Life get’s crazy, especially this time of year as we gear up for fall parties and the holidays. Speaking of Holidays, the Head of the Charles is known to rowers as Rowing Christmas. Every year on the third weekend of October, rowers past and present gather to remember the good old days and push themselves to the limit against the best in the world. If you can get outside today, go for a walk along the Charles River. You will more than likely see other random people both tall and small looking at the bridges and turns scouting their line for race day. Keep an eye out for coaching launches filled with coxswains doing the same thing from the water. The biggest regatta in the world is just over a week away. Time to get excited!
Never seen the Head of the Charles Regatta before? Try the following today! Take 15 minutes today to stop. Breathe. And go for a walk. If you’ve got a river or body of water nearby go for a stroll and watch some rowing. How does the boat move in relation to the body? What part of the stroke does the boat move the fastest? How’s the form look compared to your erging?
If you’re lucky enough to do this please share your thoughts, where you were, and what you saw!
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?
It’s been another month of epic training. How have you progressed? Have you been consistent in your work? Now is the time to test where we’re at and re-focus as the championship head racing season draws near. It also happens to be the 26th of September, a great day to do 30 Burpees! I’ll be doing them on Monday when I turn 30 on September 28th. Good luck, have fun, and get after it!
How well does your body process and use oxygen to do work? How long can you sustain work? Today’s assessment will give you an idea of both your aerobic capacity and endurance. Set your monitor for 5,000 meters and get after it. Be sure to record your time, average 500m split, average stroke rating, and average watts. This will give you an idea of your work capacity over about 20 minutes.
For those wondering why we’re doing such a long test and how to attack it, think of this as a Girl Wod like “Mary”. The athlete who can efficiently and effectively move their body weight will be able to consistently do more work aerobically without having to dip into anaerobic energy stores. Also, when tackling “Mary”, good competitors will go in with a game plan based on what they know they can maintain. The first couple of rounds may be used to ease into the work without flying and dying.
Whether you’re a Vet or Novice, the goal should be to maintain a consistent 500m split and stroke rating throughout the whole piece. If this is your first 5k aim to build your confidence by negative splitting. Start the first 1k at a moderately hard pace that you can consistently hold. Then every 1k after that try to pull a little bit faster, perhaps 1 split second every 1k. What you should avoid is going out to hard, say 1:45 /500m, and then dying half way through to limp in at a split of 2:00 /500m.
Novices should try to maintain a stroke rating of 24 to 26. Vets should work on executing a race plan, maintaining their splits, and rowing at a stroke rating of at least 26 to 28.
Let us know how you do! Post your results to Comments.
Over the last few days my schedule has kicked in to full gear and I’ve had the opportunity to coach a wide range of athletes. In the mornings I coach athletes from CrossFit Boston and Community Rowing. In the afternoon I coach high school athletes from the Wayland Weston Crew Team. The biggest thing all three teams need to improve their performance is mobility. Today is a good day to focus on improving your mobility. Let’s get after it!
In rowing the longer your stroke the further you can move the boat and ultimately the faster you can go. Same thing applies indoors, rowing on the erg. The only problem with that equation is your positioning. Are you in a strong position at the catch and finish? Today is a day to work on mobility and improve that positioning. Take at least 15 minutes, ideally longer, to work on your tight spots. What limits you? Ankle flexion at the catch? Shoulder mobility at the finish? Tight hips/hamstrings at Bodies Over?
Share where you tend to be tight during a row as well as your problem areas for WODs. What are you doing daily to work them out?
How’s it going Renegades? Apologies for not posting over the past week or two. I’ve been busy getting one of my new teams up to speed. I’m now the Head Coach for the Wayland-Weston Crew Team. I hope to get back on a regular posting schedule this week. One thing we’ve been focused on at WW is Posture, Connection, and Suspension. Give this Rowing WOD a shot and let me know your thoughts on those three skills. How does one lend itself to the other?
Rowing WOD:
Suspension Drills
6 x 2:00 w/ 1:30 Rest,
@28 s/m for all
@2k+3, Damper Set at 8
@2k+3, Damper Set at 6
@2k+3, Damper Set at 4
@2k+3, Damper Set at 2
@2k+3, Damper Set at 5
@2k+3, Damper Set at Favorite
Check Drag Factor
Recently we’ve been reviewing the fundamental skills of posture, control, and connection. Today we’ll take the idea of connection one step further as we feel what it means to suspend from the oar handle. Suspension is all about using our body weight to hang on the oar and help accelerate the handle all the way through the drive. The key is not to create any force Upward off the seat, but to just become weightless off your seat while keeping in contact with it. Everything – forces, handle height, chain – needs to be HORIZONTAL when we row! NO need to do extra Work (W = mgh) by moving stuff up and down every stroke, keep it horizontal!
Drills we’ll cover include the Stand Up/Sit Down drill to get the feeling of suspending above the seat. Remember this is an exaggeration to get the correct sensation and feeling of good connection. We will also do the Strap Drill where we statically hang and suspend from the handle while maintaining our body angles and strong postures. Then we’ll do the Strap Drill dynamically by letting the strap out slowly and trying to hold suspension all the way through the drive.
In today’s Rowing WOD we’ll be varying the damper to find where we’re most efficient. Over the next week play around with the damper to find where you’re most comfortable/efficient . When you find a damper setting you like, check the drag factor so you can begin using a consistent drag factor. For more information on Drag Factors read this article: http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/tips-and-general-info/damper-setting-101
For today’s 2min pieces, try to focus on good connection and suspension while keeping a consistent split for all 6 pieces. After you’re done look back at the memory to see what your average stroke rating was for each piece. Whatever piece felt comfortable/efficient and was done at a stroke rating of 28-32 might be a good drag factor for you. Take a couple of minutes to set the damper to that number and check the drag factor on the monitor. Remember that drag factor and try to use it next time you row to see if you still like it.
Post your average splits and favorite drag factor to comments!
********** IMPORTANT *************
The biggest thing to focus on and practice right now is the fundamentals!!! Body Preparation by Half Slide is Key and Connection to move the handle with the seat out of the Catch is key! If you can Prep and Connect, the suspension will come. Whenever focusing on suspension ensure your abs are engaged and you have a solid hollow body! Protect those discs!
If you have any questions let me know!
Here is a quick video of the strap drill. It’s a fun challenge to do dynamically. If you like what you see, come try it and train with the Renegade Rowing Club! The Renegade Rowing Club practices Tuesdays at 6:00am and Wednesdays at 6:00pm at CrossFit Boston. Let me know if you’re planning on coming… pat@renegaderowing.com
Renegade Rowing 