Coxing Q&A Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

What do you eat before you row? Why do you prefer coxing?

Some good stuff to eat before practice is food that has a good balance of carbs and protein – a bagel with peanut butter or a PB sandwich, yogurt, a bar of some kind, a banana, etc. If you’re eating RIGHT before practice (like 30 minutes or less), stick to fruits and vegetables, stuff that is easily digestible. 2-3 hours beforehand (i.e. around lunch time) you can eat PB+breads … that stuff takes longer to digest so you don’t want it sitting in your stomach right when you get on the water. The carbs and stuff from that will give you a good energy boost when you get out there though.

Once you’re off the water make sure you drink some water, chocolate milk (it helps with muscle recovery), etc. After you finish rowing, if it’s been a hard workout and you’re like, physically dead, you’ll need to eat something high in carbs to replenish the glycogen in your system. You’ll also need to replenish the electrolytes you lost through sweating. If eating solid food makes you sick, try Gatorade or another high-card drink. You shouldn’t wait to eat after you get off the water. A few hours after you get off, try and eat a solid meal that’s fairly high in carbs so you can continue to replenish your system. Orange juice, pasta, raisins, bananas, and bagels are all good post-workout choices. Don’t forget about the protein too…chicken is a good addition to your post-workout dinners. Peanuts are a good snack for right when you get off too.

Part 2 of your question … why do I prefer coxing. Coxing to me is just as intense as rowing is but instead of it being physical, it’s mental. I love strategizing and coming up with race plans. I love all the pressure there is on the coxswains to execute everything perfectly. Rowers only have to worry about one thing – getting from point A to B as fast as possible. Coxswains are responsible for getting out on the water on time, going through warmups, making sure the boat understands the race plan, making sure they know what this call means and what that call means, getting to the line on time, getting the best point possible so you have to do minimal adjusting when the race starts, steering a straight course, etc. There’s SO much mentally that goes into coxing and that is what I love about it.

As much of a team sport as rowing an eight is, I really think of coxing as being an individual sport in itself. When I cox, I’m hypersensitive to everything that’s going on around me but at the same time, I’m in my own little bubble, almost inside my own head. In that split second before I make a call to adjust the rate, start the sprint, take a 10, etc. I go through 10 different scenarios in my head as to how it could play out, is this the right spot to do this, what if it doesn’t work, are our catches together, is this going to mess with our timing, can they pull this sprint off and walk from 2nd to 1st, etc. There’s SO much that I love about coxing but the mental aspect of it is definitely one of the greatest parts of being a coxswain.

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