Rowingchat

Diary alignment is the hardest thing for masters to figure out. Three tips for you to try Timestamps 01:00 Regular practice in the same lineups helps you to get better faster. What NOT to do. Avoid agreeing crew lineups on the day in the boathouse - fix crews ahead of time so when they arrive they know who they are rowing with, the equipment to use - boat and oars. Prevent people from only rowing with their friends in the interest of community within the club. 02:30 A masters club that has a goal to grow, to add newcomers - it's more useful to mix up crews. When you're a newcomer it can be daunting seeing a large number of strangers. In a crew you can chat to people in your crew and get to know them. 03:30 Ideally set up groups Easy division into learn to row group, intermediate, advanced, racing and fitness groups. If you have a group each needs a co-ordinator/captain. Use software to help you. 1 - Software to manage your rowing club. 2 - Software to enable messaging. SMS is immediate and people notice it

The athlete pathway for masters is different from other groups. What can clubs and Federations do to enable masters to succeed by changing the structure of our sport. Timestamps 00:40 What is our goal for masters in rowing? Should masters be allowed to leave and rejoin the club? One of the differences compared to youth rowers is that we remain in the sport for a long time. Youth, school, Seniors all have a long term athlete plan for the pathway of their progress. Masters are not the same. Our goal may be to race and achieve high results - but it is not always. The long term development plan is very different. Some join for participation and to learn how to row; others are there all the time, training and racing. Others like the weekend rows and train for fitness, pleasure and friendship - they may also race but on a shorter term horizon leading up to an event. 04:30 Looping in and out of rowing Many masters remain in the sport for a long time. What is possible for you right now? Life stage is import

Top Crew Academy is a coaching service run by Sam Dutney. He explains the differences and how they apply to masters rowing. Timestamps Different modes of training methodology are polarised and pyramidal. Most of the time people use pyramidal so the training intensity distribution is like a pyramid. It has a large base of low intensity, a moderate amount of mid intensity and a small amount of high intensity. Polarised training skips the mid intensity and has 20% at high intensity. 02:00 Percentages are 60: 30: 10% for pyramidal. Rowing training has been pyramidal for a long time - since 1930s. Polarised became popular in mid 2000s and is based on a study done on elite cyclists in endurance sports. 04:45 is HIIT influencing this change? The benefits of polarised training link well to the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training. What drives the benefits are the high intensity training - the top levels are very similar - the top level training is at or near top efforts. A huge amount of rowing performance c

The Head of the Charles and all head races demand a good performance. How to find the ideal stroke rate for your crew. Timestamps 00:30 Do you have a question in your mind about whether you've got the correct stroke rate for race day. A story about a crew and an experienced coxswain - they had 2 races in one day. In the first race he drove them hard, with pushes, focus points and technique improvements. Before the second race the crew told the cox that they felt uncomfortable and hadn't enjoyed the race. They wanted to have a stroke rate that they called "long and strong". The cox disagreed with them, but he did what they wanted. What happened? In the second race, the crew was 20 seconds slower than in the first race. 02:30 Why did the crew go slower? They felt comfortable in the second race, they felt confident and that they had everything under control. In the first race the cox pushed them close to their limits. It did not feel nice, they felt close to their limits, they felt awkward, out of breath, not f

What to take, make a list:- kit, tools, food, comfort, medical. Timestamps 00:50 Regattas are busy times There is a lot going on and so it's easy to forget things. There are many distractions around you and some may affect your race outcome. 01:50 Write it down on a master checklist Start with packing the night before you leave. - 3 complete changes of clothing for racing. If you can afford it buy a singlet as well as a row suit in race strip club colours. I include underwear and in winter waterproof socks; wellington boots for the boat park when wet and muddy. Buy Waterproof socks https://fastermastersrowing.com/merch/ - List the things you do before you go on the water - rigging the boat, number, crew talk, take your fluids and food. - Write a timeline back from the start time of your event. Include time to adjust your boat (oarlock heights, foot stretcher positions, check oar length and inboard). Coxswains check your electronics and plug it in to test it. - Know what time you want to push off from the d

