RowingChat

Alex Wolf & Sam Dutney in conversation. Two leading thinkers and innovators for masters rowing discuss strength training for masters. The principles around maximal force applies everywhere. Teach athletes how to express maximal force. Learn the ceiling of what you can do. Turn muscles on and off. Practice being forceful really quickly. Building habitual capability. your day to day. Take a small ch...

Defensive protectors for oars and sculls to prevent the paint wearing off and the spoon degrading. Things you can do to preserve the spoons and handles. Timestamps 00:45 Oars get wear and tear You paint the spoons in the club colours and the paint wears in the middle of the back of the oar and the tips of the blades get worn off at the corners (so you no longer have a sharp corner). Defensive prot...

Ways to improve speed of the oar through the water. Keep the stroke rate the same and increase the speed. Timestamps 00:45 This is a long term project. Less experienced rowers push the oar less hard than the more experienced and you need to train this. Time through the water at stroke rate of 20 is approximately 3 seconds per stroke. Pushing the oar through the water on the power phase takes 1.2 t...

Three ways to get faster (or avoid slowing down) in training. Timestamps 00:45 Can you increase the average speed of your boat? The net of how fast it accelerates in the power phase and how much it slows in the recovery phase. Our past episode about how to get speed on the recovery https://youtube.com/live/RRF3o7LxNXM 01:45 Row to the Conditions Pay attention to the water surface, to the wind and...

David Frost reviews Practical and Personal Looks at Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD) in Master's Rowers - download the additional information link below. Timestamps 00:45 David Frost's journey through CAD Coronary artery calcification - men need checking after age 70 more than women. Even rowers who are known for being stoic - if you feel something in your chest, get it checked out. "You have the co...

Three more drills to learn sequentially which will improve your recovery. These will help fix balance issues. Timestamps 00:45 Finesse really helps in the recovery Crew alignment, bladework skills and body movement. The benefit is that the boat slows down less when you achieve these. The biggest gains in boat speed can be achieved here (assuming you aren't going to get much fitter/stronger). By ke...

How to increase stroke power using three layered drills. Timestamps 00:45 Drills for power These are all part of the Drills Compendium (24 drills + 3 ebooks bundle). Masters rowers tend to row a good leg drive and arm draw but neglect the back swing. The back is crucial to joining the leg drive and arm draw. How to ensure back swing adds to the speed of the boat. 03:15 The body sequence From the c...

Learn steps towards getting a good catch using drills. Timestamps 00:45 Am I done learning the stroke yet? Asked an athlete.... only once! The catch is challenging to learn - supporting your learning with drills means you can self-coach as well as getting coached. https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/ Michael sends his crews the drills video the night before practice. Athletes ne...

What you do on the recovery affects what you do on the power phase. Timestamps 00:45 What you do on the recovery What you do as you approach the catch is likely the first thing you do on the power phase. Any errors get transitioned to the next stroke. Three common things happen - shoulder lifting, rushing the slide and the oar going too deep at the catch. 01:30 Shoulder lifting This is putting the...

When racing, how much space do you have in a buoyed boat lane? Timestamps 00:45 Boat lane width How can you fit a wide boat like an eight into a lane and why is it that you still find yourself rowing near the buoy line? An eight is nearly 12 meters long and the rules of racing state that a standard rowing lane is 13.5 meters (44 feet) wide, with a minimum requirement of 13.5 meters for Olympic and...

The power phase is most effective when legs drive first and back follows yet so few masters rowers do this. Why? Timestamps 00:45 Good power phase requirements The alignment of the womens double in the photo shows that the crew hasn't used their back while having legs nearly straight. Getting into this position requires having shoulders sternwards of the hips at the catch and to use their legs fir...

Learn how to back down a rowing boat. Timestamps 00:45 Struggling to learn how to back the boat Blades up or blades down when backing? Different countries do this differently - UK is blades down and NZ is blades up. Blades down rationale - the oar spoon is curved and you want the curve to grip the water and push it backwards. Blades up rationale - the oar has pitch on it from the oarlock tilts the...

