What is a rowing mindset? Do you need one? And can it be trained? Timestamps 01:00 Rowing for life Welcome Jack Burns from Edge Rowing who has an interesting backstory. He enjoyed the process of learning to row rather than the external competitions and winning. His struggles were around injury and mindset. He learned the systems and tactics for mindset improvement in a systemised way. 03:45 What is performance mindset? Ability to handle external factors, to perform to the limit and ability to visualise what you want to achieve. Where is your attention going, how to handle distractions and nerves while dialling your focus to what really matters. The Edge Rowing business is about getting the edge. Bringing high performance focus to anyone. Jack wanted to say he had put everything he could into achieving his fullest potential. 08:00 Rebecca's 19 year old self also worked out how to focus. 09:45 Rowing gives transferrable skills for life. Jack's early rowing progress was based on his drive and his will. He got injured with a good mindset and a good trajectory. When he returned he had a bad mindset and was lying to himself about this. He trained inconsistently with poor focus. Jack now helps rowers shortcut the process of learning rowing mindset. 15:00 Why Edge Rowing is different The approach is to be athlete obsessed to deliver the best service possible. Row to the best version of yourself. Data analysis and tracking individually which is used to make changes to programs. The coaching mindset is for Edge Rowing to be so good that it could take someone to the Olympics. Attitude, motivation, understanding new concepts are all part of the athlete experience. Masters' ability to recover means we cannot do 12 sessions a week - physiology and balance is key. Each decade as you age through the sport of rowing is very different. Jack thinks recovery is overlooked as an aspect of performance. He believes rowing is behind the curve in the application of science to training. if the athlete doesn't succeed in the programme, it's the athlete's fault. But if the coach changes things and it doesn't work, the fault is laid at the coach's feet. 25:00 Riwing Mindset webinar April 23rd 2024 An early bird discount will be shared with members who receive the Faster Masters newsletter. Sign up here https://fastermastersrowing.com/newsletter/ It will help you find the process you need to focus on within your mindset. Get yourself a free self-assessment from Edge Rowing - you get a mark and it gives you a clue to whether you are rowing to the best version of yourself with a feedback report including what you need to improve. https://scorecard.edgerowing.com/ Racing is 90% in the brain - a lot of successful outcomes can be trained. Set up your rowing in a way that will suit you. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

I heard today that Jimmy Joy the legendary coach and founder of the Joy of Sculling conference died. Today's podcast is my reflections and memories of his work.

What changes are needed when doing big or small boats - length / inboard. Timestamps 01:00 It's all about gearing. How long are your oars and what is the ratio for the outboard to the inboard? Small boats versus large boats. You have to carry your share of the total mass of the hull, riggers and oars. In a single scull you are carrying around 14-17kg. As the boat gets bigger, you carry less mass because it's shared between more people. If you have a bigger boat - you can afford a heavier gearing on the oars. Coaches try to give each athlete a consistent load to move the boat so you don't have to work a lot harder in small boats compared to big boats. They adjust the rigging to make this broadly consistent. 03:00 So you should be able to rate a similar strokes per minute almost regardless of which boat type you are rowing in. Generally people rate higher in larger boats. 03:50 The span and spread affects the load. Last week we reviewed the arc through which the oar tip moves each stroke. You want a wider span on a smaller boat (single = 160 cm) but in a quad it may be tighter 159 cm. Sweep spread is measured from the mid point of the hull out to the pin and these will be wider for smaller boats. 05:15 The oar length You have to be strong enough to move the oar past the fulcum. A 1k race is around 100 strokes and you need to be able to deliver each stroke to a similar power. Sculling oar lengths - sculls will be set at a length of 287 - 288 cm long Sweep 370-374 cm. These rigs are what you expect for younger rowers.... and oars get passed around the club and the lengths aren't changed. 07:20 Jim Dreher invented the adjustable length oar - the story behind the invention. 10:00 Load on the body from the blade Masters are a hugely divergent age and strength group of athletes. Increase the load for younger masters, tailwinds and for beginners. Decrease the load for older athletes or it's a headwind. The more experienced are more dextrous and can cope with a higher load and can rate higher. You have to be able to put the oar in the water at the same speed the boat is moving past that part of water. 13:00 Rig your own boat to suit you How long are your oars and span/spread? How old are you, how fit are you? Rigging for Masters webinar - Volker Nolte has a detailed chart for oar lengths and span/spread for masters. He considers most masters to row on much too heavy a gearing. https://fastermastersrowing.com/rigging/ If you are older you probably want to decrease your load. When buying oars and sculls the spoon size and shaft weight / flexibility are different options you can choose, Cut an oar shaft in half - the internal diameter isn't spherical - there are more layers of carbon on the front and back edge. This gives more or less rigidity / flex to the oar shaft. The tensional stiffness in the shaft comes from the thicker carbon which is on the front / back of the shaft facing the direction of travel when the oar is square in the water. Buy the webinar and get Volker's oar and scull charts. https://fastermastersrowing.com/rigging/ Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

