Rowingchat

Learn how to back down a rowing boat. Timestamps 00:45 Struggling to learn how to back the boat Blades up or blades down when backing? Different countries do this differently - UK is blades down and NZ is blades up. Blades down rationale - the oar spoon is curved and you want the curve to grip the water and push it backwards. Blades up rationale - the oar has pitch on it from the oarlock tilts the blade - this makes the oar go the wrong way and may cause the oar to dive into the water. My personal view is don’t turn your blades upside down (they are angled and the diving (being sucked down) you experienced is because the pitch / angle of the spoon is designed for the oar the right way up (not upside down). It's simpler to leave the oar blades up - because it's always the same whether rowing normally or backing. 04:00 How to learn backing down Two videos you can use to learn shared lower down. 1 - Start by sitting legs straight and arms straight with oars square and under the water surface. Scullers ensure yo

If your knees don't bend more than 90 degrees, what can you do? Ways to get more reach in the stroke if you have knee limitations. Timestamps 00:45 A 70 year old with osteoarthritis in both knees asks how to get more reach. Recognise where your comfort zone is where you are capable of pushing your limits. As you roll forward into the catch your ankles, pelvis and lower body also need to bend. You can do a functional movement assessment to understand your mobility in those other joints - and whether they can be made more flexible using sports massage, stretching or osteopathy. Functional Movement Assessment - free - https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/functional-movement-assessment/ 03:00 3 ways to get more compression The ideal is to get shins vertical at the catch with your heels lifted, back leaning forwards so your shoulders are sternward of your hips. 1 - Measure the shoe to seat height - typically it would be 15-16 cm for a woman of your height. Increase this to over 17cm by lowering the s

Rowing a quad, four or an eight? To get good speed and rhythm, you must have good finishes. Timestamps 00:45 Finishes for big boats You row them differently than small boats. Finish together - all the oars come out of the water at the same time. Is everyone exactly in time? If not, look at what people are doing with the handle - what happens in the water is directly affected by what is happening on the handle. Some athletes may be dragging their handles downwards to take the oars out of the water. Big boats move fast and this is one of the reasons why big boats are rowed differently than small boats. If you take the pressure off the tip of the spoon early the mound of water in front of the blade and the pocket behind the blade start to equalise. The water quickly starts to equalise in height and you may feel it's harder to get the oar out of the water. Keep pressure on the face of the blade is key to enabling a smooth extraction. 03:30 Dragging the blade Signs you may be dragging at the blade end - if the bo

3 weather data points you need to know in advance whether you can row the next day. Timestamps 00:45 Rowing is weather-dependent Mostly we want to know in advance and apps are useful. What should you be looking out for? Easy choices are - will it be sunny or raining? However the really important data is wind speed and wind direction for the time you plan on going rowing. Also consider air temperature / water temperature plus tide if you row on a tidal waterway. 02:30 Sailing apps are useful WindFinder and WindGuru both track wind (designed for sailing). They layer information such as a map graph animated to show wind movements over time. Wind Direction Where I row if the wind is coming from the East and is above 10 knots speed we can get on the water. This direction blows straight onto our pontoon. Finding the wind shadow on our lake can enable us to row when winds are higher. Wind Speed The limits for us are about 12 knots for big boats, less for singles and doubles/pairs. The WindFinder app shows gusting

Why I'm not finished yet seeking to improve my rowing technique. Timestamps 00:45 There is no stroke I've ever taken which is perfect yet why do I keep trying? My rowing started as a student in a bank tub, a tub pair and then a clinker eight. One of my first videos showed that I lunged at the catch - this fault has stayed with me ever since! I revert and then correct many times. 03:00 The importance of drills Taught me ways to separate each part of the stroke or exaggerate the movements - so I learned to separate different body parts moving. 04:00 Sculling - a new challenge Starting to scull I began to learn how to make the boat glide. I could see why people choose rowing because it felt so good. The learning journey is a series of steps - I had jumped ahead and then couldn't regain that feeling. I needed to go back and fill in the gaps in my learning so that I could consistently make the movements. Single sculling taught me how to recruit more muscles - how each part contributes to the rowing stroke. Notab