If your knees don't bend more than 90 degrees, what can you do? Ways to get more reach in the stroke if you have knee limitations. Timestamps 00:45 A 70 year old with osteoarthritis in both knees asks how to get more reach. Recognise where your comfort zone is where you are capable of pushing your limits. As you roll forward into the catch your ankles, pelvis and lower body also need to bend. You...

Rowing a quad, four or an eight? To get good speed and rhythm, you must have good finishes. Timestamps 00:45 Finishes for big boats You row them differently than small boats. Finish together - all the oars come out of the water at the same time. Is everyone exactly in time? If not, look at what people are doing with the handle - what happens in the water is directly affected by what is happening o...

3 weather data points you need to know in advance whether you can row the next day. Timestamps 00:45 Rowing is weather-dependent Mostly we want to know in advance and apps are useful. What should you be looking out for? Easy choices are - will it be sunny or raining? However the really important data is wind speed and wind direction for the time you plan on going rowing. Also consider air temperat...

Why I'm not finished yet seeking to improve my rowing technique. Timestamps 00:45 There is no stroke I've ever taken which is perfect yet why do I keep trying? My rowing started as a student in a bank tub, a tub pair and then a clinker eight. One of my first videos showed that I lunged at the catch - this fault has stayed with me ever since! I revert and then correct many times. 03:00 The importan...

Why rowers push the handles down at the catch causing the blade to sky - and how to fix it. Timestamps 01:00 Roger Watts told me "oars are still creating hazards to low flying seagulls as the right hand pushes forward and down at the catch...." Skying describes the position of the spoon of the oar relative to the water. As you get close to full slide the oar rises high above the water surface - th...

How to use your glutes in rowing. Timestamps 00:45 Are your glutes activating? David Frost (webinar speaker - Functional Movement for over 60s) said Are your glutes 'along for the ride'? https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/functional-strength-and-movement/ Are your glutes working - how do you know if they are working? Watch video of yourself rowing - check your legs are pressing down f...

How London Rowing Club strategised to win at the British Masters Rowing Championships for the second year in a row. 01:00 James Sexton-Barrow is Captain of London Rowing Club he is talking about their Victor Ludorum Trophy win - they won more points than anyone else at the championship regatta. It is more special as the whole club got involved. 02:00 Mindset approach Masters groups can change a lo...

Discover how to adjust your blade parallels when rowing in a mixed crew to get the oar arcs as similar as possible. Timestamps 01:00 Goal is to align the blade arc Set up the boat for a comfortable row - ideally with all the oars moving through the same angles. Know the dimensions of the athletes - how tall are you relative to your wingspan (fingertip to fingertip). 04:00 We do not have to be rigg...

How to make swapping easier, the differences, visible signs of what goes wrong and drills to help you swap sides and codes. Timestamps 00:45 Switching sweep and sculling Masters frequently get asked to swap - first couple of times you are clumsy and have lost fine motor skills. Differences are about oar handling, movements up and down the boat and round the rigger. 01:30 List of differences Sweep...

Discover how to overcome your natural biology to resist movement pattern changes in rowing technique. Timestamps 01:00 A coach was frustrated his athletes forget from one workout to the next. The cause is not necessary wilful, it's not your coaching skill - it's biology. We are hard wired to keep to the muscle memory we already have. Rowing Muscle Memory and neural pathways The solution is multipl...

How to streamline your workouts in order to maximise your time on the water. Learn how be a good student and arrive prepared for your workout. Timestamps 00:45 What's it like arriving at your boathouse? Imagine parking your car and walking through the front door, what's the signage like, is it clean and orderly? Is the lineup clear? Is the coach boat ready? What about cox box and life jackets? Wha...

Get better at extracting the oar without being splashy and frantic. And why your elbow position is of critical importance. Timestamps 00:45 Finishes for sweep The goal is to get the oar out of the water in a smooth movement and as efficiently as possible. Start with the correct set up at the finish. Your handle end should be in line with the side of your rib cage. Check the position with our outsi...

How to coach the finish so that your finishes are not frantic, splashy or messy. Timestamps 00:45 Finding room to tap down before squaring. Start with the correct set-up at the finish with blades buried. Where are your handles? What's the gap between your hands? This is how you ensure you have room to tap down. If your handles are too close together at the finish, you cannot get out of separation...