Category: College

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 22, 2012

How much steady state is too much and how do you know if you’re pushing too hard or not enough? Currently I’m doing: 70′, 17s/m, 2:05-2:10/500m three times a week (Heavyweight male U23). Thank you!

This is a fairly common debate amongst rowers and coaches – how much is too much and is there actually such a thing as too much steady state. When rowers do steady state, the focus is typically on improving endurance, which is controlled by the aerobic system. This usually does result in endurance gains but the effectiveness of your anaerobic system declines. It changes the makeup of your skeletal muscle and converts fast twitch fibers to slow twitch fibers. This change in your muscle makeup leads to a decrease in speed and power production. To use the example I used in the post I linked to, think of marathoners and sprinters. Marathoners are primarily made up of slow twitch fibers (their races are run “slow” and steady) whereas sprinters are primarily comprised of fast twitch fibers (they’re speed demons). Rowers need to be an equal balance of both, hence why I said rowers are the hybrids of marathoners and sprinters.

To sum it up, volume-wise, I don’t think you’re doing too much. The other one or two days a week, you should add in some interval work at or near your 2k pace. In terms of knowing whether you’re going hard enough or not, my biggest suggestion is to invest in a heart rate monitor so you’ll be able to more accurately see if you’re staying within the various training bands (UT2, UT1, AT, etc.).

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

Do recruiters look at certain clubs more such as Marin or CRI?

I don’t know for sure, but I’d think they would look more closely at someone who came out of the more prominent programs vs. someone from a lesser known program, simply because of the exposure and reputation they have. It’s kind of like players going to the NFL – guys from Division 1 programs have a better shot compared to someone from a D3 team.

You also have to assume that someone who rows for a program like that carries the same values of dedication, hard work, excellence, etc. that helped raise it to prominence in the first place. Stuff like this really catches the eyes of coaches, especially when they know those programs are frequent contenders at regattas like Head of the Charles, Canadian Henley, Club Nationals, etc. It’s definitely something that I think could give you a bit of an edge but it’s not like, the defining quality when they look at recruits.

College Ergs How To Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

Hi there! Your advice is absolutely wonderful and I love your blog. I am a second-year varsity rower at a D3 school. My question is about ERG tests. Recently I’ve hit a mental block on my 2ks. My PR is 1:58.3. Last year, my 2ks were my best test, but on my past 2 I have literally stood up at about the 700 mark and the 1000 mark, respectively, somehow afraid of the pain/speed. I’ve never done this before. Do you have any advice on how to push through that moment in tests where you want to stop?

Acknowledging the imminent pain before you start your test will prepare you for when you finally feel it. That way, when you hit that point you can say “I knew this was coming, I’m not surprised I feel like my body is being run over by a tank, I have to keep going”.

In the grand scheme of things, 2ks take up like, 0.0005% of your day. If you quit in the middle, how much time after your test do you spend thinking about it? For most people, it tends to ruin their day. If you do well on it, you don’t think about it that much afterwards.

Related: 2k test strategy

Don’t let 7-8 minutes out of 1,440 stress you out. You have to push and remind yourself of the bigger picture, which is whatever goals you’ve set for yourself.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 17, 2012

I know a coxswain who just applied and got into UCLA. I heard that all she had to do on her application essays was write “athlete”. Does this ever happen? Or is it just like huge colleges if they really, really want you…

This sounds … unlikely. Admissions offices don’t care if you’re an athlete – yes, your coach can speak on your behalf and give his/her input on what you can bring to the team and to the university, but if the people reviewing your application don’t think that you’re a good fit academically, you won’t be accepted. I’m sure there are athletes that can get away with doing this but rowing is the last sport that I think it would happen in … and like I said, even if it does happen it’s gotta be a rare occurrence.

Simply writing “athlete” on your essays is a really gross display of arrogance in my opinion. Your grades matter, as does your ability to put pen to paper and demonstrate your critical thinking skills. Admissions essays are how the university gets to know you – it’s like an interview. It’s your opportunity to say “this is who I am and this is why you should accept me.” Would you walk into a place of business with a job application that just has the job title you want scrawled on it? I certainly hope not. Colleges “really, really want” students who are going to succeed in the classroom, get a degree, and go on to become successful citizens who make the university look good. Yes, they might be really excited that a 5-star recruit is applying there but they won’t be accepted simply on their athletic skills alone. Does it happen? On rare occasions, of course it does. Does that make it right? No.

