Improve your rowing ratio while lifting in the gym.
Timestamps
Lifting heavy has lots of benefits - today we'll talk about ratio. The contrast between the power phase and recovery phase. How to use this concept of ratio in strength training.
As we age we find our muscles and tendons don't have the same range and so our stride gets shorter. Strength training can help improve or maintain RoM. Weight lifting works in two planes - when you lift the weight and when you return it to the start point. Concentric muscle movements are shortening the muscle (as you lift). Eccentric muscle movements are lengthening the muscle (as you return the weight to the start). Eccentric muscle work can help improve your range of movement. Working on this part of the strength lift can use the rowing ratio as part of the movement.
The braking effect that you use as you control the weight in the eccentric lengthening muscle phase as you lower the weight down can enable you to have greater force production. When lifting heavy for few repetitions or using small muscles e.g. doing chin-ups against your body weight you may find the difference between the last successful lift and when you fail is large.
Do your first chin up
One way to improve your strength and do your first chin up is to start at the top of the lift with your chin over the bar (you may need a chair to step or jump up there). Then slowly lower yourself by straightening your arms doing just the eccentric part of the lift. Try a slow count of ten to complete the movement. You will gain strength more quickly by doing this slowly muscle lengthening under load.
When you've done this a few times, try doing one chin up - you probably can lift yourself up. Use approximately a 3:1 ratio in your lifting for big muscles - legs and back. And 2:1 for smaller muscles like arms. The more ratio you can manage the more you will be working the braking effect on the eccentric lift. You will do fewer repetitions using this method as you tire faster.
Consider a difficult lift like a squat using an olympic bar. Getting a deeper squat - to 90 degrees or to a deep squat position is challenging.
3x per week for 6 weeks.
Start each lift with an ultra-light load. This helps refamiliarise your muscles with the movement. Then add weight so that you keep good form. Try to do 3-5 sets of each lift each time you go to the gym.
11:30 Take your ratio training from the gym back into the boat.
Can you push the oar faster through the water so that you can take longer on the slide recovery? You should be able to increase your ratio thanks to your work in the gym.
A visual reference to aide adjustments to blade depth.
Timestamps
00:45 Low technology solutions for rowing too deep.
The tape goes around the oar shaft so that when the oar is under the water at the correct depth and the handle is at the correct height for you to old. Mark exactly where the shaft is level with the water surface. You can do this where the oar shaft is wet if you do this carefully. Measure the spot, return the oars to land and transfer that measurement to all the other oars and put white tape on them too. While rowing you can look sideways at your oar to see if the white tape is going under the water and where in the stroke it goes too deep (and you can no longer see the tape).
Usually it's caused by the athlete holding the handle too high. Modern oar designs naturally sit at the correct depth. If you row 'over the barrel' the path of the handle is too high mid-stroke (and usually too low at the finish so your oar spoon washes out). The water is flat and so the path of the handle in the power phase should also be flat. At the catch if you take the catch by lifting your shoulders it can also cause the oar to go too deep. Tension in the hand grip also can cause the oar to go too deep. In sweep this is often the inside hand holding on too tightly.
- Backing down into the catch. Push the oars from the finish backing down and then leave the oar in the water and take the stroke. Go backwards and forwards gradually lengthening from half slide to full slide. This helps you to work out the correct handle height.
- Row in circles. One person row in sweep and look out at your oar as you row so you can see the depth. In sculling just row with one oar and get a friend to hold the boat steady.
- Half blade depth rowing. Row with only half the oar under the water - feel the depth by controlling the handle precisely with very small movements.
- The amount of power you put on can affect blade depth. So try alternating light and firm pressure strokes to help you work out depth.
As we age, compromises are part of how we adjust to rowing and sculling. Yet part of the fun of this is to go shopping for gadgets and gear! Let me be clear, you don't have to be old to get more gear - I know a famous rowing commentator who had a collection of row suits (Zooties / All in ones / Trou) that ran into the mid 30s. He claimed to have rowed for over 20 different clubs.
