It is a strenuous, repetitive upper body activity that projects a visible message to all people with breast cancer. In many ways, it is an ideal exercise. It is safe, and with proper technique the paddler can recruit a reasonable amount of muscle mass and induce positive adaptations in the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. The training intensity can be varied simply by pulling harder. This is important because, with a wide variety in ages and athletic abilities, each paddler can still experience a training effect.
Dragon boating is a team sport that builds harmony and a feeling of togetherness.
It is esthetically pleasing and represents honest physical work that results in predictable improvements in fitness. Vancouver's Dragon Boat Festival, in which we have participated annually since 1996, is one of the world's largest, and thus we had a great opportunity to showcase the results of our program. Above all, dragon boating is an exhilarating experience that every paddler has enjoyed. In the strictest sense the Abreast in a Boat project represents a study in prescriptive exercise. However, the basic principles of exercise prescription still apply.