Category: Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 24, 2013

How much would you say rowing kit, lifejacket, cox box weighs on top of your usual body weight?

I’ve never actually measured any of this so this is all guesstimating. Depending on how many layers I’m wearing, my clothes can probably add anywhere from 3-8ish lbs. A lifejacket probably weighs two pounds, and a cox box is probably another pound. So on a normal day where I’m not wearing every layer I own, I’d say all that probably adds maybe 6-7lbs to my weight. Like I said though, I’ve never actually weighed myself with all of that (and I’ve never had to wear a life jacket while on the water) so this is purely speculation.

I feel compelled to throw this out there now … if you’re a coxswain and you’re weighing in at a regatta, you can’t use outside stuff to add to your weight if you’re under the limit. Usually you have to weigh in wearing what the rowers wear – i.e. your uni or whatever you wear when you race. When I was a novice we had to weigh in before a regatta and at the time I didn’t know I couldn’t wear all my layers when I did it, so I ended up taking everything but my long spandex pants and long sleeve spandex shirt off. Other than the obvious reason, they can also ask you to wear just your spandex so they can make sure you aren’t loading your pockets with wrenches, weight plates of your own, etc. to try and cheat the scale.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 24, 2013

So you told that other anon that height is what stops good rowers. I’m 5′ 7” and one of the better people on my team, though one of the shortest. I think I may grow just another inch, give or take. My coach always tells me, “you’re shorter than I think you would be from your scores.” Is that good or bad? And is it not possible for me to get recruited for a D1 college if I’m too short? What is “too short?” Sorry that’s a lot of questions. Thanks!

Well, it doesn’t necessarily “stop” them, per se, the national teams just have specific requirements that only a specific group of people meet. It makes sense, to be honest. Taller rowers typically have a longer reach and can generate more power so it’s understandable that those would be the type of people they’d be looking for. On the other hand it’s a little unfortunate since there are many great rowers out there who don’t meet the height requirements.

If I’m reading that correctly, I’d definitely take it as a compliment. I think what he’s saying is that looking at you, it doesn’t seem, based on whatever factors, that you’d be able to pull the times that you do, so to see you pulling times that are comparable with the taller people is really impressive.

I don’t think it limits you from being recruited at all. I’ve said in a couple other responses that if being a lightweight is something you can do (in a healthy way), it’s worth considering since lightweight programs were created for people of “normal height” but being 5’7″ – 5’8″ definitely doesn’t rule you out of openweight programs. As I’ve said before, there are a lot of factors that go into recruiting an athlete and one’s height is probably not the biggest one when compared to other things like erg times, academics, etc., mainly because it’s something you don’t have any control over.

Ergs Q&A Racing Technique Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 23, 2013

During 2k tests, I have the most difficulty sprinting. I’m generally better at long distance pieces (both running and erging) and can usually work with that to my advantage but I think that if I worked on my sprint I could chop off a second or two. Basically what’s your advice about sprinting in general? Where should I start the sprint? How many splits lower should it be than the rest of the 2k? Sorry there’s a lot of questions within this, sprinting is just one big clusterfuck for me

Sprinting is the definition of controlled chaos. By the time you reach that point, your body has entered a whole new circle of hell and you have no choice but to keep it together and continue rowing. It’s definitely something that takes practice and a lot of mental stamina to be able to execute effectively.

When I’m coxing I typically call 5 to build at 350m and then at 300m(ish), we go. When I see most people doing a 2k, that’s about where they start their sprint too. Any more than that tends to be too long and unsustainable and any less is usually not enough to produce any measurable gains. As your stamina and strength increases you’ll be able to start your sprint sooner but 250m is usually a good starting spot. The difference between your “sprint splits” and your average split time will depend on you, really. The goal of sprinting is to empty the tanks and go all out, as fast as you can, and even harder than you thought you could. As your body gets stronger and more used to rowing at those higher rates, your splits will fall. I’d say 2ish seconds below your average 2k split would probably be a good.

