Tag: workouts

Q&A Rowing Training & Nutrition

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OK, so I will preface this saying that I know this was not my best winter, but I have not been working out nearly as much as I should. I’ve had various injuries to work through but I’m fully cleared now and probably could have been working out more through it. Anyway, I’m pretty nervous with the season coming up that I’m not going to be up to par so do you have any workout (or other) suggestions to be in better shape for the season? Thanks so much!

Just get on the erg and do some steady state. If you can’t erg for whatever reason, run, swim, or bike. Usually when our guys can’t erg we have them go on seven mile runs or they jog over and do a full tour of Harvard Stadium (which is 37 sections + 3 miles there + 3 miles back). If the weather’s bad or the conditions are unsafe (i.e. snow or ice) then they’ll do Green Buildings (self-explanatory once you see the picture) with weight vests on. They’ll also hop on the bikes and go at whatever pace the guys on the ergs are going (meaning they’ll bike lightly during the rest periods but amp it up during the actual pieces). The coxswains have started taking their heart rates to make sure they’re in the right zones so I’d recommend doing that regardless of what you do, that way you can be sure you’re training the right way (and actually working hard vs. just feeling tired because you’re not in rowing-shape yet).

I’d also make sure you’re communicating with your coach(es) too about your injuries and progress (if they don’t already know). They’ll care a lot less about whatever shape you’re in if you let them know what’s going on and keep them updated vs. not saying anything at all and showing up wildly out of shape on the first day.

Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Any ideas for a holiday-themed practice?

Santa hats for the coaches, elf ears for the coxswains, and the rowers wearing reindeer antlers while doing a 10k in teams of four (or eight, if you’ve got that kind of space) on linked sliders. Christmas music playing in the background, obviously. Team breakfast/dinner + Secret Santa afterwards.

Alternatively, a 12 days of Christmas themed “circuit”. 1 lap around the exterior of the boathouse, 2 flights of stairs, 3 pullups, 10 spiderman pushups, 11 reverse crunches, 12 second plank, etc..  Holiday-inspired unis optional.

Ergs Q&A Training & Nutrition

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What are some good erg workouts that you find particularly helpful to lower 2k times?

Steady state! Longer pieces (45-70min total) help to increase your aerobic capacity which in turn allows you to go harder for longer. The key is to do them at a consistent, manageable pace so that your heart rate is consistently in the 140-170bpm range, give or take a little depending on your individual fitness. If you’re going out and doing long pieces but at a high percentage of your max heart rate, you’re most likely going above your anaerobic threshold which is counter-intuitive.

You also want to keep the stroke rates fairly low – somewhere in the 18-22ish range is usually good. If you know your 2k split you want your steady state split to be 16-18ish seconds above that. If you’re going off your 6k split it should be about 10-12 seconds above that.

Some examples of workouts include 7×10′ (2′ off between pieces), 10k at 18-20spm, 3 x 20′, etc. There’s tons of good examples on the /r/rowing sub on Reddit – just search “steady state” and you’ll easily be able to see what other people are doing.

Don’t forget to include interval stuff as well – 8x500m, 4x1k, 1:40 on/0:20 off, etc. In order to row well you’ve got to have a good balance of aerobic and anaerobic fitness so that you can go hard and fast when you need to and then be able to settle into a solid pace for an extended period of time.

The hardest core workout you’ll ever do

College Training & Nutrition

The hardest core workout you’ll ever do

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If you follow me on Instagram then you probably saw my post about the plank progression the guys did at practice today. I definitely recommend trying it and seeing how far you can make it through the progression. It’s a great way to build core strength, which as we all know is crucial to having a good stroke. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though … it hurts.

8 seconds middle plank – 8 seconds left side plank – 8 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

16 seconds middle plank – 16 seconds left side plank – 16 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

32 seconds middle plank – 32 seconds left side plank – 32 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

64 seconds middle plank – 64 seconds left side plank – 64 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

2:08 middle plank

5 seconds rest

4:16 middle plank

5 seconds rest

8:32 middle plank

In total that comes to about 21 minutes of planking if you manage to make it all the way to the end. A good way to gauge whether or not you’re doing the planks right is if you’re shaking and having a hard time breathing … good luck!

Image via // @mitmensrowing

Ergs Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hi. As fall season is coming up, one of my rowers is getting ready for 6K testing and prepping for them. After a summer break, he’s feeling a little out of it and he really needs to work on stamina. I was wondering if there are any pieces on the ergs that could help him with that because I’m low on ideas. Thank you!

Steady state, steady state, and more steady state.