Ways to use your boat rig to get a longer arc for the oar. Simplifying why it works and some key principles. Timestamps 00:30 Rebecca's new shiny object is a wing rigger mounted gadget to mount a stroke coach and water bottle over your rigger. 01:45 Rigging a longer stroke Having the oar in the water longer (distance rather than time). Taking the tip of the blade through a greater distance each stroke. Use the principle of the lever to understand how rowing oars and sculls work to propel the boat. Inboard and Outboard ratio is important to understand. With longer levers you need a greater force on the handle to move the oar though the same arc in the same time. 03:45 Is longer better? As long as your athlete has the physical strength and power to move the oar through the water then you can use longer oars. There is a point of diminishing returns. The rowing sliding seat was invented to increase the arc through which the oar is rowed through. A longer slide gives a greater arc. 05:00 Does the athlete have the oar handling skills such that they can put the oar in the water at full reach at frontstops so you don't miss water? Missing water means you have a shorter stroke than you are capable of. Rigging a longer stroke is a good solution for someone who is less skilled in bladework. Suggest the athlete rows on a longer arc. - Shorten the inboard of the oar/scull - Move the footstretcher closer to the stern - So the catch angle is the same as other athletes - And they get a longer effective stroke when the oar is actually in the water A physically short athlete where you want them to have the same oar arc as other crew members. Shorten the inboard and adjust the outboard so their gearing is the same as the rest of the crew. 07:30 Rig Diagram This might be useful for you to try. Check the rigging diagram from Stephen Aitken - rowing angle changes presentation https://www.slideshare.net/rcaroe/rowinangle-changes-duetospanandinboardjan13 08:00 Study the arc through which the rower's arm and oar moves during the power phase. The solid line shows a reduced span (moving the pin closer to the side of the boat). Th length of arc is determined by the athlete's anthropometrics (leg and arm length) and torso (height). A formula to calculate typical arc lengths. 10:00 For small changes of span/inboard this is a useful assumption. Review the faulty logic - Only change one thing at a time (not always possible as one change affects other parameters) - Options of things you can change span, inboard, stretcher position, gap between handles at the finish for sculling. Which COULD you change to lengthen the stroke? 12:00 The conclusion that there's only one option that works Reducing inboard and span equally and adjusting footstretcher to keep the handle gap the same at the finish works with increases in all angles - catch and finish. Stephen recommends first reducing the inboard and then reduce the span equally. 13:15 Standardise rig across your boat fleet Keep oars the same - similar inboards for quad/double and adjust for single. For sweep adjust for eight/four/pair.

What rig should masters rowing boats and oars use? How can clubs set up their equipment to suit as wide a range of athletes as possible? Timestamps 00:45 I got a pair of mis-matched sculls and so I''m on a rant.... this is easy to improve. Comfort in the boat and ease of use are the most important for rigging club boats. All clubs should have standardised rig across the boat fleet. 02:00 Rigging basics Your rig enables you to move the boat in comfort - your torso and legs. Be able to sit comfortably at the boat in the finish. Look for your shins not hitting the deck, hold the oar so forearm at the same height as the oar shaft and at the catch that you can get your hips through the work - at least hips level with the face of the gate. [If you don't know what this is, buy our Sculling Intensive course and learn how to find work through the pin and ways to adjust to suit your needs.] 03:30 Oarlock height and forearm height are related It's important that your forearms are level with or above the shaft and the oar handle. Otherwise you cannot get weight into the hands as you press the handle down. 04:20 Standardise the boat rig Sculling spread of 159 or 160 cm; seat to heel measurement of 16-18 cm; oars /sculls 286 cm long and 87 cm inboard, maybe longer oars for men or younger athletes. Note the inboards are the same because men/women use the same boats. Sweep rigging span of 84 cm; seat to heel 16-18cm. Oars 370 - 373 cm long. Inboards standardise from 114 for an eight down to 117 for a pair. Put tape on the oars with measurements e.g. 370:114 so it's easy to see what the oar is supposed to be set at. 07:00 Enable quick adjustments for club members Height spacer washers - put one above and one below the oarlock/gate on every boat. So the oarlock sits at the midpoint above the oarlock to saxboard sill height. So you can easily see if the heights have been moved. 08:20 Shoes with adjustable sizes - we bought ours from Ankaa with velcro adjustment around the heels. Also home-made velcro instep straps for ladies to use larger shoes are cheap to make. 09:20 Spacer Placer tool - if you want the lanyard when you buy it, mention Faster Masters Rowing. Buy from Revolution Rowing https://www.revolutionrowing.com/collections/on-the-water/products/spacer-placer-tool 10:00 Oar designs for easy adjustment include Croker's clamp on the button to release and reset the position without needing a screwdriver and tools. Give your rowers autonomy so they can adjust the boat and oars to make them comfortable for their needs. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

I am using a daily monitor app to better understand my need for rowing rest and recovery. Timestamps 00:30 US Masters Rowing Camp April 2024 includes Rebecca as a coach. 02:30 March 2024 Masters rowing training programs by Faster Masters Rowing. Head race program includes a taper week. The 1k May and June program is for sprint racing. Imposter syndrome in rowing and how to cure it. McGill spine stabilisation big 3 exercises. Technique sequential versus concurrent stroke profiles. Get yourself a program including discount coupon. https://fastermastersrowing.com/join/ 06:00 Heart Rate Variability tracking This tracks the variation between heart beats and is is a good indicator of your state of rest and recovery. How ready are you to do a workout today? Masters often row on the same rig as they used when younger - clinging onto what we used to do rather than testing and re-measuring your physical state and strength. 09:30 I use HRV4Training app A daily one minute measure of Rebecca's recent measurements. This is very individual. Homeostasis - my body's reaction to stress and the autonomic nerve system to keep the body in balance. Read the blog post https://fastermastersrowing.com/heart-rate-variability-in-masters/ 11.00 HRV case study After getting a very low score and a red warning on HRV4Training I backed off my training. I was getting a virus - some was normal body stress, and some was post-training stress. It took 3 days before the HRV score came back to the normal range. A clear indication that the invisible virus had enabled me to recover quicker. 12:30 Medical conditions affect heart rate One community member had an ultra-low heart rate. Another member has "slightly haywire circuitry" in his heart and knows this affects his HRV measurements. The HRV measurements are taken by putting your forefinger over the camera light on your phone. It takes a week to get enough readings to set a benchmark. Full disclosure - Faster Masters Rowing is a brand ambassador for HRV4Training.com Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

