Are you getting back on the water after the winter freeze? Time for a quiet refresher course in bladework skills and ways to mitigate the “erg effects” on your boat technique.
Many people row somewhat differently on the indoor rowing machine. And the lack of water means we lose our skill handling the oars. Coach Carlos Dinares told me that he recalls being forced off the water in Bellingham, WA, USA by bad weather. After three days of indoor rowing the weather cleared and he was able to get back into his single scull. He was surprised at how sloppy his catch timing had become, after only a short time training indoors.
You will know that your fine motor skills get lost after a long time out of the boat and training on the erg.
Three drills to regain your skill:
Backsplash on entry
Wide grip rowing and sculling
Work around the rigger using the backstay (for sweep).
If you don’t know what these drills are, hit reply and ask.
Row well, no excuses
Newly back on the water you may find your ability to maintain good form is reduced. You’ll tire faster and the small muscles in your hands may be working harder than you’re used to.
It’s better to stop rowing and have a mental break, then re-start rather than struggle on trying, and failing, to row with good technique.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Three quick things
The New Zealand Legion of Rowers has coined the “orphan rower concept” – when you need people to fill your race crew, or you are looking for more races. They built a simple list where offers and wants can be viewed. Offers and List of available rowers . Could you copy this?
Masters conference – Saturday 23rd March 2024 for the virtual masters rowing conference – details below.
Have another great rowing week.
Rebecca
Our most recent podcast
Use rigging principles to get a longer stroke – really useful if you’re a bit shorter than others and a way to easily incorporate new masters into a more experienced crew. Click the image to watch.
Boathouse Chat for the Weekend
A long discussion about flipping an eight after a video was recorded of this happening during the Heineken Regatta on the Amstel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) over the weekend.
This morning, I accosted Chris on the pontoon at our club. He was bemoaning the slow split he gets in his single nowadays – he’s just gone up into a new age bracket and, naturally is comparing his 500m split times with his memory of faster speeds. I asked him
How long are your sculls?
Chris couldn’t remember.
I reminded him that he isn’t as young now as he once was, and with a wry smile, he went to find a tape measure.
Our society’s celebration of youth has an ugly flip side – we all pretend we’re younger than we are.
This is counter-productive in rowing because hauling away on a gearing which is too heavy for your strength is no fun.
Jennifer Durack’s photo of her oar dripping
For the past few episodes my podcast has been on a theme of rigging, setting up the boat and oar lengths / inboard measurements. I mention Volker Nolte’s rigging charts in which he suggests spans, oar lengths and inboard measurements for every boat class AND how to make changes for different oar manufacturers’ designs. Big spoons – no problem; soft shafts – no problem. He teaches both rigging fundamentals and how to refine and adjust your rig as you age.
His insight and advice is what Chris needs. Do you need to review your rig too, Reader?
Act your age, be kind to yourself and go measure your oar lengths; then watch Volker’s presentation and find your tape measure….
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?…
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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