Today’s focus is Rhythm and Intensity. Get in some good skill work by warming up with a Reverse Pic Drill and Pic Drill in your 10min Erg Warmup. Go hard for the start and finish of this workout, but be smooth and efficient through the bulk of the work. Focus on breathing and consistent pace. Find the right scale so that each movement is challenging and pushes your intensity while allowing rhythm and flow. A good goal would be holding a 2k-1 pace for the 500m pieces.
This week is a practice week in the Renegade Rowing Training Plan. Today is your opportunity to compete against yourself and everyone else on your team to get a baseline for Rowing Helen. Dig deep and push harder for the person next to you! Next Friday you’ll get a chance to Re-Test this.
Take quality strokes and have fun pushing yourself.
Post your time for the Strength and Conditioning WOD to comments as well as your splits for each 500m piece.
w/ 4 Lateral Erg Burpees Every Minute On the Minute
Welcome to the Weekend! Get excited because everyday is another day closer to the start of the Renegade Rowing League (RRL) and the CRASH-B’s. The First Renegade Rowing League race of the season will be held next Saturday, November 22nd at 8am. Sign up here if you’d like to join us and compete! If you or your gym is interested in competing at the RRL please let me know – pat@renegaderowing.com.
Today’s Rowing WOD should provide some fun and motivation for the RRL! This is a great one to challenge a training partner with! If you’re a novice rower pick one split that you can confidently hold for every stroke that you’re on the erg. Focus on smooth rowing and being efficient. If you’re a Vet try to hold your 2k goal split each time you’re on the erg and practice your quick release transitions getting the feet out to do the burpees. Be sure to push both thumbs down as you pull your toes up to loosen those straps. Remember, every minute on the minute you must complete 4 lateral erg burpees!
Today’s programming is either an endurance block, olympic lifting, or active recovery. If you’ve been training hard all week and you’re a little banged up from the last couple of days be sure to mix in some active recovery with yoga, a light row, or even just a walk along the river with some mobility and stretching mixed in!
Below is a little video review to check out while you’re recovering. The video is of Nick A. who just started back up with the Renegade Rowing Club after rowing on the water all Summer/Fall. He’s a competitive rower with lots of experience and he’s looking to keep raising his game by getting stronger and finding more speed wherever he can. Take a look at the video and see what he does well and look for things that you might be able to improve as well. If you have any questions please let us know in the comments and I’ll do my best to get right back to you.
The Girl WODs were introduced as benchmark workouts to measure your performance and improvements throughout your training. Today’s Rowing WOD is a pumped up “Jackie”, a newer girl, aimed at measuring your efficiency and performance through three different full body movements. It’s a great workout to test how well your technique has developed. Ideally you’ll be able to hold a consistent split all the way through and leave your legs just fresh enough to go unbroken on the thrusters. Before you start take some time to think about your game plan, the split you want to hold, how you’ll break up thrusters, and how to game the pull ups.
For the Renegades I’m going to recommend gaming this just like a 2k. Good start, settle, and be consistent through the first 1k. I’d suggest holding a split around 2k+5 to 2k+7 at a 28 stroke rating. Split up the Thrusters to stay fresh on the front and back side. Be sure not to tear on the pull ups. For the last 1k just get right to the same split you were holding in the first 1k and then sprint when you get to the 250m mark. Have a game plan and stay focused when the going gets tough. If you can stay positive and mentally strong through this wod, you should be able to do it in just a 2k.
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 