I know this might sound like a naive plug for college but I promise it’s not. It’s coming from experience as someone who participated in D1 sports and as someone who worked with one of the countries most well-known D1 football teams (aka the exact type of people who you would think would just have to write “athlete” on their applications). Education matters and simply writing “athlete” undermines every person, athlete or not, who has ever taken the time to put down a thoughtful response.

College Ergs High School How To Training & Nutrition

Training: 2k Test Strategy

By readyallrow December 16, 2012

A 2k test on the erg is one of the definitive physiological tests of our sport. It requires as much mental preparation as it does physical. Unlike a 6k where your endurance and mental strength are being tested, a 2k test analyzes both of those in addition to your power output and resistance of and resilience towards pain. This isn’t like going to the doctor to have a dislocated shoulder reset – it doesn’t hurt less if you don’t see it coming. It hurts more. Accepting the realization that your body is about to experience pain does a lot more for you than ignoring it.

There are infinite ways to pull a 2k and everyone’s strategy is different. Instead of reading this and thinking it is the definitive guide to developing your 2k game plan, use it as the framework to help build your own. Assuming you’ve all pulled a 2k before, you should know where you start to feel fatigued, where you start to hit that mental roadblock, and where you realize you need to go NOW. During races, coxswains use landmarks to help us call certain moves; the points I just listed are your landmarks.

The Start: 2000-1800m

Race plan: High 20 followed by 5-10 to lengthen out to your base pace

Go out of the gates hard here. Get your stroke rate where you want it within 2-3 strokes, making sure they’re controlled and not erratic. Know where your splits need to be and aim to get there within the first five to eight strokes. Take these first 10-15 strokes to get all the jitters out of your system – let the adrenaline take over.

As you go through strokes 14, 15, and 16 get ready to lengthen out. In 3, 2, 1, BOOM on this one – explosive press off the stretchers, control the slide on the recovery, drive it hard. Breathe. Get to your desired stroke rate within 2 strokes and pay attention to your split. Know what you need to be at, get there, and stay there.

At some point there will be a second where you think “I don’t feel THAT bad, I should bring my split down a little more.” Do not, under any circumstances, listen to your brain. Sabotage is the name of the game here and your brain is a master at it.

The Body: 1800-1300m

Race plan: Find your rhythm

This is where you’re going to start feeling the burn in your legs. The first 200m were largely anaerobic but that you’ve switched over to aerobic you’re gonna start feeling the lactic acid accumulation. Ignore it and focus on your splits. Concentration and consistency drives these 500m.

You’ll know you’re in trouble if your splits are sporadic and you find it hard to hold your desired number. If your split should be at a 1:48, make sure every stroke is focused on rowing a 1:48. When you get to 1500m, take a ten for … something. This is a good opportunity to check yourself and do one for form, rate, or power, if you want/need that boost to get yourself refocused on hitting your target splits.

The Pain Cave: 1300-700m

Race plan: Breathe, commit, attack

These are the worst 600m of a 2k. I like to break this part up into two smaller chunks: 1300-1000m and 1000-700m. This is where your brain is going to start saying “stop, I can’t do it, the tank’s empty, if I fake a heart attack maybe I can get out of this, wait – I don’t need to fake a heart attack, I think I’m actually having one”. Pieces are determined to be successful or not successful in this next stretch, so above anything else, your mental toughness has to prevail here.

A lot of times I’ve seen rowers get to this point and start feeling defeated by the number of meters left on the screen. They take a break from their split for a stroke or two and then it’s all over. There’s no coming back from those off strokes. You have to recognize that pulling a 1:46 is going to burn just as badly as a 1:48 so you might as well push through and stay on that 1:46.

When you get to the 1000m mark, take a 20. These next twenty strokes are for you to feel your body and what it’s still capable of. I like to call this “the attack”. Go hard like you did at the start without changing the stroke rate. Control your breathing and your body and push through these few hundred meters. When you see the meters get to triple digits, don’t get complacent. You made be halfway done but you still have another half to complete. If all is going well, you’re still holding the splits you had around the 1500m mark.

After you finish those 20 strokes, take 5 to lengthen back out. Try to maintain the same split and stroke rate while getting as much length as possible. For most people it’s entirely possible that they don’t even see the 900-700m chunk go by because they’re inside their own heads.

The Second Half: 700-500m

Race plan: (re)Focus and prepare to start shifting the rate up

This isn’t supposed to feel good, remember? The third 500m is typically the slowest part of the piece. You’re suffering hard right now and the physical aspect of the test is taking a backseat to the mental part. Remind yourself that pain is a good thing and that you can’t quit yet. Make a shift with the stroke rate and push your split down by a second. Drive through these 200m.

