Marlene and Rebecca discuss coaching the release this week.
Faster Masters Magazine is designed for masters rowers.
If you want to become a student of the sport of rowing, learning more will give you confidence in your own rowing practice.
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Timestamps to the show
06:00 Faster Masters has a newsletter subscribe page where you can get access to deep information and training tips which are not in the podcast.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/newsletter/
07:50 The US Rowing virtual masters camp has occupied Marlene for the past 3 weeks. She has been presenting sessions on stabilisation exercises by Brett Gorman. In the boat, avoid extreme movements and control your movements.,
Rebecca has been working on creating a "National Voice" for masters in New Zealand, if successful she hopes other countries will follow suit. It is starting with a Facebook Group, New Zealand Masters Rowers
14:00 if you think we should run a virtual camp - let us know.
18:30 Who do you share your water with? Swimmers are a challenge to spot without a bright cap.
Marlene tells a story about getting waked by a destroyer in Greece from the naval base in Poros.
A discussion on Facebook
24:00 Coaching the release. You have to practice drills to get it right. Slow down to work out the timing.
Exit : Feather. Can you get blended and not separated in these movements?
Check your hands are coming in level, wrists may bend to feather to make room between the handles and your thighs - so you won't have room to tap down.
Timing is important. Regulate the tension so you can release cleanly.
33:00 Should the blade come out exactly the same time as the knees go down?
nIs this really a complicated subject - surely you just breathe when you want to?
Well no actually that is not best for rowing performance.
We chose a big topic for this week's podcast. Breathing.
Few of us re-learn how to inhale and exhale. Most just let it happen naturally when rowing. But we may be getting it badly wrong.
This week's podcast and the Faster Masters paid membership subscriptions both address breathing in rowing.
The easy answer to "when to breathe" is to inhale on exertion and exhale on the recovery. That works for most sports, but in rowing your diaphragm is constricted when you are at the catch and you won't get a full breath in. So we have to do it differently.
When you work harder and get tired, you can end up feeling very short of breath indeed.
Yes it really does - because you could be compromising your ability to train effectively. Getting rid of carbon dioxide is important because any build-up in your body will cause you to bind up.
The Faster Masters podcast for 1 September
In the paid membership subscription is a detailed article about Rhythmic Breathing. Marlene describes exactly where in the stroke you should breathe, how to use breathing to improve your rowing and what to do if you run out of air before your muscles become exhausted.
05:00 Would you race for fun? What is the appeal of racing and rowing?
11:30 The Goddess Coach
18:00 Socializing at the rowing club. We started the club and agree that NOT chatting in the boat is important. But when you are training at Category VI you should be able to talk while rowing.
22:00 Does it matter if training groups don't overlap and meet at the club. Every Tuesday night we have picnic dinners on the grass.
25:00 Macons. Because the surface area is smaller you get more slip in the stroke. They won't do te work for you. You have to enter and release very precisely.
28:00 Rowing technique changed with cleaver blades and rig changed too. Open water rowers may prefer macons
33:00 Breathing in the rowing stroke. Mark Novak suggests you inhale on exertion and exhale on the recovery. He's the physical therapist for the US national team. Focus your breathing on land. The main purpose of breathing is to blow out carbon dioxide. That will bind you up if it accumulates. Make breathing part of your rhythm.
39:30 Breathing can calm you down before the start of a race - Rebecca explains nose breathing.
Warming up for your training session can be enhanced with nose breathing.
47:00 Virtual regattas - are they appealing to you? Especially if they are on the erg.
53:00 Racing is about YOU - Your performance. Did you come away satisfied with your performance afterwards?
Rebecca and Marlene discuss conscious incompetence in the learning process,
Discuss Conscious incompetence on our Facebook page.
04:00 Conscious Incompetence in the boat. 4 development stages of learning as an adult - from unconscious incompetence through Conscious Incompetence and conscious competence to unconscious competence which is the goal.
09:30 It happens in your cerebellum - how you lean and the smooth co-ordinated movements of rowing depend on your brain to create new movement patterns.
15:00 Salt water versus fresh water 500m splits
17:50 Erg times compared to water times. Concept 2 times equate to a heavyweight mens 4-. RP3 and Rowperfect software equates these to water times. Generally it's hard to do so track them as two separate parallel times.
Marlene calculated WL1x water and erg times - she found a 15% difference with ergs faster.
24:00 Splashing in the boat -my 2x partner is getting me wet. Drills to do.
31:00 Rebecca explains why her boat is named Mental Floss
34:00 Ezz Eldin's question about what do you do to get up and go to training in the morning?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/595853370615544/permalink/1460715667462639/
Marlene and Rebecca discuss
- synchronising male / female masters crews
- solving a leftwards lean while sculling
- Buying a boat - particularly a single scull 1x
- FISA Masters Regatta
- Masters Nutrition Webinar from Rowing New Zealand
04:15 Synchronising male and female mixed crews - look if your oars are parallel; check catch and finish timings - clues you are not together. Easy things to adjust - foot stretchers, Hips level with the pin, practice timing drills to blend your strokes together.
