Training and tapering
05/Nov/09 13:23 Filed in: Nyamezela
| Brian McLean, Sports Editor of the Daily Dispatch, published this report 5 November 2009 WHEN East London’s Peter van Kets attempts his 5500 km solo race across the Atlantic in his boat Liberty Nyamezela, he should be in peak physical condition. The race starts on December 6 in San Sebastian, La Gomera, in the Canary Islands. Van Kets, who for some time now has been working on a special training programme under the watchful eye of Australian strength and conditioning coach, Caron Williams, leaves East London for the Canary Islands on November 20. Williams, a multi-sport athlete, has provided Peter with a periodised training programme to prepare him for his big race. Van Kets’s postural weaknesses, analysed by physiotherapist Tanya Mackenzie before his first race in 2007 in the pairs section with Bill Godfrey, has had to be re-examined and addressed at the start of his training. According to Williams, Van Kets needed to be well-trained physically to endure and withstand any adversity during his long race but at the same time, should not to be over- trained or be peaking before the start. “His training has been designed to slowly build his fitness up over a long period of time to allow for optimal physical and mental adaption,’’ she explained. The training programme was divided into four phases, of which the third was the longest and hardest and targeted his main training goal – his ability to cope with fatigue. The final phase over seven weeks has been a tapering down which allows for extensive mental and nutritional preparation to take place. Van Kets said yesterday his challenge was to reach his destination, Antigua, without damage to himself or his boat and that’s what the training had been all about. “It’s all about survival and rowing two-thirds of the race comfortably and pushing myself harder for the final third.’’ Williams has the last word: “Peter is highly motivated, extremely disciplined and an awesome athlete to train.’’ The original article can be found here. |
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