The Build: 500-350m

Race plan: 10 at 500m to recommit – no turning back

All eyes on the end now. Coaches really look at this last 500m to see whether or not you went faster here than during any other part of the piece. Maintaining your split here is important. Take a 10 or 20 at the 500m mark, but don’t push your split down and let it immediately come back up. If you push it down, keep it there.

Watch your stroke rate coming into 400m. Make sure you’re not losing control and letting it creep up as you approach the end of the piece. While you want to be giving everything you’ve got, you still want to be able to give a little bit extra at the very end, so it’s important to not release that extra burst of energy too soon.

Around 400, start to gradually push the split down while letting the stroke rate come up a beat or two. This shouldn’t occur all at once, instead over a gradual period of a couple strokes. Make the commitment to go and GO.

The Sprint: 350-0m

Race plan: Stay controlled at the higher rate and go balls to the wall to the end

This is it. The legs are going to be begging for the end of this piece but you have to fight through the pain and maintain your technique. I’ve heard of some rowers who sprint at half slide and exaggerate their upper bodies to give the legs a break, which makes absolutely NO sense since the smaller upper body muscles are no match for the larger muscles of the legs. Stay long with the legs and don’t shorten your stroke as you bring the stroke rate up at the end.

Some additional important things to remember:

Food

Eat something no later than one hour before your race. You can eat a regular meal 3-4 hours before your test because the digestive system will have done it’s job by the time you get on the erg, but as time ticks down your meals should get smaller to ensure it’s digested by the start of your piece. Don’t eat anything within an hour before your test because not only do you not want to get sick before, during, or after but you most especially do not want your stomach drawing blood away from where it’s needed most – your muscles.

Also, make sure you’re hydrated. Dehydration leads to cramps and there’s few things worse for a rower’s psyche than having to stop mid-2k because of a muscle cramp.

Warm up

Don’t skip the warm up. 20ish minutes before your test is about when you should begin getting ready on the erg. Before this you should do your normal dynamic warmup or stretching/rolling routine that you usually do before practice.

When your body feels loose, get on the erg. If your coach has a specific warmup for you to do before your test, do that. If not, it’s up to you what you do. Ideally you should row around 2/3 pressure for a few minutes before moving up to 3/4 pressure. Throw in a couple of practice starts, followed by 5 high strokes and 5 lengthening strokes to mimic your full starting pattern. Spend about 5 minutes rowing at steady state pressure with some “bursts” thrown in every minute.

Following the completion of the full warm up (and assuming you’ve timed in correctly), give yourself at least 30 seconds or so to just sit at your erg and get in the zone. Grab one more drink if you need it but don’t spend too much time just sitting otherwise your muscles will cool down and negate the time you just spent warming up.

Right before the start

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, sit up a little taller, and remind yourself that you are prepared for this. No negative thoughts, questioning, doubt, etc. is allowed.

Immediately after the test

Do not – I repeat, do NOT – make a big scene by flopping on the ground and lying there. The best thing you can do immediately following the test is keep moving. Don’t try getting off the erg right away and walking around though … the post-2k jelly leg syndrome can lead to some nasty injuries (fun fact, this is how I dislocated my knee).

It’s best to stay on the erg and row lightly for a few minutes to cool down so that the body can begin clearing all the metabolic waste from your system. The heart and liver will work to filter the lactate from the blood, which takes time, but the process is helped by keeping the body moving. If you don’t cool down and just let the lactate hang out, it can be a couple days before it’s fully cleared from your system, which means you’ll be in some serious pain.

You should do an active recovery that involves rowing around 40-50% for at least 5-10 minutes. Your coach should account for this if there aren’t enough ergs for everyone to do the test at once. Your muscles will use the majority of the lactate during the cool down, which will aid in helping clear it faster. When you’re tired you instinctively want to not do anything but after a hard erg piece it’s imperative that you keep moving and cool down. Just like the warm up, don’t skip this.

Coxswains

Let your coxswain know if you want them to cox you during your test. If you don’t want them to talk to you, don’t assume they know that and don’t get pissed at them if they try to cox you. They’re just doing their job. Make it clear that you don’t want any coxing but be polite about it. Sometimes coxswains can take a rower telling them not to cox them as that rower saying their coxing sucks, which most of the time isn’t true.