I scribbled this down sometime last fall from something I read online (and of course now I don’t remember where I read it). It’s basically what a week of workouts in the mid to late summer looks like knowing you’ve got a 5k or a 6k coming up once fall season finally rolls around. All the interval stuff should be done at your at or around your goal pace and your steady state pace should be 6k+12ish.

Monday: 5x1500m, 5 minutes rest in between
Tuesday: 10k SS at 18-22spm
Wednesday: 2x6k, 3 minutes rest
Thursday: 12k SS at 18-22spm
Friday: 4x2k, 5 minutes rest
Saturday: 10k SS at 18-22spm
Sunday: Off

Essentially what you want to do is do 2-3 days of intervals and 2-3 days of long steady state. Other intervals I’ve seen are 8x1k 4x2k, 4×10 minutes with 4-3-2-1 minute rate changes and 5 minutes rest between pieces, 4×15 minutes with 3 minutes rest, 3×20 minutes with 4 minutes rest…it goes on and on.

Make sure you’re not forgetting to do core, some kind of lifting, and lots of stretching and rolling out. Doing all the work on the erg isn’t going to do you any good if you forget to do the other stuff too.

High School Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hi! I’m supposed to be holding a captains practice on Friday and we have to incorporate 30 mins of hard work into the workout but it’s supposed to be like a fun workout. Any ideas of what to do? PS we are a varsity girls high school squad! Thanks!!

Fun! Some ideas off the top of my head:

steady state Erg relay

Break into teams of equal numbers and have each person row a certain number of meters.

Mini-biathlon

Run “x” number of miles and then in the remaining amount of time erg as many meters as you can. You could also pair people up (coxswain-rower pairs, pair partners, frosh-senior/sophomore-junior, etc.) and have one erg while the other runs and see which pair gets the most total meters.

Play a game

Soccer, basketball, dodgeball, kickball – it counts as cross training and it’s fun. Just be careful so you don’t get hurt.

Hope that helps!

Ergs Q&A Rowing Training & Nutrition

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This question was sparked from the answers involving fast twitch/ slow twitch fibers. My team is off for a few weeks for the holidays (yay my coaches have hearts!) but we were told 2 things before we went off to enjoy our break: 1) to keep up with our workouts (obviously) and 2) to expect a 2k when we get back. What would the best workouts for me to do to prep for a 2k?

I think I mentioned this in the previous question, but plyometrics and intervals are great because the amount of time spent doing “work” is short, which works your anaerobic system. Depending on how much time you have available during the week to workout, I’d try to do something like this:

Monday: Steady state + lift
Tuesday: Intervals (8×500, 40 seconds on/20 seconds off, etc.)
Wednesday: Circuit
Thursday: Steady state
Friday: Steady state + core

That’s a very rough outline, but hopefully you get the idea. On Saturday or Sunday, I’d try to do a long run just to switch up your training and get you off the erg for a bit. You don’t want the fast twitch to overtake the slow twitch by too much – there needs to be an equal balance of the two, so make sure you’re not dropping the marathoner in favor of the sprinter.

Coxing Ergs Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

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My coach makes coxswains do winter workouts and 2k’s with rowers. Do you think that’s fair? We don’t get a break with the workout, at all. We have to do the same exact thing as rowers.

I think it’s fair that they ask you to work out with your teammates … I don’t think it’s fair if they’re expecting the same exact level of athletic prowess from the coxswains that they do from the rowers. The teams I’ve been a part of, even collegiate teams, gave the coxswains separate workouts to do so that they were still doing SOMETHING while the rowers did their thing. I don’t want to say that coxswains are not athletes, because we are, but in an eight, we aren’t the athletes. The rowers are.

In my experience, some of my friends that have coxed, including myself, have had various health related problems that makes it difficult to be as athletic as we used to be. I dislocated my knee pretty severely when I was in high school and can’t run (unless my life depends on it) because the pain from the cartilage degeneration is so painful. Others have asthma or injuries from other sports that prohibit them from running, lifting, etc. If any of those things apply to you, you need to sit down and talk with your coach. Your health concerns should be just as important to them as the rower’s.

You guys should all know my feelings by now regarding how coxswains are treated by the coaches. Often times we’re ignored and left to fend for ourselves. If you are working out with your team and you are injured or develop an injury, do NOT let your doctor, athletic trainer, coach, physical therapist, etc. brush it off JUST because you are a coxswain. Get checked out immediately and make your coach aware of the situation. Get your parents involved and have them speak to them if you’re unable to.

