Have a good weekend!
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Month: May 2014
Question of the Day
I just read your post on power 10s and it clarifies a lot – but a quick question. I know a power 10 means a burst of pressure. So does that mean usually, but not always, bringing up the stroke rating a few beats? Or what?
No, power tens don’t typically coincide with bringing the stroke rate up. They can but that usually only happens with 20s when you’ve got more strokes to work with. That’s rare though too. It’s not something I’d call for unless you’d specifically practiced it as part of your planned “big move” in the middle of the race. I think if you tried to bring the stroke rate up for just ten strokes you’d end up spinning your wheels. Trying to bring it up for anything less than that would be negligible anyways. If you’re just taking a normal 10 though, you wouldn’t do anything to the stroke rate. Speed doesn’t equal power – you can still pull hard and not increase how fast you’re moving.
Race skills: All about Power 10s
As I’ve been talking to coxswains and listening to recordings I’ve been thinking that it’d be worthwhile to explain power tens in a bit more depth so you have a better idea of what they are, what they aren’t, what their purpose is, etc. Having this understanding will, hopefully, make them a more efficient part of your race plan/strategy as we head towards the peak of racing season.
What power 10s are
Power 10s are strategic bursts that you take during a race. 99.8% of the time they should be called for something if you want to achieve maximum effectiveness. Giving each one a purpose gives the rowers something to latch on to, for lack of a better term, whereas just calling a plain “power 10” isn’t likely to make them do anything different than they were before.
Power 10s are also one of (if not the) biggest misnomers in the sport of rowing. We call things “power 10s” even when they’re not strictly about power because there aren’t really any other words for them. I’ll also call them “bursts” if I’m taking a 5 or something short and sweet like that. I’ve actually been trying to get away from calling them “power” 10s and instead just say “gimme 10 for…”, “let’s take 5 for…”, “get ready for our 20 at 750m…”, etc. The reasoning for that is because when I take a 5 or 10 for leg drive (i.e. power) I don’t want the word “power” to be diluted because I use it for every other move/burst I take even when they have nothing to do with power.
What power 10s aren’t
Power 10s are not something you should just randomly call during a race because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do because you’ve heard other people do it. You’re less likely to get a response from your crew in terms of power, effort, etc. if you just yell “power 10” and start counting.
Does a power 10 have to be 10 strokes?
No. Obviously if you say “power 10” then you should call 10 strokes but you can do other variations too, like 5, 15, or 20. If you call anything more than ten strokes, make sure you’re separating them into chunks of ten rather than counting the whole thing sequentially – i.e. a 20 would be two sets of 10, counted out “…8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 3…” rather than “…8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13…”.
Similarly, a 15 (also known as a “5 and 10”) would be counted out as five strokes followed by ten strokes. Usually if I call something like this I’ll actually count the five strokes down as a way to build into the ten strokes, which I’ll count up like normal – i.e. “…3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3…”.
Do all of those have the same purpose/mean the same thing?
No. This is how I usually (not always but ~90% of the time) treat each burst:
5-stroke burst
I tend to call a 5-stroke burst for things related to technique (i.e. sharpening up the catches, holding the blades in through the finish, smooth/even power on the drive, body swing/length at both ends), posture (i.e. supporting the bodies, staying tall, relaxed upper body, eliminating the tension), internal focus (i.e. rowing our race, establishing/re-establishing the rhythm, individual responsibilities), or other miscellaneous things like breathing, commitment, legs, etc.
10-stroke burst
I call 10s when I want to take seats (no more than two, maybe three) or walk on another crew.
15-stroke burst
15s are the overlooked middle child of power bursts. I don’t call them very often but when I do it’s because I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone. Like I mentioned before, I almost always count the five strokes first (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) followed by the ten (1, 2, 3…) because I like the “prep/build” period that those five strokes give you.
The only time where I would do the opposite is coming into the sprint where you would typically build for a few strokes coming into it anyways. In that case I’d count the ten first followed by the five, which would act as the “five to build” where you’d be bringing the rate up.
20-stroke burst
20s are strictly for making big moves on another crew or walking on/through the field. These should be used sparingly during a sprint race (once is sufficient, twice is enough, three is too many) but you can usually get away with maybe three or so during your average-length head race.
How do you count out each one?
This is mostly a personal preference thing with some input from the rowers on what they like best. This is what I was taught and also what makes the most sense to me so it’s what I do and teach. During a normal 10 or 20 during a race, I count up (1, 2, 3…). If I’m building into the sprint or prepping them for a big move/shift, I count down (5, 4, 3…). If I’m counting down the last [however many strokes] to the finish line I count down (10, 9, 8…). If I’m calling something “in two” I count up (1, 2…). Occasionally I’ll say “in two … in one…” but normally if I’m not just saying “on this one” I count up.