Before you try and jump straight into an all-out sprint though, practice. Don’t practice when you’re alert and have a full tank of gas in your system either, practice it when you’re tired. Practice keeping your head in the game – close your eyes, take a few deep breaths – and controlling your body. Sit up tall, relax your shoulders, tighten your core … these are all things you might think you’re already doing until you actually do them and realize you weren’t. Also, have someone watch and/or record you for a few strokes so you can watch the footage later and see how you looked.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 22, 2013

If you could give one piece of advice to any coxswain, what would it be?

One piece? I could never give just one piece of advice…

After thinking about this for awhile I think I’m gonna keep it simple – be confident in yourself and your abilities and always, always trust your instincts.

Q&A Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 22, 2013

I’m trying to go down from heavyweight to lightweight. Since the beginning of our training trip, I’ve gained three pounds (137 to 140 lbs) even though I’m basically eating fruits, veggies, limited carbs, no artificial sugars, protein, and quite a bit of water. I’ve been doing two a days (OTW/ergs) and then additional cardio and core work. What suggestions do you have for losing weight? I’d love to go down to 130 by end of Feb. Thanks!

I doubt you’ve actually gained three pounds given how many calories you’re burning right now. It’s most likely just water weight – don’t worry too much about it.

As far as going from heavyweight to lightweight, definitely continue eating healthy. Don’t limit your carbs too much – people jump on bandwagons and assume carbs are bad for you but the right ones aren’t. Once you get back to your normal routine (without the two-a-days), try and do some form of cardio at least 3-4 times a week for 45ish minutes a session. Keep doing your core work 2-3x a week in addition to your cardio. Also, don’t forget to add in some strength training…

Remember that as you work out, you’re inevitably building muscle. Muscle is denser than fat, so if the scale reads a higher number than what you normally weight, don’t automatically attribute it to doing everything wrong. Obviously you’re not gonna build that much muscle in such a short period of time … I’m talking more long term here.) Some bodies aren’t meant to go below a certain weight though so don’t try and force it. Make healthy decisions when it comes to eating right and working out. It seems like you have a good thing going with your diet and workouts right now so try and maintain what you’re doing and go from there.

Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 22, 2013

So what’s the deal with five seat? I’ve heard a lot of jokes where people say five seat is the strongest but one time I was rowing five and another girl on my team goes “hey isn’t five seat the fat person?” Is that true or is it just kinda the same thing as “threetard’?

Boat personalities, while sometimes true, are mostly made up just to poke fun at everyone in the boat. They aren’t an actual indication of the character or abilities of the person sitting in that seat.

5 and 6 tend to be some of the bigger people in the boat which is why they’re put in those seats since that’s where the widest part of the boat is. That doesn’t translate to them being “the fat kid seats” though. Their responsibilities are purely power production (which is why the middle four is called “the engine room”) so it makes sense to have the bigger guys in those seats.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 21, 2013

Hi! Since the spring races all start boats at the same time, do you have any tips on steering straight? I can tell when I’m veering off my lane, but for some reason, I can’t/don’t know how to fix it! I remember you saying it’s all about the small adjustments, then straightening out, but I can’t seem to get it. [Ex today: all 3 boats lined up, me on the outside, I end up too far out away from the other 2]. Tips? Thanks!

For most races in the spring, if you’re lucky, you’ll start with stake boats and race down a buoyed course. God’s gift to coxswains is a buoyed course – trust me on this. The key to steering straight is picking a point in the distance while you’re at the starting line. Once you’re gotten your point and are lined up straight down the course, pick something that is right off your stroke’s ear or shoulder. When you start, make sure whatever you chose is always lined up on that spot on your stroke. If it’s not, don’t panic – just move the rudder to whatever side needs the adjustment and then move it right back. Remember though that the faster the boat is going, the smaller your adjustments need to be. When you’re racing if it seems like you’re not pushing the string forward enough, you’re probably already pushing it as far as you need to go.

The other key to steering straight is to know when not to steer. If you steer too often or are constantly (sometimes unknowingly) pushing the strings back and forth, you’ll end up all over the place. Know when to hold the rudder straight (which should ideally be about 99% of the time.)