But gear isn't just fun and funky clothing (although maybe that's all you "need" to justify flexing your credit card. There are really helpful accessories which make rowing easier for those of us with physical compromises. Let's review a few
Shoes that fit - petite feet ladies have always suffered with club-supplied shoes. Now Unicorn Shoes has an adjustable shoe design using velcro as does RowFit; and the Active Tools shoes look like crocs and have a sliding clip to shorten the shoe. Taking this a step further and getting your own pair using a quick release system in the boat allows you to row with perfectly fitted shoes. BONT Rowing's quick release system and rowing shoes are priced to make switching your whole fleet very affordable. While The Shimano rowing dynamics system provide the highest quality fitments.
Hands and handles - Get a handle grip the right size for your hands from Croker Oars (4 sizes), or choose the Oarsom Potential overgrips to prevent blisters when your skin bunches up. Newly released soft grippy handles for those who suffer sweaty hands for sculls (My Row Grips),and the textured Stampfli grips. Maybe a simpler solution to blisters is a pair of rowing gloves made by Rowtex or The Crew Stop.
Backsides and Seats - finding a seat pad that gives you just enough comfort - from male / female hole spacings (EURow) to different heights (from 5mm to 30mm at RowPad) and jel squish softness (JL Racing) to raised pads to relieve pressure on your sit bones (Citius Remex ProW)
Eyes in the back of your head - literally not possible - but sadly the Hyndsight vision system is no longer in production - so there are other choices of mirrors to see behind you without twisting. The Coxmate mirror is a cheap option - it's large and on a bendable wire; newly released, the TriEye sunglasses with integrated mirrors for both left and right sides.
Visible Data displays - nearly everyone has a waterproof mobile phone and getting your boat speed and stroke rate on a large display (which you can read in bright sunlight) is straightforward using the Crew Nerd app (free trial available). Taking this a step further you can add a heads up display (HUD) inside your sunglasses from Engo Eyewear.
Note: some of these links are affiliates. We earn commissions if you purchase.
Faster Masters Rowing has an Athlete Assessment which sets out how to find your personal training zones. These enable you to work out most effectively because the intensity and pacing aligns to YOU, your fitness, your boat moving skill. Re-testing approximately every 6-8 weeks allows you to gauge your progress.
The testing spreadsheet is where you input your results. These give you an output of your 2k target pace.
The Athlete Assessment comes free with any subscription race training program.
It is in the Faster Five "Joining Bonus" lesson.
From your 2k target pace (calculated from the spreadsheet) divide this number by 2.
Then subtract 10 seconds if you are anaerobically strong based on your spreadsheet test results.
Subtract 12 seconds if you are aerobically strong based on your spreadsheet test results.
[It may be easier for a 500m split to convert it into seconds e.g. 1:52 is 60 seconds plus 52 seconds].
From your 2k target pace (calculated from the spreadsheet)
Add 7 seconds if you are aerobically strong or neutral (balanced) on your spreadsheet test results.
Add 8 seconds if you are aerobically weak on your spreadsheet test results.
When you did the testing, one of the tests is 1'. Use your results from this test as a starting point for your 1 minute race target split.
How watching videos of good rowing can help improve your technique.
Timestamps
Parts of our brain get activated when watching movement. Researchers noticed monkeys' brains were firing when watching the researchers eat lunch - as if the monkeys were also eating.
Mirror neurons help you to understand and internalise actions, emotions and intentions. This is helpful when learning the subtleties of rowing timing points.
When I yawn the chances are you will too. This is your mirror neurons. Dr Laby from Sports Vision researched if you watch correct performances and see the technique being used. He noted that the video needs to be as close as possible to reality. This means you get best results watching at race stroke rates, not slow motion.
Try to create a race situation rather than a training row. You need both - understand the movement first and then be able to do it at stroke rates comparable to a race.
Find videos online to watch - they need to be good athletes, rowing well in high cadence high stroke rate situations. Check out MostynARC YouTube channel for Penny Chuter's video collection.
When a coach tells a story about rowing, your mirror neurons activate as you listen. They make you feel that you are experiencing what the coach describes. Neural coupling with the story teller.
