Tag Archives: endurance sports

Rowing WOD 8/5/13: “The Castle” – 21min Row, Varying Rates – Post Distance

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Rowing WOD 8/5/13:

Imagine doing this on the water! You can with a Renegade Rowing Membership.

Imagine doing this on the water! You can with a Renegade Rowing Membership.

“The Castle”

Row for 21min as follows…

3′ @20 s/m, 3′ @24, 3′ @28, 3′ @26, 3′ @28, 3′ @24, 3′ @20

  • Focus on Rhythm and Ratio

As we start to look forward to the fall head racing season, many athletes will need some extra time on the erg to focus on rhythm, timing, and overall form.  Today’s Rowing WOD is a great opportunity for any athlete, experienced or not, to get a sense of form and rhythm without the pressure of intensity and competition.  Sometimes it’s good to slow down for an active recovery day in order to go harder and faster later on down the road.

Rhythm and Endurance are two necessities for successful competition in longer WODs.  A great example would be the KB Swings and Pull Ups found in “Helen”.  Those who find a consistent rhythm can flow through the movements naturally and rely on their aerobic endurance without dipping into their anaerobic energy supply.

In today’s Rowing WOD the focus is developing rhythm and endurance.  Another word for rhythm in rowing is Ratio.  By varying the ratio of the drive to the recovery rowers can maintain the same pace or split, but work more efficiently and make the stroke feel lighter or heavier.

When going from a 20 stroke rating to a 24 you should focus on more pressure with the legs and quickly redirecting the hands through the finish.  This will help increase the stroke rating while leaving you the same amount of time to sit up, breathe, and relax as you slide forward on the recovery.

Post distance rowed to comments along with songs that helped you stick to each rating!

A project that I’ve started thanks to Renegade Rower Mike T. is how to help people feel the proper rhythm and ratio by rowing to music.  Music can motivate us to push hard and row longer, but it can also give us a sense of timing.

If you have Spotify, I’ve created a playlist for each stroke rating.  Each playlist is named “Renegade Rowing @(insert stroke rate)”, so for songs that you could row to at a 20 the playlist is named “Renegade Rowing @20″.  If you have favorite songs that go well at certain stroke ratings please feel free to add to the playlists on Spotify.  Thanks Mike T. for kick starting this project and I hope this helps motivate everyone to find better rhythm and ratio!

20 s/m: Renegade Rowing @20

22 s/m: Renegade Rowing @22

24 s/m: Renegade Rowing @24

26 s/m: Renegade Rowing @26

28 s/m: Renegade Rowing @28

30 s/m: Renegade Rowing @30

32 s/m: Renegade Rowing @32

34 s/m: Renegade Rowing @34

36 s/m: Renegade Rowing @36

Rest Day 8/4/13: Good Luck Pan Mass Challenge Riders! – Shout out if your’e riding!

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Rest Day 8/4/13:

Good Luck Pan Mass Challenge Riders!

Long time PMC rider!

Long time PMC rider! Go Dad!

Every August thousands of cyclists from all over come to Massachusetts to participate in the PMC and raise money for the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  My family began participating when I was 13 and I’ve ridden or volunteered almost every year since.  Big shout out to my Mom who is riding for the first time!  Have fun Mom!

Drivers please be careful and Riders be safe!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the beach if you can or go for a row!

Rowing WOD 8/3/13: 500m Test – Post Time, Avg Split, and Stroke Rating

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Rowing WOD 8/3/13:

Bringing it home in the sprint! Checkout the Renegade Rowing Membership!

Bringing it home in the sprint! Checkout the Renegade Rowing Membership!

500m Test

Today is the day!  We’ve been focusing on improving our 500m time all month.  Now is the time to get it done.

How well does your body operate at max effort for 2 minutes?  How much power can you maintain before pain and metabolic waste slows you down?  Today’s assessment will give you an idea of your work capacity in the 2 minute time frame using all three metabolic pathways – phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative.  You’ll be pulling from both anaerobic and aerobic energy systems.

Set your monitor for 500 meters and get after it.  Be sure to record your time and average stroke rating.

Whether you’re a Vet or Novice, the goal should be to have a strong start, settle for 10 to 20 strokes, and then sprint all out for the last 200m.  Stroke rating should be high, above 30 s/m.  A good goal would be 5 split seconds faster than your 2k split.

Let us know how you do!  Post your results to Comments.

Rowing WOD 8/2/13: 4RFT – 15 Burpees, 150m Row – Post Time and Splits

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Burpees and RowingRowing WOD 8/2/13:

4 Rounds For Time

15 Burpees

150m Row

Tomorrow we re-test our 500m.  Are you ready?  Do you have a game plan?  What will your focus and split be for every 10 strokes?  Will you complete it in 50 strokes or will the rating be higher and require 60 strokes?  A few things to think about as you mentally prepare for tomorrow.

Today’s Rowing WOD is an opportunity to prepare for your finishing sprint tomorrow.  The burpees will start to gas you and push you to stay mentally strong as you fight for those last 15 to 20 strokes.  See if you can build up to your sprint pace in the first 50m and then attack the last 100m as if you were in a race or a test.  When you transition to the burpees work on the quick release and rolling right to the floor without standing up.

Fire it Up!  Weekend here we come!

Post time and splits to comments.

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!