How do masters club groups organise their priorities? Covering training, equipment, coaching, racing/trips/camps, finances - this is a must-listen to episode if you're frustrated by your club leadership. Timestamps 00:45 Managing your "champagne tastes on a beer budget". 01:00 The State of Masters Rowing 2023 report. The structure of our sport needs revision - learn to row classes are set to grow and that has implications on clubs. Download your copy https://fastermastersrowing.com/state-of-masters-rowing-survey-2023/ 03:15 What are the priorities for your masters rowing club? Rowing club strategy for masters includes operational requirements. Boats, equipment, oars, electronics and indoor rowing machines. List what you'd like to have access to and what you have now - a gap analysis. Equipment review - list all the boats available, its age and the athlete weight it's designed for. We found 3 types - women only (70kg), mixed crew weights (80kg), mens boats (90kg+). Also consider their state of repair - are they at the end of life? Which suit beginners (flat bottom boats, pontoon floats); which suit more experienced crews? 07:00 Training principles for masters rowing What are the workout priorities for your club? Do you race, do tours, coastal, fitness workouts and what times of day do people want to train? 09:00 Training for racing - ideas from James Dundon of 612 Endurance Rowing Club. A set of principles which members sign up for. Access to the building shared with other groups. Where can masters be flexible and give priority to other groups in the club. 11:00 Group needs. What would you like to do during a rowing year? Do you train harder before regattas when more people train together - could you get priority at that time? Each of the training group leaders or coaches can name their priorities (boats, club access times and regatta dates). Where is there overlap in desire between the groups? 14:30 Fund raising Masters are well-placed to support the whole club with fund raising. This can be part of the group needs discussion. The members were surveyed to ask for their perceived priorities. 18:00 The influence your first coach has on your rowing. Beginners get ideas about rowing from their first coach which they take into their intermediate rowing experience and which hold back advancement. When should you square the blade? The answer is 'it depends'. This is not satisfactory for intermediate athletes - let us explain why. https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/vip-day-focus-on-boat-skills/ Bonuses include a self-test assessment for benchmarking your rowing skills.

Different situations call for different turning methods. I bet there's at least one you haven't tried yet. Timestamps 00:45 Turning a boat sounds easy What is your goal when turning the boat? Where you are on the water now and where do you want to get to after the turn. Consider the local rules of the river / navigation. 03:00 Slide length - half slide or full slide rowing to turn the boat. Half the crew can row on bow/starboard and the others back down on strokeside/port. Consider the catch angle - the more acute it is the bow will turn faster. 04:15 Simultaneous or alternating strokes for your turning. If alternating ensure the other side is ready to start as soon as the other side has finished. In sculling, let your resting side follow the other hand out to the catch and then it's in the right place to take the next stroke. This make the turn faster - less delay between strokes. Important if there's a current pushing the boat. Invest in yourself Rowing VIP Day https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/vip-day-focus-on-boat-skills/ 10:45 A drag turn - around a large arc of a circle. One side holds water and the other side rows. A shorter arc drag turn - only use the stern athletes checking water - so the retarding force is in the stern of the boat. Then have the athletes rowing be only in the bows to tighten the turn. 12:20 Chop turn - sit stationary legs and arms straight. One side turns the blades upside down and you lift your handles up and down. The curvature of the blades will slowly start to turn the boat. 13:20 Use end pairs to turn. In an eight have 8&6 back down and 1&3 row on. The middle athletes hold the boat stable while those with the most leverage are rowing. 14:20 Use the current on a river - start to turn the bows into the current so it's in the stream, that force pushes the bows around when turning into the stream (to go with the stream after the turn). 15:50 Checking water The fastest way to stop a moving rowing boat - bury a feathered blade under the water. It quickly brakes and as the boat slows you can gradually square. This is an emergency stop method. If you try to check with a squared blade the speed of the water tends to push your oar out of the water. Using a feathered blade is my preferable method to check the boat. 17:30 Counter-feathering Place the tip of the oar onto the water, blade feathered (the wrong way up). When backing down you can either do this with the oar upside down or with the oar the right way around. There are different advantages. The counter-feather makes it easier to keep the boat balanced on the backing side of the boat. Allows you to keep the boat level while turning and helps guide spatial awareness of where your oar tip is in space (if it's touching the water, you know). 20:15 Turning coxed boats Turn the rudder in the direction of the turn. Get a good turn by starting the turn just as the crew finishes rowing. As they stop, think about your destination at the end of the turn. Easy at high balance - the boat runs on unchecked. You start to turn and then get the side of the boat on the inside of the turn to check it / hold water using the feathered water. This helps get about a third of the turn done before your crew starts backing. This shows your intent to other crews who are around you so they know what you're doing. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

Anne works with Henley Womens Regatta to guide international visiting crews towards all the resources they need. From accommodation to boat hire and how to understand the classifications and transportation - she is an amazing resource. Anne describes some of the Henley Royal Regatta lingo including challenging words like "Stewards" with hilarious effect.