If you want them to cox you, talk to them well before your test (like, the day before) instead of waiting until 5 minutes before and telling them every spot you want them to give you a power 10. They won’t remember all of that. If you talk to them ahead of time, they can write down where you want to take a burst, where you want to start your sprint, what you want to be reminded of, etc. and then cox you through your piece without any hiccups.

Getting on the erg with a plan is much more beneficial than getting on and just pulling until the meters read zero. It all goes back to being prepared for the pain. Obviously I’m writing this from a coxswain’s perspective since this is usually how I approach 2ks but I think one of the best ways to come up with a strategy if you’re stumped on how to do, particularly if you’re a novice or haven’t done that many erg tests, it is to talk to a coxswain on your team. Ask them where, why, and what they do during a race. This will give you some insight into what they look for and why they think it’s important to make moves at certain points in the course.

Image via // @erikdresser

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 15, 2012

I’m a junior in high school and I’m 5’11”. What kind of erg times should I strive for to be recruited by colleges? I’ve heard mix things like sub 8 and sub 7:30 – is there a lot of variation among schools and divisions? I’m one of the better rowers on my team but I don’t know what kinds of times other kids have from around the country. I just started rowing a little less than a year ago and my last 2k was an 8:10. Would I realistically be able to get my time down before college?

I think generally coaches from the top openweight programs are looking for times that are sub-7:30ish. Lightweight women should shoot for times that are sub-7:40 to 7:50ish.

It’s definitely possible to get your time down before college but you’ll have to work for it. It’s not all about erging harder either. In order to go harder, you’ve got to be stronger, which means lifting, doing cardio, core, etc. The seconds aren’t going to come off as quickly as they did when you first started rowing. It’s like trying to lose weight … at first it comes off fast, but the longer you workout, the amount of weight you lose decreases as your body becomes more fit. Ideally if you are looking to be recruited, you would have already started the process of researching programs and contacting coaches in the fall. When you do talk with them, keep open lines of communication throughout the year and update them on any PRs you may achieve between now and this time next year.

There is some variation between divisions due mostly to the differing levels of competitiveness. D1 schools are going to be a lot more strict about erg times whereas D3 schools might be more lenient. Most D3 programs are clubs, not varsity (and the ones that are varsity can’t offer athletes scholarships anyways), so the majority of people on the team don’t start rowing until they join. I think on the club team I coach now there is only one rower (of 35-40ish) who rowed in high school. There are most likely some subtle differences between what individual universities are looking for as far as erg times though but to find out what they are, you’d have to reach out to the coaches and ask. The Ivies, Washington, Cal, Stanford, etc. are all very strong programs that tend to attract rowers with exceptional times.

In terms of finding out times of other people in the country, there are a few ways to find out, all involving a decent amount of research on your end. The first is to ask. Talk with your current coach or any alumni rowers from your program who row(ed) in college. Your coach should have a general idea of what previous rowers in your program had if you can’t actually talk with any of them. Second, ask people on Reddit. The rowing community is pretty vast on there and most people are willing to share their times if/when asked (although this question gets asked a lot so search the sub before starting a new thread).

Third, go through sites like CollegeConfidential and beRecruited.com. CollegeConfidential isn’t limited to rowing, so you’ll have to search “rowing”, “erg times”, etc. in the forum to bring up specific results, but there are a lot of great questions and even more great answers on there. The vast amount of information can be overwhelming though. beRecruited.com is something you should consider looking into if you’re serious about being recruited.

College Ergs Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 10, 2012

I am an openweight girl rower who is 5’9″. I really want to get recruited to college. What erg times should I have to even be considered? Thanks!!

Typically coaches are looking for times that are sub-7:30ish for heavy/open weight women but it varies amongst programs and divisions. You should ask the coaches you’re talking to what their expectations are. Keep in mind that erg times are important but they aren’t the only factor – they look at your physiological stats (height, weight, etc.), grades, etc. too.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 10, 2012

Hi I’m a lightweight junior girl. I weigh 125 and am 5’3″. Is an 8:30 a good 2k time and what should I lower it to for recruiting purposes? I have been rowing since my freshman year.

To be recruited to a D1 school, you’d need times that are around 7:45ish. Schools that have strong lightweight programs are looking for times closer to sub 7:40, but most coaches will give you a look if you’re sub 7:50. There aren’t many women’s lightweight programs across the country though so if you specifically want to row lightweight, make sure you look at schools that have dedicated lightweight programs.

