-state paddling, whereas a specific race set may consist of 250-500 m pieces at maximal or near maximal effort. Athletes paddling in team boats will do a mix of individual and team boat training to assist them to run the boat smoothly when working together within a team boat. Special Considerations Canoeing and kayaking require significant upper body strength, with the drive of each stroke generated by the torso. Commonly, athletes are heavily muscled in the shoulders, back and abdomen regions. To achieve such a physique, athletes undertake significant resistance training programs supervised by qualified strength and conditioning coaches. These programs are designed to develop strength, and explosive power specific to their sport. Resistance training workouts for younger, developing athletes often focus on muscle hypertrophy so the athlete can increase lean body mass. At times it can be difficult for athletes to increase lean body mass or even maintain muscle mass during periods of intense training. Athletes need to be diligent with their selection of foods and fluids throughout the day in order to enhance training sessions, maximise recovery between training and maintain, or if necessary, increase lean body mass.
Common Nutrition Issues Energy Balance As kayak/canoe flatwater paddlers are heavily muscled and sustain high training loads, they have increased daily energy (kilojoule), carbohydrate and protein requirements. For some athletes this means careful planning with their meals and snacks throughout the day to match daily energy requirements. However, for others, this means they relax their food choices and rely on less nutritious options to meet their daily energy requirements. Meal plans of these athletes, typically lack structure and planning which often results in a mismatch between daily energy expenditure and energy (kilojoule) intake. In this situation, training performance and recovery can be adversely affected. Timing of Meals and Snacks Around Training Sessions Most athletes have work or study commitments outside of training and given they are required to complete two-three training sessions daily, athletes need to carefully plan the timing of their meals and snacks throughout the day. The nutritional focus in assisting an athlete's recovery following training will depend on the nature and duration of the session, along with the environmental conditions in which the session was performed. Eating a carbohydrate-rich, protein-containing snack or meal immediately after training may optimise gains in muscle mass by increasing production of anabolic hormones, reducing protein breakdown and supplying amino acids for protein synthesis. For athletes striving to increase lean body mass, recent research suggests that this snack may be even more effective when consumed before the session. The following snacks are examples that provide sufficient carbohydrate to optimise recovery following heavy exercise: Male athlete (target 60-80 g carbohydrate) *200 g fruit yoghurt + jam sandwich *200 g fruit yoghurt + cereal bar + 250 ml fruit juice *200 ml flavoured milk + cereal bar + banana 750-1000 ml sports drink *60 g PowerBar Protein Plus powder with water + large banana *Sports bar + 500 ml sports drink Female athlete (target 40-50 g carbohydrate) *200 g fruit yoghurt + cereal bar *200 g fruit yoghurt + 1 banana *200 ml flavoured milk + cereal bar 750 ml sports drink *60 g PowerBar Protein Plus powder with water + piece of fruit Jam sandwich + 250 ml fruit juice *Sports Bar Note: * indicates a valuable source of protein/amino acids in addition to carbohydrate Meeting Fluid Requirements During Training and Competition As paddlers are required to train 2-3 times each day, sweat losses tend to be high, particularly when training in warm environments. Athletes need to make a conscious effort during the day to adequately replace fluid losses or run the risk of chronic dehydration. Having access to a drink bottle during training and carrying a drink bottle around during the day is an important strategy to assist athletes in meeting daily fluid losses. Canoe/kayak paddling is an 'on water sport', so despite being surrounded by
water, sweat losses are similar to other land-based sports. Athletes training and exercising in water, cool differently than those exercising on land or in the case of paddlers on top of the water. As both hands are required for paddling, athletes need to ensure they maximise their opportunities to drink fluids during breaks in training. In longer aerobic training sets with minimal or no breaks in training, camel hydration packs may provide a practical solution in assisting athletes to meet their hourly sweat losses during training. For further information on matching fluid needs see the fact sheet, Fluid - Who needs it?, in the Hot Topic section of our website. Timing of Meals at Regattas Local and national level competitions are usually held over two or three days. Paddlers may race several times throughout any one-day of competition in individual and team boat events. Racing is usually held over two sessions - a morning and afternoon session with a 1-2 hour break. International regattas are usually held over 4-5 days of competition with most athletes contesting either one or two events. As a result, athletes seldom compete in more than one or two races daily. Competition usually starts early morning, particularly if strong winds and unfavourable weather conditions are likely to prevail. Despite events lasting only 1½- 4 minutes, athletes may exercise for 20-30 minutes each race they contest with warm-up and cool-down included. As athletes may compete several times throughout the day, the timing of foods and fluids becomes important. Athletes are also faced with the uncertainty of when an event may start, hence juggling the timing of fluid and food choices throughout the day becomes complicated. The