Rowing WOD 12/2/13:
1k @24-26 s/m (note average 500m split)
4′ rest
3 x 3’ On 1’ Off as follows (holding 1k split):
3′ @26 s/m, 25 s/m, 24 s/m
(rate changes every minute)
3′ @25, 24, 23
3′ @24, 23, 22
4′ rest
2 x 3’ On 1’ Off as follows (holding 1k split):
3′ @26, 24, 22
3′ @24, 22, 20
One thing that all good athletes have in common is a sense of efficiency. The athlete that can maintain proper mechanics and spend the least amount of energy to complete a task will be able to push harder and farther compared to the athlete that just flies and dies. Todays Rowing WOD introduces a key concept to being efficient in rowing and may improve your efficiency in longer wods.
Start the workout by rowing 1,000m at 24-26 strokes per minute. Effort should be about 60% – 75% as if you were jogging a half-mile, don’t go all out. The average split for the 1k will be your goal split to hold through all of the 3 minute pieces. Set the monitor for 3′ of work and 1′ of rest. Each 3-minute piece is broken into 1-minute sections that should be rowed at the designated stroke rating.
In order to hold the goal split while decreasing the stroke rating you must perform a ratio shift. A ratio shift changes the timing of the stroke on the drive and the recovery. For example, shifting from 1 on the drive: 2 on the recovery, to 1 on the drive: 3 on the recovery. This is a challenging workout. Use it to develop a sense of efficiency. A proper ratio shift maintains the power per stroke but allows the rower time to breath and prepare for the next stroke.
Post Total Distance and your Experience with ratio shifts.
Below are some pictures of Mike T. on Saturday after working on staying connected through the finish. What does your finish look like? Is it efficient? How fast do your hands move through the finish? … Just a few things to think about as we continue to work on suspension through the stroke and balanced finishes.
Renegade Rowing 
I got my concept2 shipped to me over the weekend so this is my first time starting this blog really looking forward to it.
1km @25s/m 3.32.2
Total distance for the 5 3min pieces 4,248m
Ratio shifting was a new feeling for me. I generally like to row at 18-20s/m but holding the power when shifting from 26s/m to 24 and 22s/m was tougher than I expected. I’m looking forward to becoming more efficient at this in the future.
Great to hear you’re breaking in that erg! Well done experimenting with the idea of ratio shifts and different stroke ratings. The more you can control your effort at different ratings the more you’ll be able to game a wod and vary your training. Looking forward to seeing your progress! Thanks for the shout on Twitter. Keep up the hard work!
Thanks a lot. Love the programming and all the great info here.
RRC – being the first Monday after Thanksgiving, is this the Rowing Club’s first WOD?
Ward Sent from my iPhone
Hey Ward! You bet!!! You should expect to see their results posted today/tomorrow. Keep up the hard work!
Was this the rowing club WOD?
First two sets were all over the place but by sets 4 & 5 it felt like I had a little control over what was happening.
1K pace was 2:13 @ 24 s/m
Total distance was 3,354 at 2:14.1, 23 s/m
656m, 2:17.1, 24
675m, 2:13.3, 24
673m, 2:13.7, 23
677m, 2:12.9, 24
674m, 2:12.5, 22
You bet it was Ward! You should start to see their results get posted soon. Well done maintaining your split and trying to hit the stroke ratings. Keep working that control and power application with the ratio shifts. Master it and you’ll be able to do anything!
Did I miss the results posting of Mondays RRC WOD?
Check out the two comments below, Thor and Greg are in the RRC. We have 8 in the group so far and hopefully everyone will be posting soon.
Thank you sir.
You got it!
Split for the 1K:; 1:50 Had difficulty maintaining that split with the lower stroke rates in the 3 x 3′ rows:
26-25-24: 1:56
25-24-23: 2:01
24-23-22 2:02
26-24-22; 1:58
24-22-20: 2:01
Thanks for posting Thor! Keep up the focus, it will come!
1 K Split: 2:07
26/25/24: 2:02
25/24/23: 2:07
24/23/22: 2:09
26/24/22: 2:06
24/22/20: 2:09
It was all new to me.
Good to have you Greg! Can’t wait to see you crush it!
im trying to understand the ratio split, i can hold a 16 stroke rate, power it out on the drive and have a very slow recovery on the way in, am i working more efficiently then rowing at 28-30? my recovery is a lot less when doing 28-30 but after doing the 16 stroke rate and recovering in on my catch, i was having the HARDEST time trying to my stroke rate back up to 26, 28, it was way harder then just 5 minutes before i started practicing the ratio split.
Hey Angela! Great to hear you’re giving this a shot! The whole aim of this workout was to develop a sense of control and learn what it takes to perform a ratio shift. It sounds like you’ve figured out how to control your recovery and row with power at lower stroke ratings. Now the name of the game is varying your pressure on the drive to hit the split that you want to hold as well as the stroke rating. There are two ways to get to this point. Focus on hitting the stroke rating and then varying the pressure to bring the split down, or focus on pressure to hit the split you want and then try to ratio shift to the desired stroke rating. Keep working on it and it will come! Hope this helps!
1k: 1:51.6
3×3′:
26/25/24: 1:51.2
25/24/23: 1:52.9
24/23/22: 1:53.4
2×3′
26/24/22: 1:50.9
24/22/20: 1:52.7
Thanks for posting your results Nick!