How do you call each one?
Again, this is mostly a personal preference thing but this is how I try to call them in race situations. During practice you can be a bit more lax if you want unless you’re doing a piece or something simulating your race, in which case you’d want to call them like you do during a race. This helps familiarize the crew with how you do things so there are no surprises on race day.
5-stroke burst
“Aaron, blade in right at the front end, direct to the water. Let’s take 5 to sharpen ’em up together, ready, now. Sharp, send … sharp, send … sharp, yea Aaron … together … sharp, yea there we go! Grab the water and send…”
10-stroke burst
“Alright, two seats down on UVA, I got Adrienne on their 3-seat. Let’s take ten to get even, get it on the legs and through the water … on this one. Power through, power through YEA TIGERS, 3 walking, 4 1 seat down, 5 here we go, jump send, jump half a seat, 8 reel ’em in, 9 big legs, 10 EVEN! Sitting coxswain-to-coxswain, stay solid with the legs and move now…”
15-stroke burst
“Coming up to the bridge, 400m to go, let’s sit up, take a deep breath, and get ready to take 15 into our sprint – first 10 for commitment on the legs, last 5 to build the rate up – ready to go in 3, in 2, in one, COMMITTTTTT … 1 together, 2 drive it down, 3 send it out, 4 send it out, legs keep the length, legs BOWBALL, legs push ’em back, 8 ready to build 9 we move together, 10 here we go, NOW on the legs, together 34.5, together 35, punish them 36, last 250 breathe … go now!”
20-stroke burst
“Sitting in second, 8 seats up on Cal, 3 seats down on Stanford coming into the third 500. Let’s get our minds ready for the 1000, shift that focus internal and get ready to move. We’re taking seats – no mercy. Ready to go in 3 … in 2 … in 1, get on it and ATTACK! Gimme that bow ball, 2 yea Tigers, 3 chaaa, 4 chaaa, jump send ’em back, jump send ’em back, 7 BOWBALLLLL, 8 finish them, ready to move we’re one seat down, up 2 to get even, HERE WE GO NOW, send it out, 2 walking, 3 YEA, 4 half a seat, get it yea, EVEN yea, stay on it send, leeegs send it, 9 half a seat up, 10 YEA TIGERS! One seat of open on Cal, got the stroke of Stanford. Sharp with the catches, our bow ball stays in front. Stride it out to base … on this one, length and power, length and power…”
Where and how often should you call for a burst?
Read the post linked at the beginning on where to call them (there’s a bit of strategy definition in there too) and the post linked below for some thoughts on frequency. If you twisted my arm and made me give you a number of how many bursts you should take over the course of 2000m, my gut reaction would be to say a max eight. That includes one 20 (your “big” move), two or three 10s, a couple of focus 5s, and whatever build you do into your sprint (if you do one).
For 1500m, I’d say six total (one 20, a couple 10s, and maybe one or two 5s) would be sufficient. You don’t want to burn your crew out by calling ten after ten after ten and you most especially do NOT want to that coxswain that counts every single stroke of the entire race.
The bottom line is to call and use these bursts responsibly. Rowers, don’t be afraid to talk to your coxswain too if you have concerns over their use of them since feedback on stuff like this is much appreciated.
Image via // @ryanjnicholsonphoto
Question of the Day
Do you know which lanes are “better” and which are “worse” with regards to the bend in the course on the Schuylkill?
Philly coxswains, feel free to weigh in and/or correct me on this since I haven’t spent a ton of time on Schuylkill and am not as familiar with its quirks. There’s a staggered start to account for the bend so there’s not really a “good” lane or a “bad” lane to be in as far as I know. Pretty much what makes one lane better or worse than another is gonna be more related to the condition of the water than anything else. If you/your coxswain is competent at steering you can easily gain a few seats coming through the bend but at the same time you can also lose some too if you mess it up. Waiting too long to turn will cause you to swing wide and if you cut it and swing early you’ll end up crossing over into another lane as you come under the Strawberry Mansion bridge.
Related: Navigating the Schuylkill River
I thought I had some video of the coxswains taking the turn through the bridge but if I do I can’t find it. A good example of how to do it though is to watch this video (also included on the “coxswain recordings” page) starting around 1:37. The way he called it was pretty solid, as was the line he took.
High School Q&A Training & Nutrition
Question of the Day
Hi! I’m a high school rower and am in my team’s LW V4. We’re going to SE Regionals this weekend and have a shot to place for nationals, so I’m really excited! The whole season I have been naturally under 130, ranging from 127-130ish. At the beginning of this week my weight was up a little (I know it fluctuates day to day), but we don’t have practice after Wednesday and I was just wondering if you had any advice for how I should keep my weight in control for this weekend. I’ve heard different things like do cardio (obviously) and eat fibrous foods until the day before when you should eat energy dense food that doesn’t weigh you down. I love your blog and love to relate to other rowers during my spring season! Thanks!