case study outlines a sample of what an elite paddler may consume during the course of a day's racing. Breakfast needs to be eaten at least 2-3 hours before the start of competition. Foods selected should be easily digested as athletes are often required to race early morning. Throughout the day, athletes need to incorporate a post-race snack, which aids recovery and acts as a pre-race snack for the next race. Ideally this snack should be eaten within 10-15 minutes of the race finish and 1-1½ hours before the next race. In addition to the fluids listed for snacks, athletes should sip on water throughout the day in order to meet sweat losses. Weight Management Most athletes need to maintain or increase muscle mass, while maintaining moderately low body fat levels. As athletes are required to propel their own body weight and the body weight of other crew members, maintaining a high power-to-weight ratio is important in optimising exercise performance. Increasing lean body mass for some athletes can be difficult as they may struggle to consume adequate kilojoules throughout the course of a day. To further complicate matters, athletes including a significant proportion of aerobic training will have increased daily energy expenditure. For further information on strategies to increase muscle mass see the fact sheet, How to Grow Muscles, in the Hot Topic section of our website. Travel to Overseas Countries European countries have a strong hold on canoe/kayak flatwater paddling. As a result, world cup races and major international races are often held in Europe. Australian athletes contesting elite competition, are often required to spend 2-3 months a year in Europe during northern hemisphere summer months. Having access to regular foods items, having the required knowledge to select appropriate foods and fluids, and having access to specialised sports foods used routinely at home are all important
considerations. For details regarding travel nutrition issues see the fact sheets in the Travel section of our website. Dietary Supplements and Nutritional Ergogenic Aids As previously mentioned, a focus for many athletes is to increase muscle mass. As a result, it is common for paddlers to use a mix of dietary sports supplements and nutritional ergogenic aids. Dietary supplements such as liquid meal supplements, sports bars and sports drink provide a compact, convenient source of kilojoules, carbohydrate and protein. Nutritional ergogenic aids that have merit for use with canoe/kayak paddlers include creatine monohydrate, caffeine and bicarbonate loading. Details regarding these erogenic aids are outlined in the AIS Sports Supplement Program in the Supplements section of our website. Case Study Luke was a gifted flatwater kayak paddler who promised to be a future Olympic champion. At national regattas, he would paddle his favoured event, the K1 1000 m along with a host of team boat races including the K2 500 m, K2 1000 m, and K4 1000 m. Despite racing well at major national regattas, Luke's performance would often deteriorate over the course of 3-4 days of racing. He would often perform well in the early rounds, however would "run out of steam" over the course of a regatta. Luke would often rely on food available at the regatta centre or simply pick something up on his way. He usually didn't eat much race morning, as he figured the longer he could sleep in the more rest he would have before racing. His coach had identified this problem and suggested he visit a sports dietitian to assist with the development of a race day nutrition plan. The sports dietitian first tackled Luke's pre-race breakfast. As Luke was often required to race early to mid-morning, the dietitian insisted he have a substantial pre-race breakfast 2-3 hours before exercise. The dietitian outlined two meal choices. The first, a more substantial breakfast meal including toast, banana and sports drink. The second option included a liquid meal supplement, which would be ideal in situations when Luke didn't feel like eating or had less time to eat between breakfast and racing. Both options provided additional carbohydrate and fluid to top up fuel and fluid stores for racing. The table below outlines Luke's pre-race meal suggestions. Breakfast - Option One 4 slices of toast with spread - jam/honey on at least 2 750ml of sports drink 1 banana (optional) Breakfast - Option Two PowerBar Protein Plus drink - double serve in 400ml of water 300-400ml of sports drink 1 cereal bar To combat his exhaustive race schedule, Luke was provided with a list of post-race snack options. These snacks were designed to assist Luke recover from his previous race and provide a sufficient 'top-up' for the next race. He was encouraged to pack a small cooler with his favourite snacks, so he wouldn't need to rely on foods available at the venue. If there was a major break in racing planned, a lunch consisting of two sandwiches and a sports drink was suggested. The table below outlines Luke's postrace snack options and race day lunch suggestion.
Post-race Snack options Liquid meal replacement (i.e. PowerBar Protein Plus powder) + fluid PowerBar Performance Bar + fluid Yoghurt/Rice cream + banana + fluid Banana plus 300ml 6% sports drink (i.e. Gatorade) 600ml 6% sports drink (i.e. Gatorade) Sandwich - Jam/Vegemite + 300ml 6% sports drink (i.e. Gatorade) Lunch-style Break Two sandwiches + 750ml 6% sports drink (i.e. Gatorade) In addition to the fluids listed for snacks, Luke was encouraged to sip on water throughout the day in order to meet sweat losses. The amount of additional water Luke consumed would be reliant on the environmental conditions. In hotter, humid conditions Luke would need to be more aggressive with his fluid intake, whereas in cooler conditions there would be less need for additional fluids. It is worth noting, that at no point should Luke aim to drink more than his fluid losses.