Rest Day 3/17/13: CrossFit Rowing Course in Boston! Sign Up and Save the Date! June 8-9

Rest Day 3/17/13:

Join us in Boston June 8-9 for the CrossFit Rowing Course!

Join us in Boston June 8-9 for the CrossFit Rowing Course!

CrossFit Rowing Course in Boston!

Sign Up and Save the Date!

June 8-9

Register Here!

Come join CrossFit Rowing Coach Shane Farmer at CrossFit Boston and Community Rowing in Boston from June 8-9!  We will be learning all about the erg, the stroke, rowing efficiency, strategy for Rowing WODs, and best of all – How to Row on the Water!

If you’d like to see the facilities at CRI and what rowing on the water will be like this summer checkout the video below on the Renegade Rowing Team.  Also, if you’re interested in joining the Renegade Rowing Team we will be starting in April and racing in June after the CrossFit Rowing Course!  Email Coach Pat with any questions and checkout the programs page to sign up now!

Rowing WOD 3/16/13: 4 x 3min w/ 1:30 Rest – Post Avg Splits

Rowing WOD 3/16/13:

2k Here We Come!

2k Here We Come!

4 x 3min w/ 1:30 Rest

  • Execute Ideal 2k Race Pace
  • Be consistent but bring the intensity

Over the last two Saturday’s we’ve been trying to hit our goal 2k pace over varying work to rest intervals.  Look back to see how you did and bring your best for today’s Rowing WOD.  With a 2:1 work to rest ratio this workout will get tough, but if you can bring the intensity, stay consistent, and hit your numbers you will be ready to crush our next 2k or perhaps the 2k that might pop up in the Open.

When competing we need to be able to follow a game plan and execute with control at full intensity, whether it’s a 5k row or a snatch ladder.  Many of you are looking to break a 7min or 8min 2k.  Those that can develop a race plan, hit their splits, and stick to their stroke ratings will come out on top and crush that goal.

Renegades Racing on the water!

Renegades Racing on the water!

Today’s Rowing WOD is all about focusing on that control and execution at full intensity.  Each piece should be full pressure trying to hold your ideal race pace.  You should visualize what it will be like in the middle of your 2k and what you will do to maintain mental toughness.  Be smooth, be consistent, breathe, and execute!

Post your average 500m splits for each piece to comments!

Rest Day 3/14/13: Find a local rowing club! Join a learn to row program!

Rest Day 3/14/13:

Sculling at Craftsburry

Sculling at Craftsburry

Find a local rowing club and join a learn to row program!

Recently I was emailed by Jennifer who is a follower of the CrossFit Rowing Facebook Page and Renegade Rowing.  She learned to row last year and wanted to spread the word for other interested athletes in the NY and NJ area looking to row.

This year the East Arm Rowing Club Learn-to-Row Program begins with an optional technical session at the West Point Boathouse on Saturday April 13 at 9 a.m. ($7 fee), continues with on-the-water practices starting the week of April 21, and culminates with the annual “Greenwood Lake Challenge” for the Sullivan Cup Sunday, June 2 beginning at 9 a.m.

For more information on the East Arm Rowing Club Learn-to-Row program, including a registration form and waiver, click here.

Renegade Rowing Team

Renegade Rowing Team post Race!

Renegade Rowing Team post Race!

If you’re in the Boston area you should come checkout the Renegade Rowing Team.  Our goal is to learn to row and race on the Charles River!  We will be starting the first week in April.  Practices will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 5:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. out of the Community Rowing Boathouse in Brighton.  Our goal is to be competitive and race in a regatta every 2 months.  A link for registration will be up on the Renegade Rowing site soon.  In the mean time email Coach Pat with any questions! pat@renegaderowing.com

Post any local rowing clubs and programs you know of in your area to comments!

Rowing WOD 3/12/13: 5x800m w/ 2min Rest – Post Splits

Rowing WOD 3/12/13:

5 x 800m w/ 2min Rest

The Renegade Rowing Team is coming!  Get on the Water with us starting in April!  Email pat@renegaderowing.com if interested!

The Renegade Rowing Team is coming! Get on the Water with us starting in April! Email pat@renegaderowing.com if interested!

1st @2k Pace (w/ Start)

2nd @2k+3

3rd @2k+2

4th @2k+1

5th @2k

Some of our best results are found when training at high intensity.  In order to develop as an athlete you’ll need to develop an ability to go hard and bring your “A” game.  Today’s Rowing WOD provides an opportunity for just that.  Set the monitor for 800m of work and 2 minutes of rest.  Use the first piece to practice the start of your 2k and the last to practice the finish.  There should be a focus on power per stroke and solid intensity across all five pieces.  Write down the splits you would like to hold (ex: 2:00, 2:03, 2:02, 2:01, 2:00) prior to starting and make a commitment to attack each piece and execute every stroke.  Know what mental cues you will go to when it gets tough – breath, legs down, sit tall, swing, smooth, breath…

13.2 will be announced in a couple of days!  Will it be a 2k?  Better get ready just in case.  For those of you fighting to break that 8min or 7min mark today is a day to get after it.  Try to pick a slightly faster split then you rowed on Saturday.

Post your Average 500m Splits for each piece to comments.

Rowing WOD 3/11/13: “Snow Drifts” – 2x17min w/ 4min Rest – Post Distance

Rowing WOD 3/11/13:

“Snow Drifts”

RRC Blur2 x 17min w/ 4min Rest

as follows …

5′ @22 s/m, 4′ @24, 3′ @26, 2′ @28, 3′ @26

Last week we hit “The Castle” to focus on ratio and rhythm.  Today’s Rowing WOD is another opportunity for everyone to keep working on a sense of form and rhythm without the pressure of intensity and competition.  Sometimes it’s good to slow down and dial in that technique.  Pressure should be a moderate to hard steady state.  That means you can get out short sentences but it’s difficult to maintain a detailed conversation.

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.

Slingshot Hands Away will be key when we get on the water!

Slingshot Hands Away will be key when we get on the water!

When going from a 26 stroke rating to a 28 you should focus on more pressure with the legs and quickly redirecting the hands through the finish.  Think of a slingshot as you pull the hands in and release them quick and smooth away.  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.  When the rating shifts down from a 28 to a 26 be sure to perform a ratio shift and try to maintain the same split.  Focus on pushing a little harder and take an extra second to breath on the recovery to bring the stroke rating down.

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

Music can motivate us to push harder and row longer, but it can also give us a sense of timing.  We might have to start calling it Music Monday’s if this catches on, but for now just have some fun trying to row to the rhythm of the music.  Please add to the playlists any songs that help you stick to a certain rating and keep pushing hard!

Below is the start of a list of songs for various stroke ratings.  If you were to use a music editing program like garage band to clip the songs into segments then you could perform today’s Rowing WOD completely in time to your favorite jams.

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