12:40 What do you need to know or do before buying a boat
- Have you got storage space? The type of boat should suit your water and racing choices. Different pricing levels. The right size for your body weight. Comfort is key. Test drive as many as you can.
Find places to buy rowing boats at the Rowing Directory
19:00 Buying second hand rowing boats - how to get a 'deal'.
Know what you want, get an experienced person to look over the boat for you for repairs. Weigh the boat. Do the shoes fit? How worn are the fitments - gates, shoes, slides, bow ball?
27:00 Solving a leftwards lean in a single scull. Check your hand positions at crossover, sit square on the seat, are your elbows dropped? Get a functional movement assessment. Video yourself to see where you go off of center during the stroke cycle.
34:00 Squeaky oarlocks in a single scull. Clean them, check the inserts - consider olive oil as a lubricant.
Returning to rowing article - what to expect when you restart as a master.
Rigging for Masters webinar - what span/spread to use, oar lengths and inboards, download comparison charts
Getting into a single scull article - how to do it, what to watch out for, keeping stable.
nMarlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe discuss
02:20 Staying on your program during weird times. If you abandon your rowing training program the spiral down happens quickly. Keep your long term goals, and view rowing as a process.
07:00 Dealing with goose poo on your dock or pontoon - how to repel swans and ducks
10:50 Emergency stops - how to do them and how to avoid having to make them
14:30 Look around to avoid having to stop. Call out to other water users as a precaution.
18:00 Traffic patterns and circulation rules for your local water for public access.
23:00 Rowing with sweaty hands in hot weather
27:00 How to do a standing entry into a boat from the dock
34:00 Last week's exercise - feedback
The image is taken from a popular rowing 'fail' video on YouTube called 'St Ignatius Stop Rowing'.
Back after our holiday break, Marlene and Rebecca discuss this week's masters rowing news, We talk about Listener questions and the Fall Racing Season Program. Buy a question / answer https://fastermastersrowing.com/our-courses/
02:00 Ian Perkins asks I have recently been getting feedback that I’m opening my body early at the catch.
Check the muscle sequencing on the drive phase. Bring the handle with you as you initiate the drive. "Drive the knees away from the chest which is different from lifting the chest away from the knees."
06:00 The legs only rowing drill
10:00 Andres Carazo asks about Training for Head Races. What would be the best way to start the program should I wait til next Month to start, or should I just go ahead and start with the head race module mid-month?
15:00 Rowers versus Oarsmen article https://fastermastersrowing.com/oarsmen-versus-rowers/
Bend a Rowing movie by Daniel Pallotta. Watch the trailer https://vimeo.com/ondemand/bend
16:00 process-oriented athletes and goal oriented athletes. Has Covid thrown you off schedule?
19:00 get ANY race practice it will help you.
HOCR remote race announced https://www.hocr.org/remote-event-announcement/
22:00 Drills for the entry. practice sitting at the top of th slide and get comfortable there.
25:00 The "Catch" drill to help to bury the blade before initiating the drive.
Marlene and Rebecca discussed
Timestamps
03:00 Rethinking the Olympics - what’s the purpose of it? Striving to achieve the highest potential you can.
Dame Katherine Grainger on rethinking the Olympics
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VG3FAbAVWZsUIYKqBbFFn?si=efZQWup1TNa2sc8iRY1sLQ
07:50 The Economist asks if electronic sports should be included in the Olympics
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/06/27/why-the-next-olympics-should-include-fortnite
16:15 Volker Nolte on the Olympics
https://rowing.chat/volker-nolte/
21:00 Sculling to lose weight. Obviously this year it is not possible for sweep masters teams to get on the water. So I have taken up sculling, is three times a week sufficient for weight loss?
How many times a week were you sweep rowing? Number of calories you need for weight maintenance how to calculate for your body weight.
26:00 July’s Faster Masters program - technique module backing into the catch drill which builds on the erg suspension drill from last month. Performance module is Quick Boat Set Up for shared boats and the Bonus is a rigging challenge.
34:00 Elizabeth Bugert asked Does anyone know if you can connect a Garmin watch and Speedcoach on the same HR strap? If yes, which straps would you recommend?
Garmin Vivofit https://amzn.to/3i2wLKe
Garmin Foreunner 935 https://amzn.to/3idgYZc
NK Speed coach https://amzn.to/2Cz8efp
Garmin HRM Dual https://amzn.to/2CCyuWd
Wahoo https://amzn.to/38d84X7
Polar H10 https://amzn.to/2VAtGHR
Coxmate GPS https://www.coxmate.com.au/product/coxmate-gps-2/?v=8e3eb2c69a18
43:00 Katherine Gross started a discussion on the Masters Rowing International Facebook Group
What fun/creative/meaningful/random/perfect/legendary name did you give your shell?