Rowers and coaches dispute the benefits of making a backsplash when placing the oars into the water at the catch. Why? How can you find out which point of view is correct? Timestamps 00:30 Newsletter sign up is here https://fastermastersrowing.com/newsletter/ You get early notification of all our events, webinars and courses as well as articles, points of view and discussions. 02:00 Backsplash is the upthrowing of water as the oar goes in at the catch. Does it show great skill and bladework timing the placement. Or is it a brake on the forward movement of the boat. 02:45 Valery Kleshnev BioRow explains "When the blade changes direction at the catch, its velocity relative to the boat changes to zero." https://biorow.com/index.php?route=information%2Fnews%2Fnews&news_id=102&fbclid=IwAR3Jf83uzukQkjTmwt_aXbJV5r1STi1B2f8CBWdD8m07-eRSJhHjaLdz0-w A neutral entry into the water. 04:30 More or less backsplash? Backsplash is throwing water towards the bow. Forward splash is throwing water towards the stern. A "V-splash" is a bit of both. 05:15 What happens at the catch? Square before the oar goes in the water. When the seat stops to change direction is the perfect time for the oar to already be under the water. The oar handle moves upwards so the tip of the blade moves downwards towards the water. Hatchet oars have a straight line on the bottom - can you get that line an inch above the water surface? Are you bringing the blade down to the water at the catch so you aren't missing water? Do this first. The oar grips the water before it starts to power the stroke. The change of direction of the seat is the catch. After it goes in the water, how soon can you grip the water. 08:30 When to use backsplash It's a useful teaching aide to teach the blade coming down to the water. First, try to hit the water before your seat changes direction. Lift the handles earlier to do this. Learn where the water is relative to your blade(s) and is it symmetrical. Squaring too late will prevent you getting the timing point at the catch. Roll forward last quarter of the slide with the oars square. Have fewer things to do at the placement. Get more boat speed by working on the backsplash movement. You get the oar buried closer to full compression of the legs so miss less water. You may also find improved stability at the catch as both sides lift their hands simultaneously to create the backsplash. 14:30 How to teach backsplash Start with only half the crew rowing so the boat is stable. Row with square blades to make the catch more simple. Row looking at the oar tip to see how close to the water they can get the spoon before placement. Then row without looking at the oar. Review the handle height and identify a visual reference so they know they have to lift their hands up to that point in order to make the oar spoon go down towards the water. Move onto lifting handles earlier in the recovery from half to three quarter slide. This requires a good high balance as you do it square blades. Then teach backsplash as a timing point against the seat changing direction. Drills to teach the handle movement of the placement. 18:00 Slap Catches - do the recovery feathered - leave the oar feathered and lift the handle up as if putting the oar into the water just slapping the water with a feathered oar at the catch. Alternate with a normal stroke. Listen for the timing of the slap - bow and stroke side. Make it loud. The Piemenov Brothers did this in their pair. Try an exaggeration 10 strokes backsplash then 10 strokes without. It's very hard to do if the boat isn't level.

If you dread your indoor rower workouts, listen in. We have 5 things for you to try out which could make your ergs more enjoyable. Timestamps 00:30 In our training programme this month - 3 training plans to suit your racing, force curve video, how your body mass affects boat speed. We had a winner at the Virtual Head of the Hooch and personal best times of 3 seconds and 6 seconds from participants - the programs do work! 03:00 5 tips to make your ergs fun. Long endurance workouts can be daunting. 1 - Follow a programme Making up your workout on the day means you have no goal. Keep a record of your training so you can measure your gains and progress. 2 - Train with a group There is nothing worse than having to train alone. Even if you have to train in your garage, start the workout at the same time as your crew mates - it's an incentive to show up. And showing up is half the battle in forming an exercise habit. 3 - Reward yourself Feel good about what you have done. Choose something which you enjoy as a reward. 4 - Set short horizons While doing the workout choose a destination in the near future (5 minutes) so you can focus on one thing for that time. I choose technique items that will keep my form consistent. One minute is the lowest horizon. 5 - Distract yourself Listen to music while training - challenge not to look at the screen until the song is over. Shut your eyes and focus on the feel of the movement instead of looking. Listen to the flywheel - does it get louder as you move to the finish of the stroke? Have a visual cue for your catch - use tape or a straw marker. Change the units to watts from 500m splits. Use this to train yourself to row with consistent pressure. Use your force curve in the same way to train consistency. Training Camp with US Rowing in Chula Vista 1-4 April. Newsletter recipients will get information about it. I was incorrect that food and accommodation. These aren't included. My bad. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

Understand how your movements contribute to the power phase in the rowing and sculling stroke. Timestamps 00:30 There are many different ways to row - test for yourself. 01:15 Sequential rowing stroke Using the legs, back and arms in sequence one after the other. 02:00 Simultaneous rowing stroke Start the legs and back at the same time and then adding in the arms later. Blending the overlap between each body part happens in practice so that the power doesn't drop off between each body part. 03:40 Force curve alignment The sequential movement gives a longer time in the water and a longer duration of the power phase from catch to finish. Simultaneous gives a higher force curve because the power is higher, but it is a shorter curve because you cannot sustain the power as long as in the sequential. 04:55 Legs | Back | Arms Rowing is about the effective delivery of power and recruiting muscles into that endeavour. Legs - the first part of the movement is from your knee - you push the footplate away so only the shins and ankles move. Initiate the stroke with the legs. Before your legs are fully straight, activate the back. One of the most difficult things to teach is how to keep your legs pushing straight while the back swing begins. Letting the legs drift without adding to the boat speed is a waste of power. The arm draw is also affected as some forget to continue the back swing when they start the arms drawing. Many masters have a good leg drive and arm draw but the back can be neglected. 08:00 What proportion of the stroke is legs, back and arms? Based on my experience legs is 65% and back is 25-30% and arms 5-10%. 08:45 Test this for yourself In the boat or on the erg set up speed measurement using meters per second rather than 500m splits because it's more sensitive to boat speed changes. Row at firm pressure, low rate. Then stop using your arms and see how much the speed drops - then stop using the back and the arms (row legs only). Then do the reverse - do the pick drill and measure your speed as each body part is added into the stroke. This will show you how much of your stroke comes from each body part. Faster Masters teaches a drill how to improve your stroke. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