First get the athletes to observe the task done well - demonstrate the task first yourself. This is more likely to trigger the mirror neurons as the athletes think themselves into what you're describing.
Then explain the action at the same time as demonstrating as a second stage.
Our Drills Compendium uses this method and adds written captions as well.
Real-time observation and real time skill correction improves skill acquisition.
The experts recommend peer-to-peer observation as a further stage. Teach observation and comparison to good technique - this also has a permission-based feedback structure allows the athletes to see if they are getting the movement right.
Looking backwards to go forwards: what rowing taught me about big tech and what big tech taught me about rowing with Matt Brittin.
Timestamps
01:00 From schoolboy to the Olympics - from a family of ball sport heros. Matt was inspired by Martin Cross to row to a high level - he was his school teacher. Later he was President of his university club where he led the introduction of professional coaching.
Matt was running Google in Africa, Middle East and Europe for the past 10 years - he tells a lot of anecdotes about rowing. Steve Gunn (a harsh coach) taught how to take responsibility for what you are doing. Are you a piece of sh*t on the end of the oar? When the mindset is right but the self-appraisal was not. The things Matt learned at rowing were the human things - more useful than Business School, Consultancies and University. I wouldn't be where I am in the business world without the rowing lessons.
The unique side of rowing is that when I'm seat racing, I'm against you. When we are in the crew, I'm with you. Act like an owner at Google - take responsibility for what you're doing and win as a team. We collaborate hard - and sometimes a collaborative competitiveness gives a better outcome.
The start line of a Henley Royal Regatta final is where Matt felt the most intense pressure. Take confidence from the feeling of nerves and the adrenaline surge - this is a sign you are ready for a big performance. Get the attention off yourself - focus on the process is helpful. Know there is someone there who wants you to succeed.
Matt is a Henley steward - he marks the progress over recent years. Sir Steve Redgrave asked Matt to help the committee to plan a 10 year strategy. It looks unchanging yet it's always evolving. Three new womens quad scull events were announced - near parity in Open events and Womens events. Since 2015 every race has been on YouTube live and on demand.
You Win or You Learn.
It has been a joy and a recalibration too. The gains as you come back are lovely - rediscovering the joy. A lot is about remembering the feelings. How to balance training and travelling for work. How you manage your time at work is important. Matt blocks his diary to take kids to school twice a week - the most important time of the week. He does the same for rowing training.
The discipline when traveling of visiting the hotel gym. The more senior you get the more important it is to show up refreshed and feeling great - in good shape. Leaders need to be in the moment and to have time for staff. Matt is planning to mentor people in business, improve his sculling, and add rowing strength training this year.
Masters rowing is "running up the down escalator". It doesn't have to be the same each year - unlike younger rowing years. Choose something fun to plan for your future rowing.
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 change from what you do now and a little bit more than you can already do. That's enough.
Strength training is one of the most potent stimuluses for our health. The only thing which can repair your muscle structure is targeted loading, not rest.
The knee takes a load of up to 2 times body weight for rowers - masters it will be 1.2 to 1.7 times body weight. When squatting the leg is not the limiting factor - the lumbar spine tolerance is the limit. This is not the case in a rowing boat because the forces are horizontal.
The 7 stroke max test has a strong correlation to performance. Increasing this has got a 1:1 correlation with improvement.
How can you know if the improvement will come from force production or maximal force?
The rowing stroke is primarily concentric force production. Does eccentric have an effect? Yes, it's a long stretch shortening cycle. The end of the drive back to the catch has a significant contribution to boat speed.
The Reactive Strength Index. How you control a decelerating force and turn it round into an accelerating force. Rate of force is how much, when and how quickly.
Utilise each exercise efficiently is key. The king of exercises is the one that reaches your outcome. You must lift enough to create an adaptive response.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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
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 protectors for oars Our dock is wood and the surface gets greasy and is a slip hazard. We put non-slip matting onto the dock - water drains through the holes. The brand is Ako Matting and is recommended for ice, snow and water uses. The downside is the surface is abrasive on oars because of the non-slip elements.