Why rowers push the handles down at the catch causing the blade to sky - and how to fix it. Timestamps 01:00 Roger Watts told me "oars are still creating hazards to low flying seagulls as the right hand pushes forward and down at the catch...." Skying describes the position of the spoon of the oar relative to the water. As you get close to full slide the oar rises high above the water surface - this is called skying. It's about efficiency - can your oars enter the water when you are at full compression? This gives maximal stroke length. The longer your oars are above the water, your slide comes to full compression and then starts to move back - this means you have less leg drive to use because your knees are no longer at their highest point. 03:00 Causes of skying If on the recovery - the bottom edge of your blade clips the water rowers tend to push their hands down towards their legs. Squaring the blade causes skying if they push the handle down when rolling it square. If you carry the oars close to the wate

How to use your glutes in rowing. Timestamps 00:45 Are your glutes activating? David Frost (webinar speaker - Functional Movement for over 60s) said Are your glutes 'along for the ride'? https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/functional-strength-and-movement/ Are your glutes working - how do you know if they are working? Watch video of yourself rowing - check your legs are pressing down flat and your arms draw. But can you see your back swing? Are you starting leaning forward and do your shoulders move dynamically? Activating the back swing uses the glutes. They are the hinge that connects your legs to your back. 02:30 Legs initiate the drive The power phase starts with your legs and when you get to a point where your legs are very nearly straight, you should be beginning your back swing. If it's passive and isn't accelerating the oar through the water (if the water mound in front of the spoon reduces) you aren't using your back enough to go faster than the boat is currently going through the water.

How London Rowing Club strategised to win at the British Masters Rowing Championships for the second year in a row. 01:00 James Sexton-Barrow is Captain of London Rowing Club he is talking about their Victor Ludorum Trophy win - they won more points than anyone else at the championship regatta. It is more special as the whole club got involved. 02:00 Mindset approach Masters groups can change a lot from one year to the next. We went straight into planning the next year's racing after the regatta in 2024. We needed to be better athletes and performing at a higher level than the prior year. Two other clubs had more entries than we did this year - we got more medals showing that the standard of performance was higher. We won 8s and 4s which got more points as big boats. 04:00 From participation to performance The club was very proud of our achievement - this became a driving force for the impetus to keep going and to improve, bringing in more participants to train regularly. 05:00 Coaching and training plan T

Discover how to adjust your blade parallels when rowing in a mixed crew to get the oar arcs as similar as possible. Timestamps 01:00 Goal is to align the blade arc Set up the boat for a comfortable row - ideally with all the oars moving through the same angles. Know the dimensions of the athletes - how tall are you relative to your wingspan (fingertip to fingertip). 04:00 We do not have to be rigged identically in the boat. Start with the basics - ensure your set up in the boat is good. Start with getting the finishes parallel. Set up your back seat wheel to the same distance behind the face of the work. 58-62 cm is a normal range in sweep. In sculling, it's done by getting the gap between your handles the same at the finish. This assumes you are using oars / sculls which are the same length and inboard. 05:30 Rules for adjusting 1 - Equipment - foot stretchers can be moved easily; can also adjust shoe height to compromise the seat rolling forward (make full compression shorter). Check catch and finish ang

How to make swapping easier, the differences, visible signs of what goes wrong and drills to help you swap sides and codes. Timestamps 00:45 Switching sweep and sculling Masters frequently get asked to swap - first couple of times you are clumsy and have lost fine motor skills. Differences are about oar handling, movements up and down the boat and round the rigger. 01:30 List of differences Sweep - grip on recovery, feathering, hands away (outside hand), body rotation towards the rigger, hand height at catch, elbow position at finish. Sculling - grip on recovery, thumbs, left hand lead, nested hands, Left hand getting higher at catch, elbow position at finish. 02:50 Visible signs of what goes wrong Get videoed or ask the person sitting behind you to tell you what they can see. Sweep - feathering with both hands, holding on too tight with the inside hand, both arms straight, leaning away from rigger, outside elbow flares sideways, inside shoulder higher than outside shoulder. Causes of the main issues - get