Get stronger by doing resistance work in the boat using a bungee. What's it useful for? How to set up your boat. Timestamps 02:00 Resistance training in rowing All masters rowers need this to keep up strength and bone density. We lose strength as we age. I You don't have to go into the gym. 03:45 Weights on the water give you specificity It aligns the weight training with the rowing action and movement. In the boat gearing helps you to not get over-loaded. 05:00 Why do resistance training? 06:45 Strength and conditioning includes work on core muscles Resistance training helps us to recruit more muscles into the rowing stroke. It's hard to learn the overlap between the legs - back - arms. Watching masters rowing, very few have an active back swing. Video of good rowing technique demonstrating legs - back - arms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv07y9mEO5M Compare this to a video of yourself. When you have a heavy load, figure out which muscles are working because they have to work harder. On the erg, increase the fan resistance to 10 and try it. 10:30 How to do resistance training in the boat. 1 - Lower the rate. Do this resistance work at low rates, moving slowly and thoughtfully to make yourself deliberate and check your movements while you do each stroke. I like rates 16-20 if you can manage. Otherwise rate 24 is good. 2 - Increase the resistance - in a crew boat get half the crew to sit out so you carry their mass while you row. Caution - you are carrying a large load build up gradually to doing this. Start with 20 strokes and then switch to the other half of the crew doing the work. Three sets of 20 is enough to begin with. Do 2-3 sessions of this before changing the number of strokes or repetitions (sets). Well-trained athletes can build up to 50 or 60 strokes and many more sets. 14:15 How to do the workout Do your warm up, then steady state for 10 minutes, 3 sets of power strokes, then paddle light or stop and have a rest. Then do another 10 minutes of steady state rowing, another 3 sets of power strokes and then warm down and end. To increase the amount of power strokes - increase the repetitions - increase the sets - reduce the amount of steady state 15:15 Other ways to increase the load in the boat You can also increase the gearing on your oars. Or you can add a bungee on the boat - under the hull to provide the resistance. This can be an elastic cord or a boat tie. 17:00 How to attach a bungee to your boat Take a boat tie and put under the hull so it reduces the smoothness of the boat hull. Attach it behind the rigger because when you row it could slip off if put sternwards of your rigger! increase the resistance by twisting the boat tie under the hull. You can also add a short section of garden hose - thread the boat tie through the hose. 19:30 The best part of resistance training The end of the workout - take it off the boat. Then row your last steady state work without a bungee - your learned pattern of movement from the resistance training gets put into your normal stroke nad that additional work from overcoming the resistance helps to make the boat go faster (check it on your app / speed coach). 21:00 The biggest impact is on your technique Using the recruited muscles and building into your stroke. Rowing slowly and deliberate movements really helps to improve your technique, especially at the catch. The slower hull boat speed means your placement into the water can be more accurate, once under the water you will also really feel the load. If you can slow the rate down to 16 - the boat is going through the water more slowly and the additional load at the catch placement helps you to feel what you're doing better. After taking the bungee off you continue to row with that level of skill in the final 10 minutes of rowing.

Compromises are needed sometimes in rowing. What happens to you and what can you do about them? How can you decide what to do? Timestamps 00:30 Happy new rowing year. What's in the January training program? 1k base preparation for those racing in April-June; 2k-5k Head racing in March; Crash-B program. CRASH-B Date change to Feb 4th from Mar 5th in prior years. This caused us to have to adjust the program to race day being 4 weeks earlier. 4 weeks of training you can't do. Land training to align with the training program; analysing force curves on the erg, the year in review, sleep monitoring and sculling right over left. Review our training programs https://fastermastersrowing.com/our-courses/ 04:30 Compromises in rowing We discussed among the coaches - this is not something we could influence or change. The race date is fixed. Review our planned workouts and the end goal for the last month and the taper week before the race. Review the test days planned and were these dates appropriate given the new race date. Review individual workouts especially race distance, higher intensity, race ratings. 07:30 The compromise we chose to make for CRASH-B training. 08:15 Athlete compromises Athlete availability is an area where you may need to compromise. Ways to keep continuity while supporting members who are absent. To boat a regular eight you need twelve people available. Use the extra people to build the next eight crew you want for the group. This creates club continuity - adaptable athletes who can row with anyone in the group. Everyone rows to the same base pattern. 10:30 Weather compromises Dealing with windy days - find a wind shadow if you can. Switching workout to cross training - on the erg you generally can do a straight switch. But if it's higher rate, go two points in rate lower on the erg. The loading is different on a fixed head rowing machine. Bike rides are a good substitute - for an equivalent training session for 1 hour on the water or erg is equivalent to 45 minutes of running or 90 minutes cycling. Get the same physiological benefit. 13:15 Race day compromises Who is your planned alternate? Someone who can slot in. In a series of crews - first 8, 2nd eight etc. What happens if someone goes ill or injured and who will move up from the next crew to take their place. Or some masters who will slot into youth crews at the last minute if someone isn't available. Key is don't let these things put you off your stride. 14:30 Race preparation compromises Some things are just too hard to do. In a short period a coach can train a crew to have a faster catch within the context of the existing planned workouts. But in 2 weeks you won't get a lot of base fitness gain. Choose your trade-offs carefully. You may just have to abandon a technical change if they athlete can't learn it fast enough before the race.

