How to balance a single scull
Rebecca and Marlene discuss
– The difference between exercising and training
– Keeping balanced as a single sculler
Timestamps to the show
01:00 Welcome. Marlene was teaching at the US Rowing Convention on Training for Life. She covered the effects of ageing on your rowing practice and keeping consistent training.
07:00 There’s a new Royle Row website http://roylerow.com/ it includes a link to the Newsletter archive in the footer.
09:00 Exercising versus Training. What’s the difference?
Training does not go inside exercise. You can do WOTD and that’s exercise. But it has no relation to what you did last week and your plan for tomorrow.
11:00 Training – there is a goal.
When you are training there’s a system. Each session contributes to the period of training. The Faster 5 sits under the training umbrella. We do the thinking for you. Train effectively. Challenging but do-able is our goal.
18:00 How to stay balanced as a single sculler.
Balance and stability matter.
Balance is the narrow width of the hull. Stability is a wider platform – keeping the riggers level. You have to know where your body weight is and stay symmetrical.
How are you sitting on your seat? How much weight is on the footstretchers? Is your head neutral, back or forwards?
Train your stability in single scull
Sit at the release, blades square – weight over the handles. Do the tapping drill.
Level riggers equal a balanced hull.
22:30 Stability is within your control.
Your hands keep a downward pressure on the handles while the oars are out of the water. Staying stable takes your core and your handle height consciousness. Left hand to the stern of the right hand.
Faster 5 Bladework ebook (on our website). Watch videos of Thomas Lange sculling in rough water.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/faster-five/
28:30 Keep steady in the body – equals being quiet.
Adjust on the handle. This skill enables us to row with oars off the water. on the recovery
32:30 Staying emotionally balanced in the 1x. This is “type 2 fun” – you do it and afterwards it feels great. But you’re afraid beforehand.
Mix it up with a crew boat sometimes to build confidence in your skills as this is more stable.
Be clear what your focus is – what you’re working on. Train in 1x but also in a group as a pack single sculls outing.
Go to a camp and join other rowers for fun, especially if you train alone.
42:00 Personal body maintenance. Rebecca went to her osteopath for a “loosener” body massage and realignment before the holidays.
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Additional Resources
- Rowing balance versus stability
- Functional Movement assessment
- How to row in rough water
- Balance exercises for rowing
