Dragon Practice Entry #1 - First Day

So I went to my first dragonboat trial practice ever. The practice location was all the way at Scarborough; and I have to travel from Union Station. The entire commute was 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I joined the dragonboat tryout through a friend at Salsa, who is part of a Chinese Youth Group (I'm not Chinese, but thats okay, I can still participate). 21 people came to the practice and there are 20 people on a boat, with a minimum of 8 girls that are required on the boat.

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I am excited to do this for a couple of reasons: I'll have a goal to work towards and I'll get the opportunity to meet new people and new friends.

Training Regiment

Practice:  2 hours
Training Schedule: Purpose was to do HALF of the reps that would be expected near the start of Dragonboat season. It was a good introduction:

1. ~ 1 km run outside
2. Abs and Core Circuit Training (e.g.  V-ups, Heels to the heavens, Crunches, etc.)
3. Upper Body Strength (Lateral Raises, Dumbell Rows, Mountain Climbers
4. Back, Legs and Shoulder (Wheelbarrows, The Spiderman, the Inchworm)
5. Tabata Training (see below)

Practice Location

Practices take place at the Mon Cheong Scarborough Long-Term Care. To me, it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. I'm completely unfamiliar with the East side of Toronto (born and raised on the west side and now living in the downtown care). I think the Youth Organization rented a room; a large one with mirrors.

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Trial Practice

We also did Tabata training near the ends, which is High Intensity Interval Training. Its 10 seconds on and 10 seconds off of an intense exercise:



Here we are doing the last stretch of yoga together.