Moving up the skill ladder from beginner to intermediate and then advanced requires improved skill. These 9 drills are essential for you to master, and to revisit regularly. 01:00 The skills ladder - a helpful concept Execution to a high standard is the main difference between advanced scullers and beginners. 04:45 Nine Essential Rowing drills 1 - Legs Only - from the catch to legs straight. Watch for keeping shoulders sternward of the hips. Do it square blades for beginners and the most advanced single scullers. 2 - Legs and Back Only - keep the arms straight. Teaches the transition from leg drive to adding the back swing. This helps to recruit other muscles into the stroke power delivery. Variant - 10 strokes legs only, 10 strokes legs and back rowing. 3 - Wide Grip - sweep inside hand down the shaft; sculling hands on end of rubber grip or on the shaft. This increases the load in sculling to help to feel the grip connection at the catch - notice when the oars are in the water. Sweep it's useful to teach the outside / inside hand movements. Variant - progressively move hands back to normal grip. 4 - Inside Arm Only - sweep only. Use this to time feathering and to load up the leg drive at the catch. Variant - hold outside hand and put inside hand onto backstay. This teaches how to rotate around the gate. 5 - Quarter Slide Push - the start of the power phase (reverse pick drill). Use only the first quarter of the slide from the catch. Variant - do the the drill slowly and have inside hand hold the back of your seat to work out where the seat stops moving - that's the timing point to place the catch. The handles move faster than the seat on the recovery. 6 - No Handle Rowing - for the indoor rowing machine (dynamic is best for this drill). Put the handle down and roll up and down the slide - push in the power phase. This helps to teach the ratio and rhythm especially to athletes who rush the slide. They move in time with the machine. Pick up the handle and keep the legs working the same and later add in the arm draw. In a crew boat have half the crew sit the boat - push the handles away so the oars are parallel with the side of the boat. They must do it in time together. 7 - Left Hand Lead - get the sequence off the finish to the cross-over with the hands nested tightly together. Delay straightening the right hand, hold it against your chest as the left hand straightens. Teaches the left hand to move faster to the crossover so it can get in front of the right hand. Variation - do it with an intermediate position gradually reducing the right hand's waiting time. Check the body is leaning back in the finish position - no body movement during the drill. 8 - Single Strokes to Weight on the Feet - a pause point where you can get weight onto the soles of your feet. This position is important because it's where your body catch angle is set and is the point to deeply relax your legs during the recovery. It gives you feeling of moving with the boat. 9 - Double Quick Hands - move from the extraction at the finish to the arms away position twice as fast as normal. Then move to normal speed. It's a good way to follow on from the Left Hand Lead exercise. It develops the smoothness of the handle tap down and feather movement. Variant - make the double quick arms and body swing finishing it at weight on the feet. Another variant is to do double quick hands and then do a double slow slide. 24:45 Do these drills regularly - that's the important part. Your boat skills reduce when you have time out of the boat. Use these drills to re-familiarise yourself when you get back into the boat. Lose fine motor skills quickly and your catch placement timing is what you'll lose first after time out.

Upskill your technique with some self-coached drills. This week we focus on your hand holding the handle - fingers flat on the recovery. 00:30 The open palm drill helps with getting improved skill handling the oars and sculls in the boat is key to improving your boat comfort. It sorts out your grip and handle placement on the recovery. 01:46 What is the drill for It teaches how to have a loose grip on the recovery and also to have the weight of the oar in your hand so you can control the handle for correct feathering. Also, via the fulcrum you control the tip of the blade. This is a semi-advanced drill - not for beginners. 02:45 How to do it Take the oar out of the water at the finish, feather and extend your arms and at that point straighten your fingers so the oar handle rests under your palm (where the palm and fingers meet). Have a straight line from knuckle, wrist and elbow. Put downwards pressure on the handle without gripping it. Then rock forward and move through the recovery, bend your knees and roll up the slide. When you get to the position where you would normally square your blade, wrap your fingers around the handle and roll the blade square. And you’re ready to take the catch. Row a normal power phase, then repeat the open palm recovery. 04:30 Teaching the drill Start stationary - practice while sitting in the boat - arms straight and open fingers and wrap them back around the handle. Develop a sense of the amount of downward pressure needed to keep the handle at the same height and how to use the motion of wrapping the fingers around and squaring simultaneously. Check exactly where athletes are holding the handle on their palm. When wrapping the fingers - make it smooth and lead the wrapping movement into the squaring movement. You have done it correctly when the blade is square the your knuckle/wrist/elbow are in a straight line. 06:00 How to use the drill Row ten strokes of open palm rowing alternate with 10 strokes normal rowing. Can you stay in rhythm, all square together and stay in time on the recovery while opening the fingers without losing control of the oar? Good to use in warm up or during a steady paddle workout. 07:30 Errors Too nervous to actually straighten fingers and get to a flat palm position. Give the athlete confidence by practicing alone in a stable boat. Rushing to straighten the fingers. Define one point when everyone has the palm flat - slow this down so the crew aligns timing and has correct movements. Oar handle in the correct place on the palm. Tapped down the blade extraction on the handle to clear the water at the finish and maintain that same height through the recovery. Squaring completed in a single smooth movement. Square at the same time in the crew and start squaring early enough so it’s fully complete before you reach front stops. Consistent press down so the depth is identical through the crew on every stroke. Can the athlete recognise the feeling of weight in the palm of the hand and how to use this feeling to control the oar during the recovery? 10:00 Advanced drill variations - Check the athletes keep pressure on during the drill - so boat speed stays the same while doing the drill. - Alternate strokes - open palm and normal hand grip. Particularly good for sweep practice. - Sweep rowing - open palm only with inside hand. Or open palm only with outside hand. - Pauses - at half slide with open palms. - Pause at one quarter slide with open palms and add a double press-down on the handle. To practice feeling the control in the handle height, then roll forward to complete the recovery, square and place the catch. - Alternate square blades and feather with open palm. - Open palm at high rates and/or at firm pressure. - Incorporate open palm as part of a pause drill - try saying the words “roll and slide” using the word association of sliding your seat and rolling fingers to make the squaring action. Define where you start the squaring movement to reinforce the movement.