We have a rule that when you land and leave the dock we always put our oars tip side down on the dock. This helps to preserve the paint and stop the wear patterns on the back of the oars. Tips down meant we got wear on the tip of the blade.
Croker Oars have tip protectors - little triangles which fit over the corners and you superglue in place. The plastic takes the wear rather than the carbon oar.
Concept2 oar users can use the vortex edge - it's a strip which goes along the length of the oar tip.
The wear on the tip of the oars reduces the surface area of the spoon. And the wear is always in the same direction - my sculls ended up thinner than 3mm. This is the legal minimum for World Rowing rules - I had to sand down the tips of the blade to restore the minimum 3mm.
A scuff pack kit made to protect the back of the oar from rubbing when your oars are on the bank. Defensive protectors for oars.
Lastly - blade wraps - vinyl that is pre-printed with your club colours and they are cut to the oar spoon shape. Use a heat gun to apply them and it also gives some protection to the oar spoon.
How to wrap oars
Take care of your oars to make them last longer. If you paint your oars the old fashioned way is to sand them and use marine-grade gloss paint with undercoat and topcoat paint layers. Others have used spray can car paint too. We had stickers (decals) of the club logo made to put on the shaft of the oars so that they can be identified - helpful if you don't paint your oars and they look the same as every other club. Easy for them to get lost at a regatta.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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 to 1.5 seconds and yet we row with a ratio of at least 2:1 at low rates.
Experienced rowers get more rest every stroke. They push the oar with high intensity through the water and so they have more time with the oar out of the water.
How to row at the same stroke rate and deliver more force into the boat hull. The key to training this on the erg was to start with a focus point once every 5 minutes for 10 strokes. For ten strokes push harder through the power phase but you're not allowed to take the rate up. This showed us how much harder we could push and how much more rest we got as a result. It depends on your muscular strength and fitness.
Then we moved to doing this for a minute. After each intense stroke period we allowed 5 strokes to recover and take a little rest. Over time, you don't need to take that rest.
Taking the same principle of increased intensity into the boat. We call "Up one down one" which means take the stroke rate up one point in rate through the water and down one point in rate on the slide. So at rate 20 you move to rate 21 through the water and rate 19 on the slide - which averages to 20.
This has the effect of intensifying the power phase. Train yourself to do this and it gets a better ratio in the stroke - you learn how to relax more as you rest on the recovery. The benefit is slightly more boat speed, slightly more rest and this helps to keep the boat moving fast through the water.
Here's an earlier episode which covers this topic further of how to train yourself to relax.
Do this for short periods to begin with as it's tiring. Introduce it to your warmup just for 5 strokes at each stage in the pick drill.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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
Pay attention to the water surface, to the wind and waves, to the water swirls under a bridge. This allows you to make subtle changes to how your boat is moving. Rowing in a headwind - at the start the waves are highest (they've progressively built up) and these lower as you get closer to the end of 1k. With large waves you cannot rate high. When rowing to the conditions as you notice the wave height reducing, push on and increase the rate by half a point. You can also change the ratio (intensity through the water compared to relaxation up the slide).
If you do a big push the chances are you will suffer a large fall off in boat speed after the push is done. Choose moderate moves and you are more likely to be able to hold the new boat speed after it ends. Make your moves sustainable longer. Pushing hard means you may compensate by trying to save energy and your pace judgement may suffer.
The puddles of the crew in front are disturbed water. When the water block is churned by someone else's oar it makes the water unstable and hard for you to get your oar to grip the water. This affects the boat run and your ability to put energy into pushing the boat forwards.
When rowing near other crews, put their puddles under your riggers - between the hull and your spoon. The disturbed water will neither affect the run of your hull nor your spoon grip on the water. Rowing in dirty water is hard to avoid if your eight has an unconventional rig (two people on the same side in sweep eights) this may result in bow and stroke being on the same side. Only the fastest mens eights can avoid stroke rowing into bow's previous puddle.
Want live streams like this? https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5694205242376192
Join our community and get our exclusive Faster Masters Rowing Magazine, packed with tips, techniques, and inspiring stories. Includes four new articles monthly.
