Training Plans & Workouts

Our Training Plans

We create training plans with a goal of peaking at the Nationals in August, and perhaps one or two other races during the year. (For anyone not familiar with mesocycles and microcycles in training, there are many articles on the web such as this one that will give you an overview.) Our training plans are also different based on the athlete’s age but all are aimed at improving a paddler’s skills. There are more details about our training and coaching in the News section of this site, and you may also wish to view our Coaches Runbook.

The grid below gives you an idea of how we define our training phases:

Phase	Sets and Reps	Workouts
Hypertrophy	3-4 sets x 10 reps	Base and endurance loading
Basic Strength	3-4 sets x 5 reps	Technique and some endurance
Strength / Power	3-5 sets x 2 or 3 reps	Intervals – technique and speed
Peaking	2-3 sets x 1 to 3 reps	High intensive training – speed, speed, speed
Unload	Active Rest	Race and recovery
Transition	Rest	End of Season to Start of Next Season

Workouts

During the Winter “Off Season,” we typically have a club workout only on the weekend and our coaches and elite athletes may meet again during the week. From Spring to Fall, we meet three to five times a week with our workouts scheduled around the majority of the club’s availability.

	April 2026
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 Weight Lifting (Light) Weight Lifting (Light) Include warm up before stretching, too. Light day - focus on paddling intervals. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Steady paddling with variable tempos for 45-60' • •	2 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run; variable tempos, working on endurance or other sport if involved in school sport. Workout Workout • •	3 Weight Lifting (Medium) Weight Lifting (Medium) Include warm up before stretching, too. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase • •	4 ALT Sport Workout ALT Sport Workout An endurance activity is a good choice here -- VCKC encourages all youth athletes to be involved in multiple sports •
5	6 Weight Lifting (Heavy) Weight Lifting (Heavy) Include warm up before stretching, too. •	7 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run for 60-90min. Focus on endurance or strength according to training phase (or season of another sport if you are involved in school sports). •	8 Weight Lifting (Light) Weight Lifting (Light) Include warm up before stretching, too. Light day - focus on paddling intervals. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Steady paddling with variable tempos for 45-60' • •	9 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run; variable tempos, working on endurance or other sport if involved in school sport. Workout Workout • •	10 Weight Lifting (Medium) Weight Lifting (Medium) Include warm up before stretching, too. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase • •	11 ALT Sport Workout ALT Sport Workout An endurance activity is a good choice here -- VCKC encourages all youth athletes to be involved in multiple sports •
12 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 •	13 Weight Lifting (Heavy) Weight Lifting (Heavy) Include warm up before stretching, too. •	14 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run for 60-90min. Focus on endurance or strength according to training phase (or season of another sport if you are involved in school sports). Workout Workout • •	15 Weight Lifting (Light) Weight Lifting (Light) Include warm up before stretching, too. Light day - focus on paddling intervals. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Steady paddling with variable tempos for 45-60' • •	16 US Team Trials US Team Trials Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run; variable tempos, working on endurance or other sport if involved in school sport. Workout Workout • • •	17 US Team Trials US Team Trials Weight Lifting (Medium) Weight Lifting (Medium) Include warm up before stretching, too. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase • • •	18 ALT Sport Workout ALT Sport Workout An endurance activity is a good choice here -- VCKC encourages all youth athletes to be involved in multiple sports •
19 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 •	20 Weight Lifting (Heavy) Weight Lifting (Heavy) Include warm up before stretching, too. •	21 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run for 60-90min. Focus on endurance or strength according to training phase (or season of another sport if you are involved in school sports). Workout Workout • •	22 Weight Lifting (Light) Weight Lifting (Light) Include warm up before stretching, too. Light day - focus on paddling intervals. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Steady paddling with variable tempos for 45-60' • •	23 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run; variable tempos, working on endurance or other sport if involved in school sport. Workout Workout • •	24 Weight Lifting (Medium) Weight Lifting (Medium) Include warm up before stretching, too. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase • •	25 ALT Sport Workout ALT Sport Workout An endurance activity is a good choice here -- VCKC encourages all youth athletes to be involved in multiple sports •
26 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 Club Workout @8:30-10:30 •	27 Weight Lifting (Heavy) Weight Lifting (Heavy) Include warm up before stretching, too. •	28 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run for 60-90min. Focus on endurance or strength according to training phase (or season of another sport if you are involved in school sports). Workout Workout • •	29 Weight Lifting (Light) Weight Lifting (Light) Include warm up before stretching, too. Light day - focus on paddling intervals. Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Paddle or Land Workout by Phase Steady paddling with variable tempos for 45-60' • •	30 Alternate Sport Workout Alternate Sport Workout Cycle/Swim/Run; variable tempos, working on endurance or other sport if involved in school sport. Workout Workout • •

Training Plans & Workouts

Our Training Plans

Workouts

April 2026