Another strategy, and the simplest one when you’re on a buoyed course, is to just look at where the buoys converge (think of the “vanishing point” concept in art…) and keep your stroke’s head right in between where the two buoy lines come together.

When I would race other crews during practice, I knew going into them that steering was the one thing I needed to work on so to force myself to get better I would purposefully line myself up in the middle of the other crews. I’d use my peripheral vision to determine where I was in comparison to them and then rely on the point I’d chosen before the start of the piece. The added pressure of knowing I had $40,000 in equipment on either side of me was a HUGE motivator to not veer out of my lane. I’d suggest trying that the next time you do pieces with other crews and see if it helps.

College Q&A Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 21, 2013

Let’s say I want to be recruited onto a D1 college team. I just emailed the coaches, how long should I expect to wait until I get a response back? Will they email everyone back the first time or only the ones they’re interested in?

When I was emailing coaches I think I heard back from the schools I was planning to visit within a few days but all within two weeks max. I don’t know if that’s because they were interested in me too or if it was because I’d mentioned I was going to be on campus and would like to meet with them or what. Everyone’s experience is different and it really depends on the coaches you email but I’d say give it at least two weeks. Just be aware of when during the season you’re emailing them. If they’re preparing for a big race (like HOCR, Sprints, conference championships, etc.), traveling, on a training trip, etc. then the response time may be a little longer.

One thing you can/should do that would probably get you a faster response is if you filled out the recruiting forms that are on the school’s athlete website (usually on the team page). They’re just gonna ask you to fill it out anyways so doing it before you email them just saves time and shows the coaches that you’ve done your homework and looked into the process, the team, etc. before reaching out.

Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 20, 2013

Clear something up for me about the relative importance of stroke vs. 7 in an eight? My coach today inferred that because I’d rowed stroke most of last season 7 should be easy because it doesn’t have the same responsibility, it’s just following. I always thought stern pair were equally important as 7 “strokes” bowside. Am I wrong?

I think I understand what your coach is saying, although I don’t think he phrased it right. I’ve always been taught that stroke and 7 are equally important despite the difference in responsibilities because your stroke sets the rhythm but 7 is the one who relays it to the rest of the boat. It’s not “just” following – if 7’s timing is off, the other six rowers will probably be off too. That’s why you usually want your most consistent rowers up front.

Assuming you can row both sides you’d probably do fine at 7 since your experience at setting and maintaining a rhythm in stroke seat would (theoretically) make it easier to translate the new stroke’s rhythm back to bow six.

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 19, 2013

“Fake it till you make it.” Do you believe in that for coxswains? Because of today’s terrible practice I wouldn’t have been able to fake anything for the life of me.

I do to an extent. If you’re at the point where you can’t even fake like you have an idea of what’s happening, speak up and say something. I really only say “fake it til you make it” (and I’m not even sure that’s the right term to use) as a way to get coxswains to act confident even when they’re not sure of something … like, they’re 85% sure but there’s that 15% of doubt. I don’t want to hear the 15% of doubt in your voice. Even if you’re only 85% sure, I want to hear 100% confidence when you talk. I’ll trust you a lot more if you at least sound like you know what you want vs. someone who is like “ummm, yea…I think that’s right”. If you genuinely do not understand how to do something or the coach says something that makes NO sense, just raise your hand and say “Coach, I don’t understand, can you go over that again?” After practice, if you still don’t understand, talk to them privately or ask one of the experienced coxswains. They might be able to explain whatever it is a little better than your coach can.

Faking it should never be a substitute for actually knowing how to do something. Safety is a huge issue when you’re on the water, so I would never want a coxswain to fake knowing a skill just to avoid asking for clarification or to avoid slowing down the speed of practice. $40,000 boat + 8 other people = your responsibility (no pressure). Not knowing how to do something and not inquiring as to how to do it puts you and your crew at risk for an accident. I think that you should approach every situation confidently and not let anyone question that what you’re saying is exactly what you want, but at the same time if you don’t know how to do something, don’t understand something, have a question, etc. you should always ask. I say this all the time and it holds true here…there are MANY stupid questions out there but a question for clarification is never stupid. Be confident but not cocky to the point that you don’t know when to ask for help.