To be honest though, because of your height and erg time right now, it seems unlikely that you’d be recruited as a rower – they’d probably ask you to be a coxswain. Someone I knew in college was around your height/weight and had an 8:20ish 2k but was asked to cox instead of row. If you went to a D3 school or somewhere with a club team, then you’d have a higher chance of being able to row. They’re still competitive but are typically much less strict with the height-weight stereotypes than the top schools are.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 3, 2012

Hey I’m currently a sophomore & I’m interested in rowing in college. An older teammate suggested I make a beRecruited account. What are your thoughts on the website? Is it helpful? If so, what are your suggestions about keeping it updated? I feel weird writing about myself! Should I list any regatta my boat has placed in or just major races?

I do think it’s a great tool to help you get noticed by collegiate coaches but keep in mind that it’s just a tool – you’ve still gotta do the majority of the legwork. Most of the guys I’ve coached so far used it in some capacity while they were going through the recruiting process. I think if you put the time and effort into maintaining it, it can be pretty helpful. Once you get it set up I’d check it maybe once or twice a week and follow up with anyone that contacts you immediately. After each race, I’d also update it with your results. If you can get some video of your rowing, either individual video or video of your boat from a regatta, post that, because it’ll give coaches the opportunity to see you in action. (If you post video of your whole crew, make sure you specify what seat you’re in.)

Don’t feel weird either – this is your opportunity to brag about yourself, your team, your boat, etc. If your crew was the first to go to Nationals or you’ve won Head of the Charles twice in a row, that’s stuff you should be writing about. As far as what regattas to list, I would post any major regattas you’ve attended and where you placed overall. I’d also write down if your club won any overall team trophies or if they’ve won something BIG, like USRowing’s Club of the Year. That really makes an impression on coaches. The only races I wouldn’t put down are small/local races or ones that include just you and one or two other schools.

If I were a rower and was making one for myself, here’s what I’d include.

2k, 5k/6k PRs (overall time and splits)

If you’ve done watt tests, your watts PR is good to put down. (Not everyone does them so don’t worry if you haven’t done one.)

What side(s) you row and if you have sculling experience

Any notable personal accomplishments (dropped your 2k by 50 seconds since you started rowing, made the varsity 8+ as a freshman, etc.)

Who your coaches are (and their contact info)

Any camps/clinics you’ve attended

I don’t know if there’s an option to put all this down (I haven’t looked into the site that closely) but it’ll give you an idea of what might stand out to coaches.

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 2, 2012

Hi, I was wondering what GPA and SAT scores Ivy league colleges and D1 schools look for when recruiting coxswains and if they give scholarships to coxswains. Thanks!

The majority of the time, coxswains don’t receive scholarships as freshman, if at all. Sometimes they can be given one after their freshman year (an example being someone I coxed with at Syracuse who got one our sophomore year), but the coaches tend to save their scholarships for the rowers. If you’re looking at Ivy League universities be aware that they do not give athletic scholarships AT ALL, to anyone. It’s a conference rule.

As far as GPA and SAT scores go, it varies between universities, so it’s hard to say specifically. You can do your own research to figure that out. Obviously though, Ivy League schools are going to have much higher standards than non-Ivy schools. Several things I’ve read have said that 1800-2000 on the SAT will get you solid looks pretty much anywhere, but it REALLY depends on the school since each one has different requirements and expectations of their applicants. The people that I personally know that rowed or currently row in college (both at Ivy League and non-Ivy D1 programs) all had GPAs at or above a 3.5 (unweighted) and SAT scores of 1700+. Rowing is traditionally a “smart person” sport, so the grades, GPAs, and standardized testing scores are usually indicative of that.

Your academics matter the most and that is what is going to get you admitted but your recordings, rowing resume, etc. that you give to the coach will also be of benefit to you. Coaches go into meetings with the admissions offices and basically say “this is what this person can bring to my team, this is why I think they’re a good fit, this is what I think they can offer the university.” They then weigh that against your academics, extracurricular activities, etc. Your coxing skills won’t get you in but they can help. Make your interest well known to the universities you apply to. Sit down with the coaches and go over your academic resume. If you can explain why you have a poor grade on your report card or why you consistently perform poorly in one class compared to all your others, that will help them a lot when they talk to the admissions counselors. (This was something I had to do because I’m awful at math and the C’s/D’s I’d get in my math classes contrasted pretty sharply with the A’s I got in all my other ones.) Do your research on each school though and see what their requirements are regarding SATs and GPAs. Give yourself maybe 100 points of wiggle room on the SAT and 0.2ish points on your GPA.