15: 6RFT – 500m Row, 20 Push Ups – Post Time and Splits

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD:

6 Rounds for Time (20min Cap)

500m Row

20 Push Ups

As we begin training for the fall season it’s important to work in some longer pieces to build up our endurance and prepare ourselves for head races. Head Races are anywhere from 4k – 6k in distance and take around 15 minutes or more to complete. They are run like time trials with one boat starting at a time. Mental toughness is key to keep intensity up and push hard enough to catch the boat in front of you.

In today’s Rowing WOD you’ll need mental toughness to keep pushing through the middle rounds. Imagine there’s a crew just ahead of you. Chasing them down is the only option.

Pick one split you can hold all the way through each piece. If possible try to negative split each round. On the push ups get full range of motion and scale as necessary. You can scale by elevating your hands, giving yourself a target, or decreasing the volume to 15 or 10 per round.

If you’re looking to spice things up and have some more fun try this on the water. I’ve done this workout in a single off of the docks at Community Rowing. It was pretty epic. Can’t wait to have a group of Renegades doing workouts like this on the water with me. If you’re interested let me know!

Post time and splits to comments!

Rowing WOD 7/31/15: 4RFT – 15 Burpees, 150m Row – Post Time and Splits

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD:

4 Rounds For Time

15 Burpees

150m Row

Tomorrow we 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 7/20/15: “Snow Drifts” – Post Distances

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Renegade Rowing

Remember when it was cold out?

“Snow Drifts”

2 x 17min w/ 4min Rest

as follows …

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

4min Rest

5′ @20 s/m, 4′ @24, 3′ @28, 2′ @30, 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!

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

Rowing WOD 7/18/15: 3k Row, 2.5k Row, 2k Row – Post Avg. Splits

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Renegade Rowing

Would you like to row with Renegade Rowing? On the water or in the gym? If you’re interested be sure to schedule a consultation today!

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?

Rowing WOD 7/13/15: “The Castle” – 21min Row, Varying Rates – Post Distance

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD:

“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.

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