What is normal for you? What to expect when you track your normal waking heart rate. Timestamps 00:50 This is important as we age. It's a free way to track your physical wellbeing. I found out about it from Harry Mahon, the New Zealand rowing coach. Resting heart rate is important for masters because we are too good at "keeping going". Knowing how well you are is key to how you approach training and to give you confidence. 03:00 What is resting heart rate useful for? In the longer term it's an indicator of your fitness. The lower your resting heart rate the fitter you are. Heart rates are very individual - what's normal for you is not the same as mine. Your readiness to train today. Waking heart rates when tracked regularly show you what number is normal for you. After one week you will see your numbers and what's normal. The resting heart rate can show if you are incubating an illness - viral or bacterial. It shows up in your resting heart rate before you see symptoms. Before you get symptoms your heart is

Flexibility and mobility aide our rowing. What you can do to keep mobility will help your rowing and sculling. Timestamps 01:00 How can we stay mobile as we age? Two mornings after a big workout you wake up feeling stiff, tight and tense in your body. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) has kicked in. Your body does not feel like it normally does. 01:45 Why mobility is important for rowing Mobility and flexibility are words used interchangeably - but medically they have different meanings. Mobility - ability to move through the full range of motion. The rowing positions we want to be able to achieve. Sit at the finish with good poise, no slump in your lower back and pressure on your feet. Rock forwards with a pelvic tilt so your shoulders are sternwards of your hips. Roll up the slide to full compression with shins vertical, arms wide and is your body able to take the strain of the load from the oars in the water, Flexibility - ability to stretch your muscles, tendons and ligaments. IT is possible to be mob

Do you have a split to aim for during workouts? What to do if you don't hit your rowing 500m split and does this matter? Timestamps 01:00 Psychology of chasing 500m splits on the erg and on the water? Is it beneficial for masters rowing training. 03:45 Before rowing electronics the best way to find out your boat speed was to work on a measured marked distance on your river or lake. Repeating the distance and comparing boat speeds helped to work out your improvements. Splits are a useful tool The advent of splits enabled comparability between workouts and also use on the indoor rowing machine. Concept2 erg splits are comparable to heavyweight men 4- times on water. 05:30 Splits as a comparable tool but your split does NOT equal your training zone. The physiology of how coaches write programs to achieve key athlete outcomes. Training each physiological system helps you improve. As we age our base fitness is generally more sustained (we don't lose it fast). Our absolute strength declines with age and our abi

Getting the correct range of boat types and boat weights to suit your club group is important. What to look for, how to assess your fleet and plan for the future. Timestamps 01:00 Boats to suit athletes Review the stock of boats and equipment in your club and how they align with the needs of your athletes. We realised we needed to workout if our boat fleet matched the masters group needs. Assess the weight class of boat to the athlete weights in your group. 03:00 What weight class was your boat designed for? Look for the manufacturer's plate - often in the bow or the front of the stroke's foot well. It shows the design hull type, year of manufacture and the average weight of athlete it's designed for. Club asset registers list all the boats in the club ownership. We added the information about the boat design weight. 04:30 List all the boats in each boat class that you own (8, 4s, 2s and 1x) and classify them to the athlete weight they are designed for. Broadly we chose 3 categories - light weight boats (unde

London RC won the British Masters Championships Victor Ludorum prize in 2024. We talk to coach and captain James Sexton-Barrow about their approach to training, racing and organising their masters squad. Timestamps 01:00 The plan to win the trophy began with a tracking spreadsheet. 02:30 The common goal for masters at London Rowing Club - it's a very big club membership with 100-120 rowers. The vision to win the trophy started after the 2023 event. The rowing sub-committee set the goal in January. 05:00 There are many sub-groups within the masters membership with their own objectives. A kick-off meeting brought everyone together. The club's founding was about winning at Henley Royal Regatta. We can all do this and get our photo on the wall next year. 07:00 Challenges overcome We have a limit to number of boats and trailer space - the logistical challenge was addressed early. Also members expectations were managed as all fours had to also be quads to save trailer space. [The regatta does sweep one day and sc

Learn about what it's like to row in the Netherlands from the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation Chair, Seada van den Herik. Timestamps 01:00 Seada was an international rower prior to Atlanta 1996. She organised the Junior and U23 Championships in the Netherlands before moving into more administration leadership roles. 02:30 There are about 100 masters clubs in the Netherlands. The network is very strong from age 27 upwards including "mid-week" masters groups. There is also erg rowing and coastal masters groups. A solid, enthusiastic, self-organising group of masters. 04:00 The annual calendar. The Head of the River Amstel and the Heineken Regatta in Amsterdam both in March. There are other long distance races of 5-7km and some marathon rowing events. Recreational tours (20-30) happen each year. There are active mid week rowers who organise to row at each others' clubs too. 07:00 Innovations in masters rowing include collaborations with the German and Belgian federations co-ordinate joint "wander-rudern" touring