Most importantly, know your limits. I promise you that your rowers see you working out with them and they do appreciate it, but they want you just as healthy as they want their other teammates. They don’t want you to get injured or overdo it either. They will understand and they hopefully already DO understand that our tiny bodies cannot squat as much as their freakishly tall frames can.

If you feel like the workouts are pushing you to a point that is uncomfortable for you (and this is where knowing the difference between discomfort and pain is crucial), talk to you coach. Compromise and say that you will continue to workout with the team, but you need to do something else – treadmill, stair master, core, elliptical, bike, etc. If they still insist on you doing the workouts at the same level as the rowers, have a conversation with your parents, your trainer, etc.. Coaches need to understand the limits and abilities of their athletes and it is their responsibility to know when they are pushing someone too far.

Ergs Novice Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hi there! I just wanna start off by saying I really enjoy your blog! I started rowing in June, and was in an eight this fall. The season is now over and I really wanna continue in the spring, but the coach I was with said I should erg and train in the winter for the spring. I have been on the erg once, and my split wasn’t very good. Around 2:19.0/500m. I was wondering what I should do to improve and how often I should erg? Thanks!

Your coach is right – to be prepared for the spring season, winter training is a necessity. Strength training and core exercises are two things that you definitely want to make a part of your routine. If you have the time and access to the appropriate equipment/facilities, adding in some kind of cross training will help your endurance and get you in (better) shape. Running, biking, or swimming are all great options. You can get your cardio in as part of your warmup on the days you’re not cross training. Those are the days when you can do some erging.

Strength training and doing core exercises consistently will help build muscle, which in turn will help you generate more power when you erg, leading to lower splits. When you erg, you shouldn’t be going for any kind of PRs…you just want to focus on getting the technique right and building up your endurance. As you get stronger, the splits will fall. Don’t force anything.

If you have trouble deciding what to do when you erg, check out Concept 2’s website. They have three different workouts posted daily depending on how long you want your erg session to be. You can also sign up for their daily emails to get the workouts sent to you in the mornings. When you’re just warming up on the erg, keep it short – no longer than 15 minutes or so. A good warmup to do that also works on your technique is the pick drill (arms, arms + bodies, 1/2 slide, full slide). Do each for 20 strokes, then switch. Take your time with this and don’t rush through it. Focus on really nailing each part of the stroke and then connecting all of it when you get to full slide. Once you’ve done that, row at a steady pressure for the last 10 minutes or so at around 18-20 strokes per minute. Work on slide control and keeping the recovery controlled while at the same time getting a good strong press with the feet on the drive. Aim for a split and try and maintain that. Every week or so, shoot for a lower split (by 2-3 seconds) than the one you went for the previous week. Every week or two, test yourself. Do a 2k and record your times and splits. See what the difference are between the times. You’ll start to notice consistent changes as you progress through your training.

Here’s an example of what a winter schedule might look like:

Monday: Erg warmup + strength training (3 sets of high weight, low rep exercises)
Tuesday: Cross training + core (3-5 sets of 10-12 exercises with at least 15 reps each)
Wednesday: Medium – long erg session (45-70 minutes)
Thursday: Erg warmup + strength training
Friday: Cross training + core
Saturday: Long run/bike/swim (80 minutes)

Some things to remember:

Give yourself time to rest. When you exercise, you produce small micro-tears in the muscle. In order for you to get stronger, the muscles need time to adapt to the stress and repair. If they don’t have that time, you’re risking serious injury.

STRETCH. After your erg warmups or a quick lap around the track spend at least five to seven minutes stretching. Your muscles are more flexible when they’re warm vs. when they’re cold, so stretching is key. Not stretching can also lead to injuries such as pulled or torn muscles/tendons/ligaments. ALWAYS STRETCH BEFORE AND AFTER YOUR WORKOUT. If you have a foam roller, use that at the end of your workouts.

Maintain a proper diet. Your body needs proper and adequate fuel in order to give you the necessary energy you’ll need to train effectively. Make sure you’re eating well balanced meals and not skipping any of them. Have a small snack before you workout and another one after.

Get some sleep. When you sleep is when your body repairs itself…if you’re pulling all nighters or just not sleeping for as many hours as you should be, your training will suffer because you’ll be lacking in energy.

Find a time that works for you to go to the gym and make that a daily part of your routine. Don’t blow it off. Manage your time properly around school, work, family, friends, etc. so that you can spend at least an hour every day training. Remember your goals and why you’re doing this. Making training a non-negotiable part of your routine will not only show your coaches how dedicated you are but it’ll also subtly reinforce in your own mind how and why this is important to you.