Silicone wedding ring to wear while rowing
Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe discuss drills as part of rowing practice for masters rowers.
03:00 Silicone wedding ring
Silicone wedding rings
Men https://amzn.to/2V5tIqH
Women https://amzn.to/2YjEbRp
06:50 Carol Daley’s question I’d like to hear Marlene Royle, Rowing Coach discuss a little more in depth about inboard and its relationship to rigging.
Goal of rigging is to have a longer stroke / time in the water.
Effective stroke length incorporates physiological comfort.
16:00 changes in rigging should not create pain or aches 2-3 days after you make the change.
22:00 New to the 1x tip is get a good posture in the boat - get a correct placement and correct extraction of the oars. Get your own oars allows for customisation of rigging.
27:00 When to incorporate drills into your practice. The role of drills. Drills for crews are about blending timing and rhythm. Early in the session your attention is at a peak.
31:00 The push and pull drill.
Help Rowing Retailers Recover – We are building a giant sale page with a product from as many rowing businesses as we can. Send us your favourite product web link and we’ll get permission to add it to the page. #RowingSale
Blake Gourlay book - the Movement of Rowing
https://rowing.chat/sponsor/blake-gourlay-book/
GPS Speed orders
https://rowing.chat/sponsor/gps-speed-orders/
Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe answer your rowing questions. [Ask Me Anything].
We are building a giant sale page with a product from as many rowing businesses as we can. Send us your favourite product web link and we'll get permission to add it to the page. #RowingSale
03:16 AMA and please comment.
05:30 Should you vary racing starts by weather or boat type? Your start is 2% of your race in a 1k. So it's not very important in the big picture. Practice your starts square blade to check you are being effective and have clean transitions.
10:30 The Danish Women 4x in 1996 start sequence. Our job is to follow the stroke
15:24 The best race Marlene ever had in Aiken, South Carolina in a single. "I remember thinking tap out a fraction earlier for the first 20 strokes. Keep the wheel spinning."
17:20 If you have a peak race, go back 24 hours and identify what you did to set you up for that performance. You need to learn how to turn on / off your stimulation depending on what type of racer you are.
20:50 The concept of work through the pin. The arc of the handle and where the blade is set in the water. The time the blade as adequate force on it during the stroke cycle.
For your rigging - draw a line through your 2 pins and set your footstretcher so when you're at full compression the centre line of your hip are at least level with the line. Or slightly to the stern. You can work on the catch angle later.
30:30 What is VO2 and why do you need to row slow and fast to train it? Create the metabolic conditions in your muscle cells with training. Increase capillary density in your muscle cells.
When racing for masters you race multiple times a day. The person with the best recovery ability will win more races on the last day.
37:15 Will a blade move bow-ward over the course of the drive from the catch to the release? Yes just as the blade is entering and getting loaded up.
41:00 Rowing in salt water you are slower is this resistance training?
43:00 Rebecca's Stuck at Home Rowing Club t-shirt arrived. Thanks to @SquareBladesRowing https://squareblades.com/
45:00 Sculling tip for 1x if you are new to the single scull after lockdown - pausing at the finish drill. Check your handle heights and spoons are on the water. Also check your elbow position.
50:00 We can help rowing businesses recover from lockdown. Send us your favourite product's URL so we can build the giant #RowingSale page
53:00 For rowing in rough water should you stay long or shorten the slide - which works best?
56:00 Messages from listerners in Sweden, Oregon, Australia, Scotland
58:30 How do you stay light on the seat and remind yourself to do it? Use your glutes. The Drive Suspension Drill is part of the June 2020 technique lesson in the Faster Masters Rowing subscription programs https://fastermastersrowing.com/our-courses/
Marlene and Rebecca kick into a discussion on how to row on rough water.
This is one of the biggest challenges that new rowers face. It is hard because feeling unbalanced makes you tense up, shorten your stroke and feel anxious. All these things contribute you to having a WORSE experience of rowing in rough water.
Our top tip is to gain ONE technical skill which will help you overcome these challenges. When you can handle your oar blades successfully, the relaxation and lack of balance can both be improved with practice.
Every time you go rowing, you should practice this one technique so that when it is rough water, you are ready and skillful.
Image CREDIT: Ellen Braithwaite at Open Water Rowing Center in Sausalito. Photographer Stefan Benton
07:00 Tips for new 1x single scullers. The Crossover hand position. Nest your right hand knuckle under the heel of your left hand
13:00 Sculling in rough water. Feather higher - focus on the release of the stroke and move fluidly round to crossover hands position. Relaxation - an active lack of tension. Lower body - let your hips adjust the balance with the boat hull.
20:00 Greece junior world championships - the "Hurricane" regatta. Relax your neck and focus on quality in a drill to improve your skill.
25:00 Square blade rowing as training for rough water. 31:00 Good drills for square blade rowing. What to do if you have a mental block?
38:00 Align and activate your lats using your scapula. Marlene demonstrates how.
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