Disasters happen – do you feel that they happen often? I don’t need to define the scale of what happens – you are already thinking about the last thing that happened to you which felt disastrous.
And yet…..
I was listening to a wise person talking about how they coached their children to face the ups and downs of life. They asked the child “Was it burnt toast or death?”. Meaning what was the scale of the crisis. And that allowed them to put some perspective around what had happened. Our discussion topic below is about safety – this may help set context for you and for your rowing club.
Rowing and aging each decade
I’ve got one of our most popular articles for you lower down. The reason I’m sharing it today is because I want to demonstrate how deeply Faster Masters understands your needs, Reader and the needs of all master rowers.
There are increasingly large numbers of coaches and rowing businesses who are targeting masters rowers. Many offer “training programs” for us older athletes.
This week I got hold of a training programme which was for beginner masters rowers. It included six workouts a week – three 8km rows, a gym session, an erg, and a cross training workout. This reveals how very far that business is from serving masters rowers.
There are no beginner masters rowers who can do this programme.
Most of the beginners I know personally struggle to do an 8km row until they have done about 40 workouts and that may take them 6 to 9 months since starting in the sport. Do you work out six times a week?
It’s just so clear to me that there is a reality mis-match here.
Although I’m flattered that more and more businesses are orientating themselves towards masters, please exercise caution and keep a healthy skepticism before buying. And apply that to what you buy from Faster Masters as well…. we aren’t exempt.
Have a great week,
Rebecca
Our most recent podcast
In advance of our webinar (details below), we got Jack Burns onto the podcast to talk about how he lied to himself about his training and this led to his insights about the importance of rowing mindset. Click the image to watch.
Boathouse Chat for the Weekend
How many masters rowing clubs require a Captain’s Test, which includes a flip test, for new scullers joining the club? What other safety requirements do you have in addition?
What should you expect from your rowing as you age?
These observations are from my experience and there certainly are variations between different people but these are some trends.
Check each decade to see what you could be experiencing now and into the future for your own rowing practice.
20s and 30s
If you are a former student athlete and you continue to train as you start your career, work, or family, you can maintain a high level of fitness close to that of your university years and even surpass that fitness. Provided that you are living a reasonable “athletic-lifestyle” your body has a great recovery capacity and you can certainly push your limits. Many single scullers reach their peak in their late 20s early 30s. In masters rowing, high-energy athletes in this age group often train 6 to 9 sessions per week including land and water workouts. If you are new to the sport 3 to 4 sessions per week will provide a good base for technique, for additional fitness you can include more land-based training.
40s
You will often have limited time in this decade and have to weave your rowing in between your career and family demands. So the key here is making sure that you get adequate training to support the level of your goals and to put a priority on quality workouts versus quantity. Getting enough sleep and recovery is an important training factor not to be overlooked. Top masters in this age group are likely to train 5 to 7 sessions per week; newcomers should aim for 3 to 4 rowing sessions complemented with cross training until a good base is established.
50s
This is one of the most competitively-minded groups in masters rowing; especially among women. This is often a time when your career is well-developed, the children are a bit older allowing more personal time for pursuing rowing goals and motivation is very high. It can also be a time when many new masters join the sport because they now have some additional time to follow personal interests or have the opportunity to pursue athletic goals they had earlier in life but put on hold.
With your 50s come metabolic and hormonal changes in both men and women. Sleep patterns may be disrupted, unwanted weight gain can happen easily……
We’re putting on a webinar which is for all rowers (not just masters). In our podcast above, Jack explains how he failed himself using self-deception about his training intent and purpose.
The trial-and-error mindset method takes too long and there’s no guarantee you’ll work out the fine detail on your own.
This webinar will help rowers overcome:
Mental blocks around racing or erg testing
Learn how to push yourself harder when racing
Learn how to become more focussed when racing
Learn how to handle external factors like wind or a race not going to plan
Generally, encouraging a more enjoyable approach to training and racing!
And if you check your email, I sent you a discount coupon yesterday.
Hello again Reader
Across the world there are events at different times of year. When Marlene and I started this business we researched the major events for masters rowers in English-speaking countries. We designed the training programmes to cater for the majority using our standard training plans. Sometimes, these don’t exactly align with races you want to do.
We got this question from Michael
Do you by any chance have a training program for a single sculler taking part in a 16km head race?…
What should you expect from your rowing as you age? These observations are from my experience and there certainly are variations between different people but…
Hello again Reader
Things that contribute to a robust rowing group over time can be encapsulated in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Belonging and esteem are part of the list he identified in 1943.
Masters should have a range of ways to contribute to the overall club goals. Another word for esteem is ‘status’ and the way your club group assigns status is a core underpinning of its success. We masters are not all racing demons – young people gain rowing status by winning races; masters…
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