The best thing you can do between now and this weekend is make sure you’re drinking water and watching what you eat. By that I mean just make sure you’re eating sensibly (five small meals a day) and not eating foods that are super calorie-dense, high in salt, etc. Salads, greek yogurt, fruit, chicken breast, steamed veggies, etc. are all solid options. If you’re not practicing on Thursday or Friday I’d recommend going for a medium to long-ish easy run (enough to get your heart rate up but not so much that you’re going to feel the effects in the following days) just so you can get a workout or two in before you weigh-in. If you’ve naturally been under though, you’ll most likely be fine. Remember, you can be 130lbs on the dot and still make weight. Just be smart about what you’re eating.
Question of the Day
I’m a masters coxswain, with experience primarily on lakes in the Pacific Northwest. This past Saturday at a very hectic and busy race in this area, I was told by a Marshal to execute a “river turn” as I was crossing the warm up area. I realized with all the races that I have done over the years, I have only actually coxed on a river ONCE, and have no idea what a “river turn” is. Could you explain this maneuver and describe how to execute it without flipping your shell? Typically when we need to turn in a tight area I have the side I am turning towards back, and the opposite side row in alternating strokes. So if I need to rotate clockwise I have starboards back and ports row. It’s a bit of a slow process, is a river turn something faster?
What you’re doing is a river turn. I’ve never heard that term before though and actually had to Google it to find out what it meant (there weren’t very many results either). Apparently it’s also called a “scissor stroke” but it seemed like that one was used more with sculling than sweep rowing. Hopefully it’s not just me that’s never heard “river turn” used before … I feel like a lot of people probably wouldn’t know what it means though if a course marshal told them to “execute a river turn”.
I’ve found that turning with four rowers is just as fast or faster than trying to turn with all eight so I tend to have bow and three row and six and stroke back. I was always taught (and it’s been reinforced many times since then) that you just don’t turn to starboard unless you row on a river that has an opposite traffic pattern. If you are turning to starboard though for whatever reason, you’d have two and four row and five and seven back. Using four people instead of all eight helps keep the boat set more than anything else; 99.9% of the reason why turning with all eight is usually such a hassle is because it’s offset and one side can’t get their blades out of the water. The “fast” part of it comes not from speed but from power. As long as the people rowing/backing are doing so with an adequate amount of pressure, it really shouldn’t take more than say, 7ish strokes to turn the boat.
As far as flipping the boat goes, I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again … it takes a special kind of stupid to flip an eight. Like, a seriously special kind of stupid. I’ve never heard of a crew flipping while turning (although in small boats it’d make sense if that’s when it happened) so it’s really not something you need to worry about.
Coxing High School Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches
Question of the Day
Hello!! First I just wanted to say that I am a high school novice cox and your blog has helped me so much. But I have a problem. My varsity/head coaches are so supportive and nice, but my novice coach isn’t. She has missed practice almost everyday for 3 weeks, and she flipped when I missed practice one day for an appointment that I had scheduled months in advance. She’s a good athletic coach who knows a lot about rowing and sports injuries, but not about feelings. At our last regatta my dad was talking to her. Today at practice in front of my whole team she blamed for the team’s loss. Considering the fact that she hasn’t been a real part of the team and then just shows up out of the blue, I think that’s part of what messed up the team. She came in and changed our start sequence and everything that we’ve learned. She kept knocking me down in front of the team. It got the point that I came home and cried for two hours. Everyone on my team calls her “a hero” because of how much she knows. I agree that she knows a lot about rowing, but not about coxing. What should I do?
Whoa. Personally, I automatically lose a lot of respect for any coach that calls someone out like that in front of the team, especially in a sport that is as team-oriented as rowing is. That’s just not cool. I can’t really even understand her frustration with you missing practice due to an appointment that was scheduled months in advance. If you’re a novice how likely was it that you knew you’d be doing crew when the appointment was made anyways? Regardless, it’s pretty hypocritical for her to be upset that you missed one practice if she’s not even consistently there.
If you’re not comfortable talking directly to her, I’d say that if you’ve got a good relationship with your head coaches, talk with them since that’s obviously who she’d report to hierarchy-wise. You could also have your dad there if you wanted since he talked with her at your regatta and might have addressed some of the issues you’ve been having. Explain the issue(s) to your coaches though and say that while it’s obvious that she knows her stuff about rowing, it’s coming across like she doesn’t understand much about coxing and it’s becoming very frustrating for you because instead of being coached you’re being blamed for team losses, etc. Hopefully from there either they can talk with her or have a group meeting with you and her. I would say outside of just ignoring the negative things she says, talking with them and hoping they can address things with her is probably your best/only option.
