The DBCB Mobility Project: Forearms (Wrist & Elbows)

Happy Mobility Monday!  I've decided that Mondays will officially be the day for new blog posts about mobility.  And being an alliteration is just too perfect.  The first week I covered the shoulders, then I moved down from the shoulders to the lats.  This week I'm moving down from the shoulders on the arms to the often-neglected forearms.  I know that I've heard paddlers complaining about their aching elbows or wrists.  Well both of those are common with repetitive strain injuries (RSI) such as tendonitis, carpel tunnel syndrome, or tennis elbow.  Before you hit full blown RSI, you can take steps to reduce pain.  Any pain felt in the elbow or wrist is usually related to tightness in the forearm, not the actual joint.  So take care of your forearms and your joints will remain pain-free.

The DBCB Mobility Project: Lats [Video]

Last week we covered the shoulder rotators. This week, we'll move directly down from there to the latissimus dorsi muscle, better known as the lats. Improving your lats mobility will help in overhead positioning, i.e. getting your arms extended overhead. "Why is he talking about overhead positioning for dragon boat?" you may be asking yourself. Well if you think about it, the A-frame setup is essentially an overhead position. We tend to focus on getting more extension by rotating more, but we can also get extension by getting better in the overhead position and reaching our arms as far out as possible. Some paddlers actually bend their top arm in an effort to compensate for poor overhead mobility.  So work on your lats and you may lose your bent elbow!

The DBCB Mobility Project: Shoulder Rotators

First off, welcome everyone to the new DBCB blog. On this blog, the coaches will be sharing some advice for our paddlers. This particular post will be the first in a series of posts about mobility exercises for you to do at home to improve your muscle flexibility, decrease pain, and help with recovery. Today's focus is shoulders.