Mocke Training Programs

I taught myself surf-ski paddling with his DVD. Now I see Dawid Mocke has put together some training programmes. Has anyone used any of these and care to comment on their usefulness, value etc?

www.kickmybutt.net/categories/Canoeing/Training-Programs/

Marshall I believe Jason Pocock can provide training programs for ski paddlers in NZ just FYI.

I'm aware of that, but not living in Auckland is an issue. I'm also not really looking for a coach, just a bit better structure to what I'm doing. This looks pretty self-sufficient.

Bump

I’m also interested to know if anyone’s used them and could elaborate on the content.

I was looking at the “4 week training program for the competitive paddler (10km race)” and if that was any good moving onto the 20km race program.

I do all of my training solo due to work and like MhojoNZ wouldn’t mind a bit more structure.

I gave it a go. Bought the 4 week training program for the competitive paddler (10km race). In the end it cost about the same as a carton of beer. I've been paddling for almost 2 years and see myself as a reasonably fit, regular mid packer over a 10km ocean race (out and back) with little to no experience on setting out a training program. I've been training randomly and to no specific program for too long. Also Due to work I train alone.

What you get:
- 10 page pdf document on training concepts.
- 4 week training program leading up to a 10km race. What training to do on what day. Rest days and cross training days also marked out.
- Garmin workout file containing all the different training types for the month, different types of intervals etc... all leading up to race day.

Your also able to email questions about anything you're not sure about during the 4 weeks.

Is it value for money? For me yes. And it's not like after four weeks its unusable anymore. It's what I need, proper structure in my training.

So would there be a place on surf ski info for an article or series of articles on introducing structured training for the sole athlete?

Problem I have is we are planning on doing some races in the new year but only have access to flat water to train, I get the fact that the training programmes would largely address fitness which is fine but how disadvantaged are you by not getting onto rougher water? What additional training would you have to do to compensate?

Rough water is rough water, you can't simulate it.
You can train the energy systems appropriately, but the skillset just cannot be synthesized.

I would agree with this. Training on your own in knarly conditions isn't very smart. The race I'm looking at isn't in especially rough water - just a longer distance than I am accustomed to.

I find that training for road riding and MTB have a similar duplicity.

No matter what I do on the road, the MTB riding is so specific it is very hard to simulate with a road bike.

It has a higher skillset and a demand for full power in similar bites to ocean paddling.

No matter how fit I am on the road and how well I think I have attempted to simulate MTB's demands, the first MTB ride after a break always hammers me.

Just to update, I've parted with the cash and purchased the 12 week programme for the competitive paddler training for a marathon. Cost somewhat more than a box of beer, more like a case of wine! As noted above, what you get is a training calendar, an article by Dawid on training principles and a set of work-outs to load into your Garmin - 44 in total, which is presumably more than in the shorter programs. You also get email access to Dawid, but he seems like a busy man so we'll see how that goes! It fits in very well with my present training, which in itself is reassuring as it means I wasn't too far off track, but has the advantage of clearly defined goals for each session, which is what I was lacking (e.g. 6x1000m @ 80-90%, etc). The focus is very much on interval training, balanced out by some distance paddles and cross-training. There is also some periodisation, which I was lacking.

Does his customization include your age?

I find that as I am a little older that my natural strength is simply not there without training, and something like 500m intervals and some shorter stuff brings me more benefits than the 1000m stuff.

So if you are over 40, I find personally that much more shorter stuff is needed.

Simple answer is no. Actually there is no customisation - this is an off the shelf plan (you get what you pay for, after all). Having said that there is plenty of variety and probably more "short stuff" than I would have thought for a marathon training plan.

Your comment is an interesting one and makes sense. We lose muscle mass as we age and in particular fast twitch muscle.

I had a few questions regarding the interval training in the plan I bought including how to stretch it out further than the 4 weeks it’s designed for. With the questions I included as much detail as possible about my fitness level so the reply would be more relevant to my ability. A couple of days later I got a very informative reply with more detail than expected.

I plan to use it as a starting point, as the months pass I’ll customise it and tweak it based on race results and how my body reacts. Thats the plan anyway.

With my program giving me Sundays off from hard training I can now do some technique drills without feeling guilty about whether I should be doing a hard session, or just go ride some waves at the alley.

Is the training programme etc in an on line format or are you sent something physical?

You get an email with a link to download the info in PDF format and a Garmin file with your intervals pre-programmed.