Rowing WOD 1/9/13: 5RFT – 250m, 10 PU on DB, 10 DB HSC, 10 DB StOH – Post Time and Splits

Rowing WOD 1/9/13:

5 Rounds for time…

250m Row
10 Pushups on Dumbbells
10 DB Hang Squat Cleans 45/30
10 DB Shoulder to OH 45/30

Checkout everyone's preparation for the catch!

Checkout everyone’s preparation for the catch!

1:1 Work to Rest Ratio Each Round (Do the math each round!)

In order to develop elite fitness we must develop our core and powerful hip extension.  An athlete must be able to hold a strong posture and move efficiently through the hips when transferring force through the core.  Today’s Rowing WOD will not only train and test our core, but bring attention to the shoulders and lats, which must be strong to hold a good posture and transfer force efficiently.  Be sure to grab a lacrosse ball afterward and roll out the front, side, and back of your shoulders for at least three minutes on each arm.  You will be sore if you don’t.

The goal for the 250m pieces should be to hold your ideal 2k split or faster.  Don’t worry, the 1:1 rest allows you to hit it hard and go all out each round.  The push ups are meant to be a deficit push up, so your chest should touch the floor below your hands.  If you are still developing your push up, add an abmat or two to limit the range of motion and scale down.  Focus on keeping the shoulders away from the ears and lats engaged.  On the Hang Squat Cleans and Shoulder to Overhead movements be sure to use your hips to move the weight in order to save your arms.  Keep active shoulders overhead!

Anja and Alex pushing each other!

Anja and Alex pushing each other!

Last but not least you will need to do some math.  The biggest improvement you can make in rowing and racing a 2k is mastering your mental capacity.  If you can stay sharp and use your mind even when fatigued, you can execute a race plan and push yourself through the pain.  Today’s workout requires a 1:1 Work to Rest Ratio.  That means after the first round look at the time on the clock and rest that amount of time.  For the second round, remember what time you start and note what time you finish.  You’ll need to subtract your start time from the finish time of round two in order to calculate the rest needed after round two.  Have a piece of paper or a whiteboard handy.  Be ready to control your breathing and think!

Post your time and average splits for the 250m pieces!

For those that have been following the blog or are new and looking for some helpful tips, below is a video I took yesterday of the Renegade Rowing Suspension Drill.  We like to use this drill to really feel what it means to suspend from the oar during the drive.  Whenever there are short pieces in a WOD suspension is key and can really be a game changer!

Rowing WOD 1/8/13: Max Pressure 15 x :20 On :40 Off – Post Fastest and Slowest Split

Rowing WOD 1/8/13:

15 x :20 On :40 Off

Max Pressure

CFH2O at the first Renegade Rowing Workshop Sunday!  More details to come!

CFH2O at the first Renegade Rowing Workshop Sunday! More details to come!

Elite fitness is all about developing power through high intensity.  Today’s Rowing WOD is an opportunity to push your boundaries and test the limits of your speed.  Catch your breath and focus on the 40 seconds off so that you can put every ounce of energy into suspending from the oar and going low on the split.  Compare your results to your 2k race plan.  Do you last through the first 7, but die soon after?  Could you go faster at the start of your 2k?  What happens to your focus in the last couple?  Use your results to adjust your race plan and goal for our next 2k, which will be on January 19th at the third race of the Renegade Rowing League here at CrossFit Boston.

Post your fastest and slowest splits to comments.

The Renegade Rowing Club will be warming up with a couple of strap drills to feel and practice suspending from the oar.  If all goes well I’ll try to get some video of the drill up for everyone later this week.  Have Fun!

Rowing WOD 1/7/13: “Snow Drifts” – 2 x 17min w/ 4min Rest – Post Distance

Rowing WOD 1/7/13:

“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.

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

Rest Day 1/6/13: Check your Technique!

Rest Day 1/6/13:

Anja's back in town and crushing it!

Anja’s back in town and crushing it!

Check your Technique!

What do you need work on?

To start off the new year the Renegade Rowing Club has added some triple pause drills into their warmup to really dial in their body awareness and technique.  Below is a video I took on Thursday morning of the :30 pieces that were programmed last Tuesday.  Listen carefully and you might hear me calling hustles for each Renegade to continue working on the changes they addressed in the warmup.

Use today as an active rest day and take 15 minutes to row light and focus on form.  Make everything feel smooth.  Watch your power curve on the monitor, is it a smooth inverted parabola?  Where’s the peak?  Throw in some pauses on different parts of the recovery.  Be in control of your stroke at all times and maintain good posture.  If you find something that seems jerky or out of control try to change it and make it different.  Experiment a little and have some fun!

Rowing WOD 1/5/13: 6 x 2:00 w/ 1:30 Rest – Post Best Avg Split

Rowing WOD 1/5/13:

Renegade's at the first RRC Practice of the new year!

Renegades at the first RRC Practice of the new year!

6 x 2:00 w/ 1:30 Rest

(1st @28 s/m, 2nd @28, 3rd @30, 4th @30, 5th @32, 6th @Open Rating)

What stroke rating are you most efficient at?  Use today’s Rowing WOD as an opportunity to gain confidence and figure out what your most efficient race pace is for the next time you have to do a 2k or 1k… perhaps the Renegade Rowing League coming up on Saturday, January 19th at 8am?  Get after it and get ready to race!

Post your best average split and the stroke rating you maintained.

Note whether it was because you were fresh or because that stroke rating seemed easier for maintaining a faster split.

Checkout the racing action from the last Renegade Rowing League!