Discover how to overcome your natural biology to resist movement pattern changes in rowing technique. Timestamps 01:00 A coach was frustrated his athletes forget from one workout to the next. The cause is not necessary wilful, it's not your coaching skill - it's biology. We are hard wired to keep to the muscle memory we already have. Rowing Muscle Memory and neural pathways The solution is multiple repetitions of a drill during an outing is important. Your brain prioritises familiar patterns when under stress. Automaticity means we revert back under pressure. - Insufficient repetitions is the solution. The challenge here is inconsistent reinforcement - if you can self-coach this can help. Understand what the coach is teaching - ask questions. Provide drills to the athlete to isolate or exaggerate the movement you are teaching. Increase stroke rate or the power through the water to test your skill under pressure. Cognitive overload leads to frustration The solution here is to practice both thinki

How to streamline your workouts in order to maximise your time on the water. Learn how be a good student and arrive prepared for your workout. Timestamps 00:45 What's it like arriving at your boathouse? Imagine parking your car and walking through the front door, what's the signage like, is it clean and orderly? Is the lineup clear? Is the coach boat ready? What about cox box and life jackets? What do you need to do before you can get safely onto the water each practice? Masters are often time-poor and busy people. Anything we can do to streamline the necessary tasks means more time on the water for your workout. 02:15 The night before Get prepared early - get out all your clothing, gear. Know your departure time from home and list all the things you have to do before leaving. What's the weather report - does this affect traffic? What's on the training program? Who is in your crew lineup and which boat/oars are you using? Have your rowing electronics, gloves, cap, rain jacket ready and your post-workout cloth

Get better at extracting the oar without being splashy and frantic. And why your elbow position is of critical importance. Timestamps 00:45 Finishes for sweep The goal is to get the oar out of the water in a smooth movement and as efficiently as possible. Start with the correct set up at the finish. Your handle end should be in line with the side of your rib cage. Check the position with our outside hand pointing to the stern and across your side body. (see video). Check your handle height when the oar is squared and buried under the water. Ideally your outside hand should be on your lower ribs. Check your elbow position - the outside arm elbow should be pointing backwards towards the person behind you. You do not want your elbow flared out to the side over the gunwale of the boat. Because the most efficient way to pull on the handle is at 90 degrees to the handle. with your elbow flared sideways this is inefficient in terms of the ergonomics of how much forece you can put onto the handle. 03:45 Drills for f

How to coach the finish so that your finishes are not frantic, splashy or messy. Timestamps 00:45 Finding room to tap down before squaring. Start with the correct set-up at the finish with blades buried. Where are your handles? What's the gap between your hands? This is how you ensure you have room to tap down. If your handles are too close together at the finish, you cannot get out of separation and there's no space to push the handles down without them hitting each other. 02:45 Check your elbows are level with your wrist (or higher) at the finish when the oars are buried under the water. It's hard to tap down if your wrist is cocked and your elbow is lower than your wrist. 03:15 Drills for finishes Stationary stability drill stage two has a tap down and then feather. Learn how to do this whole crew without anyone holding the boat level for you. Videos of all these drills are in the Coach Mastermind Group as a joining bonus. Get yours here https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/coach-mastermind/ Pa

How to train in the week before the regatta race. Timestamps 00:40 A taper is a reduction in training volume so you're ready to race on the regatta day. You should feel you are super-energetic, enthusiastic, you should feel ready for anything. You should find your adrenaline is up in anticipation for the event - this can also be due to nerves. When we train it puts our bodies under stress. The taper removes those stresses. 01:50 How to tapers work? In rowing we have one or two big events in the year - winter long distance and summer sprint racing. You can do more than one sprint peak in the year, remember after every peak you have to rest, reduce training volume as a reset before you go back into hard training again. The taper reduces volume, frequency and intensity of your training. Generally it starts one week before your event, if you're at a multi-day regatta, choose the day of your main event race as the peak day. Count back one week from that event. Depending on your normal training frequency, the taper

