Shouldering the Brunt of Injury Prevention

Y'all - when it's cold out you are advised to warm up your joints and muscles before indulging in heavy lifting or paddling. Maia recently injured her shoulder and is relegated to watching me and Andrew get really huge in the weight room. This is not ideal.

Your shoulder deserves extra care because it is essentially the conduit of energy between your massive torso and the dinky paddle in your hands. Shoulder exercises may be annoying to do but they sure can do a lot towards maximizing your durability. So next time you are in the weight room it is suggested that you get cozy with one of the therabands or light weight dumbbells. I mean seriously, think of everything that your bursa sac and rotator cuff have done for you over the years. The least you could do is show them the same respect you give to your abs and pecs and lats.

Visibility is For the Birds

It took some time for the 630 AM crew to come up with an explanation but it was ultimately decided that heavy fog was to blame for the disappearance of Key Bridge. Despite the added resistance from the low lying clouds we all managed to eek out some pretty good times for both one mile runs.

Click on the album link below to see more amusing photos. Thankfully Jan was able to adjust the settings on his camera so the pictures would be large enough to show Andrew's freakishly large biceps.

weight room

Brazen, Fearless and Friggin Freezing

Paddlers entered Saturday's physical fitness test looking to set high marks on several key exercises. Their scores will serve as benchmarks on wich to improve throughout the rest of the offseason (note that "offseason" is a bit of a misnomer here considering our level of tenacity does not diminish during the winter months). Everyone did well - a clear indication that most have been working hard over the past few weeks. Results will be posted here soon.

The Sunday paddle session featured another opportunity for each paddler to become familiar with the limits of their own physical and mental capablities during a tough workout with sixty minutes of total on time. Radley inducted himself into the Polar Bear club following a brief lapse in balance near the end of the workout.

Today's picture shows some of the Canoe Club's heartiest members. It may be difficult to discern what year it is by looking at the clothes these guys are wearing but I assure you the photo is recent. From left to right are Dan Havens, Rich Libby, and Will Rhodes. Photo courtesy of Blaise Rhodes: