I am 51 and have never rowed. I would love to take lessons. How can I get started?
Mary
Two ways to get started with rowing and sculling.
Most rowing federations organise the sport for their country so do an online search for [country name or city name] learn to row.
Hopefully you will find someone near where you live.
It is much better to learn with an experienced coach than try to do online courses for learning to row
But do stay in touch and tell us how you get on.
We are an online rowing education business. We can help you AFTER you have done a learn to row course. For practical reasons, this is best done face to face with a rowing coach who is experienced coaching masters. It is never good to try to teach yourself rowing.
3 ways we can help you
Chasing anyone's advice. What to do if you have more than one coach.
01:30 Chasing advice. Marlene had several coaches. We congregated to train. Rebecca was at a club where the coach was provided.
Coaches agree in technique and philosophy - important if you have multiple advisors. Design your own training program.
04:30 When your coach and online searches give conflicting advice. Take in the context if you are the club coach Watch you do not conflict with the other advisor if you know your athlete has multiple coaches Offer different ways to look at it - drills - language explainers
07:30 Clues what they've been taught is not what you teach. Watch them row
Seek the one element which gives the most payback to work on first. Marleneism - not all errors are equal
10:20 The Self-taught sculler will not have had the same drills, handling skills and fundamentals. You will not perfect your technique in a single camp week. We give you tools to go home and practice. How to practice that.
16:30 Multiple coaches - just getting one coach as a masters rower can be hard!
Style differences - sequential or simultaneous drive?
Attempt a classical style initially.
Use muscles in the correct sequence and to minimise biomechanical stresses on your body.
20:00 Tel your coach if you have had different advice. Is the difference style? Have you mis-understood the coach?
22:00 Coach's track record needs to be checked out Are they qualified or just a good-intentioned person? Was it helpful and did it make things better?
25:00 Pre a big event - this is not the time to make radical changes to your technique. Improve what you already do well.
30:00 Look for trusted advice if you don't have a regular coach. Don't chase the last bit of advice you heard. What an elite athlete does may not be right for you. The principles of good technique will help you.
How to interview and hire a rowing coach
Masters need more coxes | Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe with guest Katy Smith talking about ways to develop, coach and improve coxing for masters rowers.
01:20 This Past week-advocacy. A new dock arrived at Marlene's club. Recommend Ako Plus matting for non slip surface suitable for boat clubs.
08:00 Katy Smith from Asheville Rowing Club, North Carolina, USA.
07:00 Sculling Intensive Course announcement. https://fastermastersrowing.com/register/sculling-intensive/
11:00 Our team has 2 W8 and one M8. And specialised sculling groups.
12:30 Insufficient support for Cox development. Coaches have never coxed. But coxes need a leadership style. The US Rowing Level 2 coach certification has limited cox information.
14:00 Coaches need to sit in the coxes seat at least once. Learn what the role does. - Can you keep your line -point. - Technical skills development. - Responsible for safety - Docking and landing. I use my peripheral vision-what is going on around you?
18:00 Working with a coach Do they do all the coaching? Know what the coach expects from the crew. What skills are they working on? We see and hear things the coach does not. Act as a go-between with the coach and crew. 20:00 Help coxswains develop. Tell us feedback - we want it. When we give good calls, tell us. Are people afraid of hurting our feelings?
23:00 Fear of losing a coxswain. I ask directly for feedback. We used "no name" surveys to rate us.
25:30 Differences coxing masters requires more finesse with your voice - not using screaming tactics.
27:00 Flexibility with line-ups. Explain the goal for this practice. Mixed ability crews - give experienced people the expectation of developing novices. It's important to allow novices a voice. Buy into the workout.
31:15 Coxes arriving to the masters level - understand how necessary it is to being out on the water. Our masters learn coxing as well as rowing.
33:00 We have a learn to cox program. Choose to rotate through rowing and coxing - half outing rowing, half coxing.
35-00 Coaching the coxswain by Chelsea Dommert. She reviews how to master steering, docking, setting up your race plan with the coach. https://amzn.to/3L7Zegp
38:00 I auto record my outings using Cox Orb Platinum. I share them with the womens 4 crew. Coaches could listen to recordings and give coxes feedback.
41:00 It's important coxswains know how to row. At masters lend everyone needs to learn every role in rowing. To contact Katy [email protected]
Ted Pytlar joins Marlene and Rebecca to talk about his club masters group and their experience of rowing, racing and training | Faster Masters Rowing Radio - the podcast for masters rowers. Tips, advice and discussion from Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe.
04:00 This Past week Rowing News Magazine published Marlene's article on Periodisation of Technique.
08:00 Merijn Soeters new Book of rowing photography
10. 30 Our podcast name - we emailed a question to all newsletter subscribers
11:30 Ted Pytlar's background in rowing
13:30 Moving to the single scull - the ultimate boat. The club mix of boats has changed as the interest in rowing singles has changed.
16:00 Delaware River is rocky and can get shallow so we lose skegs often
17:00 Training Goals - focus on head race preparation. We organise ourselves as a group of 4 we know where the rocks are. After hurricanes we re-survey the river
22:00 after hurricanes we get high flow and use peripheral vision to steer and avoid landmarks.
23:00 We have a LTR annual program with a waiting list. 16 people limit.
We don't have enough coaches and 10 sessions is not enough and so we added a plus plan to integrate them into experienced boats.
26:00 We have a plan to beef up the masters program structure with regular outings
Customise a track for each person's flexibility.
28:00 the board has a LTR co-ordinator and organised coaching roster.
Scullers have a skills test for 1x use and also a masters program co-ordinator with input from members. We bring in a professional coach a couple of times a month
31:00 Swapping from sweep to sculling
I didn't realise the importance of stability at the catch and release in 1x in order to get the rest of the stroke to work well.
Subtle mistakes you can make on port /starboard can really mess you up. It took a while to figure them out.
Loose hands is critical in sculling.
33:50 you have to be at a certain point in your rowing journey to realise or hear certain things. As you get better you realise what the coach meant.
35:00 Try to get an understanding of the complete stroke. Mine is 4 pages long.
A picture in your head
37:30 Some adapt technique which is a coping measure because they are afraid of tipping over
39:30 The swirling vortex behind the blade isn't needed - just bury them deeper. Differences of opinion between people happen in rowing - it's good to know them all.
45.00 Rowing movie - Heart of Champions review by Rebecca
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Champions-Michael-Shannon/dp/B09LRZR2F1?ref_=nav_signin&
Who are you becoming? the importance of contemplating this question - become the athlete you want to row with.
03:00 This past week Rebecca was at the South Island Masters Regatta.
05:00 There is a need for handicaps in masters rowing to make the races work better. What do you think are the benefits?
08:00 Who are the athletes you want to row with? Can you row with them?
Why do more experienced athletes warmup square blades?
Different attributes of an athlete - Trainers, Racers, Technicians.
What is it they do that I would like to also do?
12:00 Attributes of rowers you admire and aspire to be like - positive attributes
14:00 Open minded on the water gives and asks for feedback.
Use the same language that the rowers use for a discussion about feedback.
17:00 How's it going? is a good way to ask for feedback during a training session.
19:00 Advance a common understanding in your crew and group. A common language.
Mike Spraklen asked us what does "stride" mean to you?
21:00 Can we give confidence to other people in our crew as we discuss the outing?
Ask the question carefully. What words to use when you give feedback?
You sit behind me - uniquely positioned to see my technique. Can you remind me when you see me doing something wrong or right in the boat?
Ask opinions - helps people to feel they are being heard. "What are you personally working on?"
25:00 Start the positive behaviours yourself. Begin before you get on the water - where are you going? What to do today? Did I do what I set out to do? Quality score points out of 10 for rowing practice, acquisition of skill.
27:00 Openness in rowing - is this challenging for masters compared to youth rowers? Our practice ebbs and flows through the year with more intensity. Small moments of joy in what you are doing. Smiles and grins after the row.
32:00 Why do we row? Where do we get enjoyment? Process goals - lead the change yourself that you seek in others.
What is the ideal athlete for your club group? It's incumbent on rowing leaders to be inclusive of returning rowers (who rowed as youth) and those who learn as adults.
When you are in the groove and the boat is in stealth mode, you dial into your mission and rise to the challenge. Whether in practice or on the race course if you are "on" thoughts of failure get no airtime.
However, there will be days when you feel like toast. Athletes need enough rest and at times your scale may be tipped towards the side of fatigue. However, if your performance is starting to drag and the doldrums don't seem to be going away, you may be pushing the "more is better" principle too far and be risking burnout.
Asking yourself these 20 questions can determine if you need to build more rest and down time in your plan.
Answer each one True or False:
Each true answer equals one point; each false equals zero points.
If you scored between one and three you are not at risk for burnout; between four and seven you are entering the trouble zone so take some time off; between eight and 14 you really need a vacation from training and competition; 15 or higher you are seriously burned out and should sit down with your coach and evaluate your rowing future.
Taking a breather can turn the Thank Goodness it is Friday mentality, counting the minutes of practice, into the Thank Goodness it is Monday mentality and get you revved up for the next season.
Would you like to publish this article in your club newsletter or website?
Join our Masters Rowing Advocates mailing list and we will send you one article a month. Sign up on our Advocacy page.
You can copy the text on this page. Or download the PDF.
Stepping back to reflect on your rowing of this year will make clear how to better your performance for next year. Your inner voice is probably already whispering hints to you but get it down in writing anyway.
Get out your log book for an annual review; it will give you the information you need. To start your annual review, set aside a big chunk of time in a place where you like to hang out.
Read through your entire journal for the year. Jot down notes about thoughts or events that stand out as you are reading. Make a list of your disappointments or commitments you did not keep. Reflect on what comes to mind reviewing the negative or down points. Then list your accomplishments and high points of training and racing that went very well. Reflect on what comes to mind reviewing your accomplishments. Finally, summarize your year in one word.
Questions to prompt your ideas are: What went well? What didn’t go so well? Why didn’t I achieve my goals? What big things did I learn?
My favorite questions are: What should I start doing? What should I keep doing? What should I stop doing?
This helps you recognize the good habits that are productive, habits that are interfering with your progress, and the habits you need to change to make progress. Think about the word you chose to sum up your rowing year and why you chose it. What’s going to make next year awesome?
Write down 10 action steps that will get you there, for example: Drink more water, learn to steer a single straight on a buoyed course, improve my posture when sitting at my desk, arrive 15 minutes early for every practice, or hire a coach / trainer.
Now go and enjoy the new rowing year.
Would you like to publish this article in your club newsletter or website?
Join our Masters Rowing Advocates mailing list and we will send you one article a month. Sign up on our Advocacy page.
You can copy the text on this page. Or download the PDF.Â
As the age-groups roll by, your ability to simply rack up more miles on the river is not an option. Workout time is at a premium. Post-exercise recovery is a force to be reckoned with. So to keep getting faster with your schedule and available energy what’s an aging rower to do?
If your physical training stays on par, you will likely gain more boat speed by investing an hour in your technique versus two more hours at the gym. After all, technique improvement has no age limit. If you can pick up another meter per second by not missing water that is going to be evident when chasing down your mates next season. Incorporate technique work into your training on the water every practice so there is no need to increase your training volume - simply put more attention to your form.
Protection of your joint and spine is the best resilience against injury. This means power through posture, a neutral spine favors leverage. Hinge at the hip to set body angle versus flexing through your back. Use your core. Activated glutes give you suspension during the drive and prevent collapse in the lumbar spine. Engaged lats stabilize your mid-back and shoulder blades to help sustain your swing and protect your ribs.
Your goal is to stick to the correct sequencing of the stroke without compensation regardless of your range of motion. Maximize your stroke length through a stable body position and your rigging. Avoid extreme body positions. Perfect your bladework: entry, release, feather, square and be conscious of preserving momentum and speed and run on the recovery. Strive to keep your motions as smooth as possible and always row to your potential.Â
Would you like to publish this article in your club newsletter or website?
Join our Masters Rowing Advocates mailing list and we will send you one article a month. Sign up on our Advocacy page.
You can copy the text on this page. Or download the PDF.Â
Rebecca has a great rowing hack for situations when you need a coxswain but a suitably small person is not available.
Her club designed a "plank seat" for the coxswain.
We took a plank of wood and found an old sculling seat top (we removed the undercarriage). The one we chose happened to have light blue foam seat pad glued to it - but you don't need that. It's just extra comfort.
The plank is around 20 cm wider than the width of the boat where the cox sits - so there's no chance it will slip down.
Screw the seat to the middle. And we also added a pink lanyard with a clip on the end. This loops over the steering wires as a safety feature in case the plank falls into the water during the outing - it won't float away.
Faster Masters Rowing Program for clubs is written by experienced coach, Marlene Royle. She specializes in coaching rowing to adults from 27 to 80 plus years and has a track record of racing success.
Masters need special programs because our age range is diverse, our physical abilities are varying and overall rowing must be a fun journey that we want to engage with.
And so Rebecca Caroe and Marlene Royle founded the Faster Masters Rowing business to serve this global audience.
For club boards running a masters group can be challenging because masters don't conform to the model for youth and scholastic rowing training and racing. The Faster Masters Program allows a club group to self-organize around a program and educational articles which is renewed each month.
The beauty of the Faster Masters program is that it is flexible. It allows the occasional rower to participate as well as the mad-keen trainer who wants multiple workouts per week.Â
The online program comes in 6 modules - each participant can download and print the month's lessons for individual study. Erg and water training is at the heart of Faster Masters. Seven days a week workouts are available - with a recommendation that participants do 3 core sessions - all the others are optional. The program has a clear focus on building up to an event or regatta and switches from 1k racing in the summer through head racing in the fall and erg events over winter.
Land training is provided with a suite of exercises which can be done in a home gym using light weights or kettle bells and some simple ancillary equipment like elastic bands. Building core strength and muscle strengthening is important for ageing well and all of the exercises come with video demonstrations for clarity.
For students of the sport a monthly technique article and frequent video demonstrations allow self-guided improvements to bladework, body positions in the boat and an understanding of how to finesse the rowing/sculling boat movement. These are also built into the workouts.Â
Lastly articles on Rowing lifestyle - how to age well and Performance mindset and psychology complete the monthly modules.
Club groups get a further benefit of a monthly coaching zoom call with Rebecca or Marlene to run through questions, seek guidance on program interpretation and video analysis.
Join our community and get our exclusive Faster Masters Rowing Magazine, packed with tips, techniques, and inspiring stories. Includes four new articles monthly.