High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches
Question of the Day
Hi OK on my team novices don’t go to regionals unless you’re in the fresh 8. So anyways for the rest of the year those who aren’t going have to row in pairs which is awesome but we have assigned pairs and the girl I’m with is bow and she is so horribly bossy and mean and she yells at me and blames me for everything that goes wrong. I’ve talked to the coach but she said we just need to work it out and I even took a starboard rigged boat just so I could be bow but she still acts like she’s the coxswain. How should I deal with this? I really like rowing pairs but she makes it so awful.
After you talked with your coach did you then try to talk to your pair partner off the water about all this? I would say that if you did and nothing changed (after say, three to five days) you should go back to your coach and say that you tried to talk/”work things out” but nothing came of it and is there any way that you could switch partners because the current setup isn’t working. Maybe it’s just me but it really irritates me when coaches say “work it out” and expect that to birth some magical solution that suddenly fixes whatever problems there are. Like, yes, I understand that people need to find solutions to their own problems and act like mature (young) adults but at the same time, you’re the coach. Being a mediator in situations like this is part of your responsibility. If someone says something isn’t working, I feel like the natural course of action would be to figure out why it’s not working (by talking to the people involved), make some observations, and make a call one way or the other. Telling teenagers to “work it out” and not getting any more involved than that sounds like a great way to escalate the drama. Like I said, maybe that’s just me that thinks that but whenever I hear a coach saying “work it out” it just sounds like they’re saying “I’m above dealing with this”.
The next time you go out for practice, let her be the bowman. I know that’s probably not the ideal solution for you but in terms of safety, if she’s going to talk over you when you’re in bow anyways, she might as well just be back there herself. As much as I’d love to fight (and win, obvs) every battle, sometimes you’ve gotta pick and choose which ones are worth are engaging in. This one’s not worth it because ultimately your safety is more important that whatever issue you two have with each other.
Talk to her before you go out and say that the last few practices haven’t been very productive for you because it feels like she’s being overly aggressive with … well, everything and that’s taking your focus away from actually rowing. If there’s a certain way that works best for you in terms of how constructive criticism, etc. is given, tell her that. For example, “If I’m doing something wrong or could make an adjustment, the best way to say that to me is to XYZ, rather than just yelling at me.” Maybe the two of you just need to spend some time figuring out the best way to communicate. Until you’ve tried that and found that that’s not the issue (or that the issue extends beyond that), don’t assume that simply talking it out won’t make a difference.
If you try that and find that nothing changes, like I said before, go back to your coach and see if she can pair you with someone else. Rowing in pairs is a great way to work on your technique because it really highlights and magnifies a lot of little things that would otherwise get covered up in the eight. You definitely want to make sure you’re taking full advantage of the time you have in them. If you feel like that’s not happening, you should make that clear to your coach and let her know that this really isn’t about you not wanting to row with your current partner because you don’t get along but rather because you want to be paired with someone who’s going to actually help you get something out of practice (and for whom you can do the same).
Question of the Day
Hi Kayleigh! I’m a sophomore rower and at the moment I’m 5’7″ and around 130 pounds. I know I’m on the tall side, but I think that I could get to 120/125 pounds and still be healthy. While I do love rowing, my real interest and passion is in coxing, so I was wondering if you think coxing men in college is a viable option for me, and if it is, what I can do to get there. Thanks!
Check out the post linked below. That person was also a sophomore and I think what I said to her would also apply to you – at 15/16 years old, you’ve gotta assume you’re not done growing yet so it’s tough to say whether you’ll be the same size or not by the time you get to college.
My gut feeling is to say stick with rowing and then when you get to college, reevaluate and go from there if doing crew is still something you’re interested in pursuing. The school you go to will also dictate the likelihood of you being able to cox – the schools that are super competitive tend to be very strict about their coxswains being as close to racing weight as possible and two years from now it may or may not be viable for you to lose 5-10lbs and still be healthy. Your height isn’t as big of a deal even though you might feel kinda cramped at times depending on what brand of boat you’re in. Every body is different though so that’s something you would have to judge on your own. Club programs and the like are usually less strict about people having the natural rower or coxswain build so I would say if you really wanted to cox, you’d probably have a better shot with a program like that.
If you do eventually decide that’s what you want to do, you’ve got two options – show up whenever they have walk on tryouts and say you want to be a coxswain or email the coach before you arrive on campus and say you’ve got X number of years of rowing experience but you’re interested in walking on as a coxswain, at [height]/[weight] what’s the likelihood that you would be a good fit (literally and figuratively) for their program?