Category Archives: Motivation

Video Review: How are you sitting and how are you connected to the erg? – Share your thoughts!

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How’s it going Renegades?  Today we’re taking a look at some of our athletes from the noon class at Our Crew Fitness.  This is a video review that I put together to help them and you develop your stroke and find new areas to improve upon.  I’ll be posting regular video reviews about once a week, usually on Thursdays.  If you’d like feedback on your stroke or would like to see me talk about a certain area of the stroke, please let me know in the comments.  If you’d like to be featured in the weekly Video Review please send me a 5 stroke video via email to pat@renegaderowing.com.

Today’s topic relates to how you sit on the erg and how your feet are connected to the erg.  Are you balanced on your sit bones or falling off them?  How does your point of contact with the seat affect your posture and positioning throughout the stroke?  Are your feet connected to the footboards at all times?  What part of your foot?  These are things to think about and an area where you can make a quick change to see big gains.  Let us know what you think and if you have any questions.

Also, if you’d like to join in the fun in person, Renegade Rowing Classes are held throughout the week. Checkout the schedule and pricing here.  When you’re ready to get after it and have some fun, sign up for a free consultation with Coach Pat here.

Happy Easter and Rowing WOD 4/4/15: 8x500m w/ 2min Rest – Post Splits

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Happy Easter!

RRT practicing the release in singles!

RRT practicing the release in singles!

I hope everyone enjoys Easter Sunday tomorrow and can spend some time with family and friends.  Share if you do anything fun including family mobility or active recovery.  Perhaps challenging your family to an Erg Relay?

All the Best!

Coach Pat

Rowing WOD:

8 x 500m w/ 2min Rest

  • Race Pace
  • Race Focus

Today’s all about prepping for your next 2k.  Try to keep a consistent pace over all 8 or “negative split” toward the end if you’re feeling good.  Negative splitting means you pull a faster split than you did the last piece.

As a quick review for novice rowers, race pace over 2,000m will be at a stroke rating of 28 − 32 strokes per minute and a consistent 500m split.  The lower the split the better.  Good things to focus on include breathing, getting the knees down, driving through the heels, quick hands, and being smooth.  I also like to coach a smile or grin 10 just to take yourself out of your body for a second, have some fun, and then refocus with a fresh mindset.  Focus on one positive thought for 10 consecutive strokes and you’ll be that much closer to your goal.

Post your split for each piece and share what you focused on!

Video Review: Coach Pat – The Pistol and Rowing – Can you do a Pistol?

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Look Familiar? If you can do a pistol you can get into a rowing shell!

Look Familiar? If you can do a pistol you can get into a rowing shell!

Two very important skills required of elite athletes and rowers are balance and strength.  Have you ever seen a standing shove?  That’s the level of balance we need.  Have you ever seen good scullers take the Weeks Turn or the Elliot Turn super tight during the Head of the Charles Regatta?  That’s the type of strength we need to combine with balance and we need to have it in both legs independent of one another.

Mastering a pistol, or single legged squat, will help you develop both balance and strength.  In order to do a good pistol mobility is super important.  Be sure to work on mobility everyday.  Below is a video I put together of all the different progressions I will use to help an athlete develop their pistol.  See where you fall and then start working from there.

Have Fun training and let us know what you think of pistols!

Can you do a pistol?

Video Review: Coach Pat – The Push Up, Pull Up, and Rowing – Are you taking advantage of Full ROM?

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Coach Pat Push UpsWhen’s the last time you performed a Push Up or Pull Up?  When’s the last time you Rowed?  Now that we’re on the water it’s probably every day.  Regardless, anytime you draw through the finish whether on an erg or in a boat, you are putting your upper body into a similar position and movement pattern as the push up and pull up.  It’s the strongest, most efficient way to get yourself off the floor and send a boat.  If you need to move more weight and create more power in a race you will need a strong position at the finish.  That is where we can take advantage of practicing and training full range of motion push ups and pull ups.

I believe that if you can learn to move your body weight from the floor to a plank position or from underneath a bar to touching the bar with good form, you can and will become a better rower.  The key is how you push, pull, and what you focus on.  Here is a video review of Coach Pat and what he thinks about in regards to push ups, pull ups, and rowing.  Check out what he does well and look for things he can do better.

What parts of these movements can we tie to the rowing stroke?  I always teach the skills of 1. Posture, 2. Control, and 3. Connection whether it’s rowing or strength training.

1. Posture – How am I doing at maintaining a solid brace through my torso?  Is there any movement within the vertebrae of the spine?

2. Control – Is my body in one straight line the whole time I perform the movement?  Am I in control of my body at all points in time? Can I stop at any point in time and be in a strong position?

3. Connection – How are my hands connected to the box/bar/or floor?  How are my feet connected to the floor?  Are my hips, torso, and shoulders connected and moving together through the whole range of motion?

After taking a look and answering some of these questions, think about your own stroke.  In the front end of your stroke, from 1/2 slide up to the catch and back, how do your joints move in relation to one another?  Can you stay connected?  Do you break or tense your arms early?  Is your shoulder and upper body strong enough to connect the power coming from your legs to your hands?  Do you feel or see any similarities when you perform push ups, pull ups, and rowing back to back?  How’s your posture and brace at the finish? Can perfecting these movements help improve your rowing?

Please share your thoughts to comments and I’ll get back to you with feedback.

Rowing WOD 3/28/15: 3k Row, 2.5k Row, 2k Row – Post Avg. Splits

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Who’s ready to get on the water? The ice on the Charles River in Boston is finally melted and we’re getting excited to make boats move fast.  If you’re interested be sure to schedule a consultation today!

Beautiful Sunset rowing in Jacksonville.

Beautiful Sunset rowing in Jacksonville.

Rowing WOD:

3k Row

6min rest

2.5k Row

5min rest

2k Row

Why is rowing fun?  One reason is that it provides a challenge in learning technique to be as efficient as possible while working everything from your head to your toes.  Elsewhere in sports and training, if you’ve tried the Pose Method of running you may understand the beauty of focusing on technique and the perception of what your body is doing in space. Focusing on form and technique gives your mind something to work toward rather than complaining about how much your legs burn.

Today’s Rowing WOD is a good opportunity to focus on one or two form fixes but get after it as well.  Set the monitor for Intervals Variable and enter the work/rest accordingly.  This WOD has the potential to build your confidence in the 2k.  Come up with a plan and execute.  Be consistent with your splits and stroke ratings for all three.  If possible go a little bit faster on each piece.  Vets might try for a pace of 2k+5, 2k+4, 2k+3 for each successive piece with a stroke rating of 28-32.  Find your efficient stroke.  Novices should focus on one form fix for each piece and work hard to maintain a consistent split.

Post your Average 500m Splits to Comments along with an answer to this question…

Why is Rowing Fun?