Category Archives: Skill

Rest Day 10/27/13: Good Luck at Head of the Fish! – Resist The Change Drill

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Rest Day 10/27/13:

Good luck to all of the competitors at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, NY this weekend!  The Wayland-Weston Men and Women have been working hard all season.  Have fun and race hard everyone!

Here is a little video of a drill that was inspired by  Coach DeDominici to perfect handle heights, balance, and the reaction needed when the boat goes off-set (becomes unbalanced).  Ideally your body weight stays centered in the boat and the handle heights remain consistent through the recovery in relation to the gunwales.  It’s a fun challenge and looks pretty awesome when all 8 rowers are on the same page.  Well done gentleman!

Rest Day 10/3/13: How do you incorporate rhythm/skill in everyday practice?

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Rest Day 10/3/13:BC Men WU

How do you incorporate rhythm/skill in everyday practice?

Rhythm and Balance are two skills needed in the boat and in the gym.  One way to improve a skill is by deliberate practice on a regular basis and making every act an act of conditioning.  Showing your body and brain how to move properly over and over again in many different situations will force it to adapt and make a movement second nature.  The simple task of taking the blade out of the water and putting it in the water in time with the rest of your crew is one example.  Below is a video of the BC Men’s Crew Team practicing building 30’s and the chop spin.  How do you spin the boat?  Have you ever tried the chop spin?  Do you use spinning the boat as an opportunity to improve rhythm, balance, timing, and feel?

Rest Day 8/15/13: How does sport specificity play into your training? – Share Thoughts

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Rest Day 8/15/13:

The Renegade Rowing Team after a sunset row on the Charles River!

The Renegade Rowing Team after a sunset row on the Charles River!

How does sport specificity play into your training?

When training with constantly varied, functional movements, performed at high intensity the focus is to build general physical preparedness.  The pyramid model of training has a base made of nutrition that supports metabolic conditioning, gymnastics, weightlifting, and a peak of sport.  So if the ultimate goal of our training is to compete in a sport and do so with super health and elite fitness, how do you work sport specific training into your daily/weekly routine?

This Fall a collegiate crew team, the renegade rowing team, and myself will be building their work capacity and general fitness on a regular basis throughout the week.  In the sport of rowing it definitely helps to have as much water time as possible to become efficient at moving the boat.  One downfall of spending every hour in a boat can be a decrease in strength, power, and overall fitness.  How do we get enough time in the boat and still maintain our power and fitness?

This week I’ve combined the two – 1. Rowing on the Water with 2. Metabolic Conditioning and Strength Work – in the gym.  I’m testing my new programming that we’ll be using this fall.  For a two-hour practice we’ll row for 15 minutes, run a mile to the gym, do a 45 minute session at CrossFit Boston, run a mile back to the boat, and then row back to the dock for another 15-20 minutes.

Having just experienced this, I’m very excited to bring this Renegade Rowing programming to more rowers.  It allows for a sport specific warmup and cool down while mixing in an endurance aspect with the running and overall amount of work done in a two-hour practice.  The workout in the gym allows us to focus on building strength and power.  The best part is that with the right focus this work can be used for skill transfer to rowing.  While it’s not sport specific work, there are aspects that can reinforce the sport specific skills needed when we get back in the boat at the end of practice.

The absolute best part though is the Fun!  A two-hour practice of competition and fun, both on the water and in the gym.  I Can’t wait to see the results at the Head of the Charles in October.

Please share your thoughts and methods for combining sport specific training with general physical preparedness.

If you’d like to join in and train Renegade Rowing style this fall please get in touch with me … pat@renegaderowing.com

Rest Day 8/1/13: Have you tried Team Squats like in the Games? – Share Thoughts

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As part of the Renegade Rowing Team Warm-Up, we always practice team squats as if we were in the boat.  It helps to learn how to follow and time the catch with the rest of the boat.  If you’re interested in Rowing on the water Renegade Rowing might be a great option for you.  Check it out!

This year teams competing in the CrossFit Games had to perform Overhead Squats and Log Squats together.  Rowing in an 8+ involves a lot of the same control and timing.  Have you ever tried doing a movement in sync with another person?  How about with 7 other people?

Share your thoughts on team squats?  Have you ever performed them in a team wod?

Rowing WOD 7/31/13: 2RFT – 800m Row, 60 DU, 40 KB Snatch, 20 Box Jump – Post Time and Avg. Splits

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Rowing WOD 7/31/13:

Active Shoulder at the Top!

Active Shoulder at the Top!

2 Rounds For Time …

800m Row (@1k Pace)

60 Double Unders

40 KB Snatches (1.5/1 Pd) (20 Each Arm)

20 Box Jumps (24/20 in.)

Why do we train?  Why do we compete?  …  Fun!

What makes training and competition fun? … Variety, Challenge, Training Partners, and Intensity!

Load the hips!

Load the hips!

Today’s Rowing WOD is an opportunity to have a ton of fun pushing yourself and others through a variety of skilled movements while executing a game plan.  I’d like you to challenge a training partner to this workout if at all possible.  Talk to them about your 1k pace and how you are going to execute it on this workout.  Get comfortable consistently pulling your 1k split under pressure.  Be mentally strong and stay positive on every stroke and every rep.  Remember to breathe deep after the row so you can fall into a rhythm and flow through the double unders.  During the KB Snatches make sure you have an active shoulder at the top and keep your arm close to your ear.  Use the hips to move the weight and punch through quickly as the weight becomes weightless so that you don’t bang the wrist.  Dumbbell Snatches can be substituted for the KB Snatch if needed.

Post your time and average 500m splits for the 800’s to comments!