Often the first rowing drill taught, but so often executed poorly and without care. This is one of the best drills to teach how to recruit more muscles into your stroke. Learn how to teach it, what it does for your boat and errors to watch out for. Timestamps 01:00 The arms and body drill - how to set up the boat from the finish, get run on the boat and recruit more muscles. Sitting in the finish position - shoulders behind your hips, leaning backwards and feet pressed flat into the shoes. Row with your arms square blades with your arms only - straighten, then bend them keep your body and legs still. Then move to a second position - adding a body swing forwards after the arms are fully straight - place the oar into the water, swing back and then bend your arms to complete the stroke. The familiarity of the drill makes us less careful in the execution. 02:30 What is the arms and body drill for? It's to teach sequencing. Release the oar from the water at the end of the power phase, how to enable the arms to lead the recovery with the body following on. Also - how to make a square blade extraction - correct hight of blade handle at the finish - weight in the hand to control the handle as you extract - it leads into learning timing for feathering. 03:40 How to use this drill - key coaching points Timing of the finish release and moving onto the recovery. Getting the oar out of the. water depends on doing it before the handle reaches the body and before you lose contact with the footstretcher. Try varying your finish extraction point by 1cm, 2 cm with loose shoe laces to find when you lose pressure on your feet to find the timing point for your finish extraction. Getting a strong finish If the oar isn't continuously accelerated through the power phase it becomes harder to get the oar out of the water. Doing the drill with good pressure helps the oar come out easily. In sweep you can add more power with your inside hand due to the rotation of the oar around the pin. Getting the body position correct after extraction Ensure shoulders are behind the hips and the swing back is inline with your crew mates. Keep the body position still while extracting the blade and straightening the arm is important - I call it "separation" 09:30 How to teach the drill Start by getting the static positions correct - the finish blade squared and buried under the water - move to hands away position - then rock to body over - and then place the blade in the water for the point of entry. Understand the handle height when the oar is under the water. If you can place the oar under the water at the point of full reach forward you can sharpen the catch timing and use your hands to anticipate the moment of change of direction. 11:30 Errors to watch out for Sloppy body positions - swing back and forward, arms straight before swing forwards (or simultaneous)? Blade height above the water on the recovery - does it stay at the same height above the water until the catch? Handle height at the water entry point - check alignment with the back of the person in front of you (or the stern canvas). Feathering too early - trying to feather underwater or feathering the oar out of the water rather than having a square blade extraction. Check weight in the hand to press handle downwards and that there's enough power behind the blade. Masters often compromise their back swing - it should add to the boat speed. 15:45 Advanced versions of this drill Add a backspash when the oar enters the water - handle rising ahead of the change of direction. Timing the release with improved downward pressure on the handle (1cm / 2cm earlier) Wide grip on the handles (sculling slide hands down the shaft; sweep inside hand slide down the shaft) do you get a different feeling of control? Do at firm pressure and add in more people so the boat goes faster - how does this affect release timing and placement?

What's the drill for? How to use it to improve your skills and errors to watch out for. 01:00 Drills and Skills We do them for crew alignment, blade handling, technique, isolating part of the stroke or exaggerating part of the stroke to amplify its effect. 01:30 The reverse pick drill This starts at the catch - sitting at full compression. Start with a very short stroke (2 inches of the slide). Some like to start with a blade placement before this stage. - Tapping and placement - 2 inches stroke (5 cm) - from catch to 3/4 slide [using one quarter of the slide] - from catch to 1/2 slide - from catch to 1/4 slide - legs only rowing [note different from normal rowing] - legs and body [straight arms] - normal rowing including arms 04:45 what's the drill for? 1) Placing the blade before the leg drive begins. Some people assume the blade placement and leg drive are simultaneous. They are not. These are sequential movements - on the recovery your hands move upwards so the blade goes down towards the water while still moving forwards on the slide. 2) Get the correct sequencing off the catch - legs initiate the drive and back/arms follow. 06:00 How to use this drill The effect of this drill is to make a longer stroke if the blade is placed more rapidly and closer to full compression on the legs (so you miss less water). It helps to align the leg drive of the crew. Coaches - view your crew from 45 degrees from the stern to watch their knees rising and falling through the stroke cycle. When to coach an individual versus whole crew https://fastermastersrowing.com/focus-on-whole-crew-or-an-individual/ 08:15 How to teach the reverse pick drill You need to slow it right down and if possible in a stable environment with half the crew sitting out. So others can use square blades. Rehearse each of the static positions slowly with the boat stationary. They must all know these first - start at the catch (blade square and buried); move to 2 inches from the catch; one quarter from the catch; half slide from the catch; three quarters slide from the catch; legs only. Straight arm rowing and finally adding the arms so you end the drill at the finish position with the blade still buried under the water. Rehearse each several times. 10:30 Start to do the drill at the catch placement into the water with raising and lowering the blade in and out of the water. Watch for shoulder shrugs and folks using a back swing to place the blade rather than the arms lifting moving alone. Move onto 2 inches on the slide. Show the athletes how to push on the foot stretcher to initiate the drive phase. Emphasise the hips driving backwards and the body angle doesn't change. 11:30 Many people find it difficult to separate the leg drive from the body swing. Watch for chins lifting if this happens. 12:15 Best not to do more than 10 strokes at each position. It's a lot of load on the body. Inflexible athletes will find it hard. Article on easy setup for comfort in the boat. https://fastermastersrowing.com/adapting-rowing-rigging-for-masters-physiology/ Join in the rest of the crew progressively so that the people who have done the drill are are focused on their catch and leg driven power phase - as the boat moves faster, they will find it more challenging to get the same feeling of placement and "grip" on the water before it moved. They can anticipate the catch and adjust their timing to keep the feeling of load. 15:00 Repeat the drill three times during an outing. Teaching it on the land first using an erg can be helpful as you can get up close and position an athlete's body. How to get the athlete to learn the leg drive using hips first. 16:00 Errors to watch out for - Using the shoulders lifting to place the blade - The slide doesn't move the same distance from the catch as the handle does - Drive before placement - Wait at the catch before placing the blade 18:30 This drill benefits from frequent practice. Maybe use it in your warm up or on the erg.