The policy leadership masters sport needs if it is to grow. What can public policy measures do to improve and grow masters rowing? Timestamps 01:00 Public policy for rowing Sophie Harrington is researching recommendations to improve access to womens and girls sport using public policy measures. Her focus on the male/female side opened up masters sport as a new area where sport for life outcomes could work. To grow masters sport requires finding the inhibitors which exist and prevent improvement. Some are structural - how we organise, think and run volunteer sport. 03:00 Growth inhibitors Ways to improve access and people's enthusiasm and interest in masters sport. Constraints include memberships - many clubs are annual fees/dues. Can we offer pay-to-play memberships? Also what about time of day pricing as our rowing equipment lies idle for 22 hours a day. Training at quieter times of day between early mornings and school afternoon sport times. Sweat your assets to get more money in for use when no

How to improve your rowing using self-diagnosis coaching and progressive drills. Timestamps 00:45 A powerful coaching tool for both coaches and athletes. Masters rowers like autonomy. Enabling the athlete to work things out for themselves facilitates mastery in a self-directed environment. The change is more likely to stick. Canada research by Derrik Motz, University of Ottawa on athlete coach relationship Coaching Masters Athletes – Advancing Research & Practice in Adult Sport https://fastermastersrowing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MOTZ-Faster-Masters_Rowing_webinar.pdf If you don't have regular coaching, this is a tool to try. 02:00 Start with a model of good rowing This has to have common understanding across your group. The rowing stroke cycle diagram is a good place to start. Where your rowing goes wrong - an example of a boat going "wonky" which was caused by the athletes stamping hard on the foot stretcher. 04:00 Progressive movements Start by working out when you do not have the problem. In thi

Masters rowing is about rowing with adaptations. Timestamps: 00:45 Grant Faulkner quote: The speed the clock moves forwards and the things it takes away. Masters learn to enjoy age and the things we have to adjust for our rowing. 01:45 Recognising when you need to make the next adaptation Nobody told me it was going to be like this! Strength and Mobility are the main things you will notice first. Strength diminishes differently between men and women 50s versus 60s. Your 60s is a 'hold steady' decade. Read article. Use the Facebook group to post questions and get answers from people who have the same issues. https://www.facebook.com/groups/595853370615544/ 04:00 Mobility and aging Range of movement in joints is important - pelvic mobility in the hips to get into the rowing stroke positions. Flexibility is also key. Programs Page "FREE STUFF" How to test your functional movement and strengthening exercises. https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/functional-movement-assessment/ David Frost's w

Slowing down makes you faster in the future. What is rowing circles good for? Timestamps 00.30 Rowing in Circles I know I could make a lot of progress if I could just practice my stroke over and over. Yes, this is the purpose of rowing in circles. Get the intense, focused practice in a stable environment. 01:30 One person rows at a time in sweep; in sculling you row one side at a time. Often done in small boats so that the effect is all about what you're doing - the boat movement isn't muffled by what others are doing. It gives direct feedback and a strong learning outcome. 02:15 What is rowing circles good for? Level bladework - are your oars going into the water at the correct depth in the power phase and are they staying at the correct height above the water in the recovery phase. If you row "over the barrel" this is good. Catch placement - how to time lifting the handle so your blade goes into the water when your seat is just arriving at the change of direction at full compression? Get the oar under the

Why thinking like a scientist will fix the voice in your head and harness it to coach yourself in a rowing boat. 00:30 Positive self-talk coaching When you row you are thinking about what you do - it's the voice in your head. The devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. Masters work best when thinking about one thing at a time. Create the outcome you want with different ways of saying it - how will you do it, when will you do it. 02:30 4 competency stages - unconscious incompetence - conscious incompetence - conscious competence - unconscious competence When you no longer need to use your brain to think about one technical point, you free up your mind to think about other things. Acquire the skill, learn it and put it into the background in your mind so you can do the skill without thinking about it. The voice in your head is working hard. 04:30 Objectivity is key The voice in your head can be devilish. It talks subjectively to you which can make a negative spiral of thoughts which do not help you to