TacticalBarbell.com

Hey guys!

TB is not something new to me. I had done Base Building last year and gotten great results from it. However, I stopped lifting for a couple of months and picked up a new sport (dragon boat).

I am a male, 22 this year. My goal is to use strength training to improve my performance in my sport.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat

1RM
Back Squat- 75 kg (1 rep), 165 lbs
Bench Press- 80 kg (1 rep), 176 lbs
Deadlift- 120 kg (1 rep), 260 lbs
OHP- 48 kg (1 rep), 105 lbs
Barbell Row- Not tested yet

TEAM TRAINING SCHEDULE
Monday: Pool Paddling (Technique work, easy day)
Tuesday: Land Training (can be bodyweight exercises, 5K run, sprints or gym training*, inclusive of punishments)
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Land Training
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Water Training (boat paddling)
Sunday: Water Training

*The gym training is quite similar to the SE Tango circuit (time based), doing 5-6 exercises in 1 minute for few rounds.

I am planning on doing OP I/A due to my training schedule, training on Monday and Wednesday or Friday

CLUSTER
A: Back Squat/ Bench Press/Deadlift/WPU
B: Back Squat/ Bench Press/ Barbell Row/ WPU

Accessories: Face pull or band pullapart and Ab Wheel Rollout or Cable Woodchop

MAIN QUESTIONS
- How should I program the deadlift (sets and reps), in a way that it doesn't affect my recovery. I have seen some cluster with Kettlebell Swings replacing deadlift.

-Since my numbers are low, would I be better off doing novice programs like SS for a faster progression. I currently do not have any sport training until the end of this month.

Thanks!!!

hiya, here's my (admittedly amateur) take:

while your numbers might not look big, it depends on your size too. if you are 55kg soaking wet, then those are big numbers!

OK, but let's assume your only weight training prior was the Basebuild. Then I would actually suggest doing SS programming until you milk all the linear gains. Also one possibility is to limit your cluster to Deadlifts/Barbell Rows + Bench Press . You don't actually want too much hypertrophy for dragon-boat (you get heavier), but perhaps just do goblet squats for the squat movement to keep your body development symmetrical.

If you have already milked linear gains, then just TB-style the Deadlifts/Barbell Rows + Bench Press.

An alternative to the BB Rows = chinups or pullups... I know a couple of dragon boaters and they all have big chinup/pullup numbers.

Let's see if any rowers/dragon boaters are in the forum and can actually give you better information.

I forgot to mentioned about my weight, currently 72 kg at 170 cm and we often do 10x10 BW pullups at the end of our training but I need assistance for the last few sets.

If you are doing heaps of high volume body weight training then you need to go with less on the strength work. Looking at your schedule you only have 2 days off and every other day involves a reasonable training load. You still need to have recovery days. You do not want to always be fatigued for technique work. If you focus is the sport you don’t want strength and conditioning to impact that.

There are 2 options I can see:
1. Strength session on your land based training day.
2. Strength session on easy technique day and 1 other.

Either way you are going to need to be very minimal with the cluster and use a training max.

I would use a 2 exercise cluster and do it before your land based training day if possible. I would be going as light as possible to still make improvements.

You could use fighter if you want fixed days or OP I/A if you want to have a bit of flexibility.

If you are training 5 days a week for a sport you nearly need to consider a coach mate. That a lot of time to be investing and there is more to do than add on a 2-4 exercise strength cluster. If it’s just for fun that’s different, but I would assume with that volume of specific sessions it isn’t.

Maxrip13 wrote:If you are doing heaps of high volume body weight training then you need to go with less on the strength work. Looking at your schedule you only have 2 days off and every other day involves a reasonable training load. You still need to have recovery days. You do not want to always be fatigued for technique work. If you focus is the sport you don’t want strength and conditioning to impact that.

There are 2 options I can see:
1. Strength session on your land based training day.
2. Strength session on easy technique day and 1 other.

Either way you are going to need to be very minimal with the cluster and use a training max.

I would use a 2 exercise cluster and do it before your land based training day if possible. I would be going as light as possible to still make improvements.

You could use fighter if you want fixed days or OP I/A if you want to have a bit of flexibility.

If you are training 5 days a week for a sport you nearly need to consider a coach mate. That a lot of time to be investing and there is more to do than add on a 2-4 exercise strength cluster. If it’s just for fun that’s different, but I would assume with that volume of specific sessions it isn’t.

Thanks for the suggestion!!! What are the 2 exercises would you recommend for the cluster and would I just do the minimum required set for the workout for OP I/A?

NSF96 wrote:

Maxrip13 wrote:If you are doing heaps of high volume body weight training then you need to go with less on the strength work. Looking at your schedule you only have 2 days off and every other day involves a reasonable training load. You still need to have recovery days. You do not want to always be fatigued for technique work. If you focus is the sport you don’t want strength and conditioning to impact that.

There are 2 options I can see:
1. Strength session on your land based training day.
2. Strength session on easy technique day and 1 other.

Either way you are going to need to be very minimal with the cluster and use a training max.

I would use a 2 exercise cluster and do it before your land based training day if possible. I would be going as light as possible to still make improvements.

You could use fighter if you want fixed days or OP I/A if you want to have a bit of flexibility.

If you are training 5 days a week for a sport you nearly need to consider a coach mate. That a lot of time to be investing and there is more to do than add on a 2-4 exercise strength cluster. If it’s just for fun that’s different, but I would assume with that volume of specific sessions it isn’t.

Thanks for the suggestion!!! What are the 2 exercises would you recommend for the cluster and would I just do the minimum required set for the workout for OP I/A?

It depends. I haven't done any dragon boat racing so I can't really answer it. Some Squat/Deadlift variation and pair it with a benchpress or Overhead variation would be the easiest way. It all depends on your workload. Op I/A allows you to push harder and get more volume in, but higher sets will catch up on your other training fast. I stick to sets of 3 for lower body and push occasionally on my upper body sets. I personally never go over 5 sets but I am already strong enough.

I would probably use exercises you don't cover in the conditioning sessions later. If your conditioning involves lots of bodyweight squats and pushups, I wouldn't use back squats and benchpress for example. As I said you need someone more knowledgeable depending on how serious you are about the sport.

For a personal example I don't deadlift much. Bjj is my hobby and I am not a serious competitor. I spend a lot of time bent over in BJJ or on my feet wearing equipment at work (LEO). I use squat variations because I can deal with having sore legs, but if my back is blown up from heavy lifting I struggle at work and BJJ.

These are some ideas but I am sure maybe someone has experience with a similar sport. If not ask your team mates.