We need to map an athlete pathway for masters. All other parts of rowing have this as it guides federations, funding, coach resources and competition. Why don't masters have a pathway? Timestamps: 01:00 Rebecca's advocacy work to get masters taken seriously, our needs to be noted. Speaking out on behalf of masters as the fastest-growing part of the rowing community. Would people who run the sport and set policy acknowledge the needs of masters? We are not the same as youth rowers - what's right for them is not right for us. 02:30 A pathway for masters This is one aspect of big-picture policy setting for masters. Pathways guide policy for sport and I hope this will enable masters to be part of the overall plan for sport in your club / region / country. 04:00 Systems thinking is a framework we can use to find answers for masters needs A call for a working group to create the pathway and change our sport to become masters-friendly. Link to Rebecca's slides for download https://www.slideshare.net/rcaroe/sys... 06:00 Systems Thinking for Masters Rowing speech The situation in 2019 - what is broken in masters rowing? The Frustrations of Masters Rowers article. 08:45 How masters come to the sport and how the sport of rowing organises around masters - clubs and federations' roles. What is needed for "Rowing For Life"? 10:15 Four things that help us to solve the problems faced by masters rowers. A list of solutions already in place to help masters overcome the frustrations listed earlier. Three of the 9 solutions are: - Too few masters regattas - Ignorance of rigging - Reducing friction in club administration 15:15 The Athlete Pathway for masters As it is now - starting with learn to row. The learning journey is not smooth and needs to include intermediate stages where athletes masters parts of what's needed to race well in competition. It's rare for someone to jump up these levels. 16:45 A Masters Pathway proposal Includes 2-5 years of racing with people whose learning is equivalent to yours. Masters train fewer times a week compared to young athletes and so it takes us longer to acquire the same level of skill and capability at the end of a novice year. Federations should acknowledge this as a status - providing credibility. Clubs need to continue learn to row classes. Regattas should offer racing in these classifications. Hyper-local events are needed for this group of new masters learning to race. 19:45 Without Masters diversity fails. Diversity and inclusion fails if it doesn't also include anti-agist work for masters. 20:45 Get the free advocacy articles for yourself or your club. https://fastermastersrowing.com/advocacy Please invite Rebecca to speak to your group and hear this presentation.

Buying rowing training programs online - making your decision. Timestamps 01:00 A customer writes ""I have presented the options to our club & pushed heavily for the program. There are some very vocal people who feel like there are robust free training plans online Some suggest we reuse our plan from 6 years ago and that would suffice for our purposes. It’s more of an uphill battle than I expected. The next step is for people to submit their own recommendations for our committee to consider. Once that’s done, we will put it to a vote. People are just very largely against paying for a plan and think that we have enough talented, intelligent people on our team to put something together that’ll be good enough. We are a recreationally competitive club with no real desire to progress beyond that." Is this a situation that looks familiar to you? 02:00 Our challenges are often similar but local situations have nuance. - A committee that makes decisions - Vocal people in the group - Perceptions about what will "do the job" of a programme. 03:00 any free rowing program MUST be written for masters. If you're athletic, and well-trained, aged 40 or less You will have no problem using free online programs written for 2k racing. Men and women cannot do the same program because our physiology changes through the decades. Try a sample of the Faster Masters Rowing programs sign up free here https://fastermastersrowing.com/rowing-program 05:00 When buying a training program, speak to the person who has written it - ask about their experience training masters. Do they have a good understanding of masters physiology? The diversity of people from beginners through returning rowers. How to deal with adult novices, rigging adjustments, general adaptations for masters to row in comfort? 06:30 Broken Oars Podcast reviewed online training programs including Faster Masters Rowing. The review is from the point of view of any athlete. This is what they said about Faster Masters programs. 07:00 "This program for 4 weeks ticks a lot of good boxes". Your Guide to Purchasing Rowing Coaching Good reasons to spend money on a specific program for 1k racing. This program takes you there quite quickly - it has one week of training (specific preparation with a taper week). You get 7 days of training which you repeat each week and then move into the taper week before the regatta. As you get closer to the race, you need to practice distance in meters, not minutes of workout. This workout is focused on 500m, 750m and 250m workouts aligned with learning the race distance within one workout. This is a GOOD Training program for one thousand meters, I found it hard to get my training right for this distance. 11:30 Feedback we gave to Rebecca Caroe - the price could be increased to include a consultation - or to buy a consult on its own to get individual coaching suited for yourself. Buy coaching from Faster Masters Rowing - buy time and expertise in the technique review service. http://fastermastersrowing.com/our-courses/ 13:00 The full Faster Masters program offering is currently US$39 per month [2023]; it also includes gym strength and conditioning training as well as 4 articles on technique, peak performance, rowing lifestyle and a bonus. Coaches can buy these programs in a Word doc format so you can edit them and adjust to your own situation. https://fastermastersrowing.com/coach/ Our offer is 100% refund if within 14 days you aren't fully satisfied. Keep the program as our gift for you. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192