Meet Digger Barnes, he is on the Masters Rowing Commission for British Rowing. 01:00 Masters rowing clubs in UK - they tend to be run by masters rowers around the country. The opportunity for anybody to join and learn to row. Digger started at age 45. That's the really good thing about rowing. 03:15 Major regattas and events in Great Britain The British Masters Championships in May - has 2 categories - the masters age group or the intermediate event. The Henley Masters Regatta is in July - run in 2 lanes. Head racing in the winter includes the Vesta Veterans Head of the River in eights during March run on the Thames in London. 05:30 Innovations in masters rowing The connectivity between masters groups is changing since covid. Now the group is pre-planned lineups before going out rowing. All racing is done on points so there is no longer a 'novice' category. There is still age group racing and the points mean they select crews of similar points in separate races when enough enter. In head races the higher poi

Gwenda Stevens is the President of the Belgium Federation. We discuss masters rowing in Belgium, the clubs regattas and the new Masters National Championship event. Timestamps 00:45 Gwenda has been president for 12 years and she's also an umpire and masters rower. 02:30 Master rowing in Belgium isn't a big sport. There are 28 rowing clubs in the country - only a few have masters. Gent has hosted regattas regularly in April and May for many years. There has been a lack of entries recently. Until 2 years ago when changes happened. 04:45 The Federation added masters rowing to the national championships three years ago. They worked hard to ensure that there were enough entries. IN September 2023 there were a huge growth with 9 eights racing masters. The April regatta will now have a small boats champs (1x and 2-) and in September for big boats (4x, 4- and 8 as well as a mixed 8). 06:40 There is now a Belgian National Title on offer and Gwenda believes this has accelerated the change and growth in competitors. Th

Georg Gruetzner is the masters representative on the German Rowing Federation. Resource: Structure of masters rowing slides https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/systems-thinking-for-masters-rowing-1pptx/263741256?from_search=2 3 Value Bombs 1. Use the Block Racing format for masters regattas to enable boat sharing 2. Invest in masters learn to row pays dividends quickly (financial and participation) 3 Look to other countries for innovations e.g. combine university and masters rowers for a big regatta Timestamps 01:00 The Masters Officer in the Federation is responsible for the rules in Germany. There are many local groups who run masters events. 02:30 Masters are in many clubs. There are 55 clubs in Berlin alone - but it's variable from year to year. Some masters come to racing from touring rowing - exemplified by a Hamburg club. Most clubs have fine boat regatta rowing and also touring rowing boats. 05:00 Some touring regattas are very long like 100km down the River Rhine. There are four main events -

What's masters rowing like in Ireland? Gerry Murphy is Chair of the Masters Representative Committee for Rowing Ireland. A big increase in member registration has happened and masters are now 18% of total rowing registrations. Clubs see the benefit of having masters groups. There are many other regattas offering masters events - they will put in events entries secretaries are generally willing. Many heads of the river - Galway and Enniskillen - which include masters. Overseas guests are welcome in Ireland. Most clubs have some form of masters rowing group - including Skibbereen who started a group recently. Gerry's club, Neptune, started an adult learn to row class and most of the graduates are in the rowing leisure group - there are 70 members now. They do tours and exchanges with clubs in France and Portugal. Innovations in masters rowing. There is a coach education programme. Most clubs want masters because they see the benefits as they volunteer and grow the club. The 1k Classic (Carrick on Shann

Getting coached sometimes feels like being told you are wrong all the time. What can you do as an athlete to enable yourself to receive critiques and not feel vulnerable? Timestamps 01:00 Criticism is part of the learning process. Improving requires us to know what we are doing right, what we're doing less well and how to change. It is hard not to feel it's personal because it's directed at you. Separate the message from the emotion and the personality giving the feedback. Peer-to-peer coaching in the boat where you don't have a coach enables you to give and receive feedback in an environment where it's appropriately received and acted upon. 03:30 John Zarao [captain sabre fencing team 1984 Olympics] quote "Competitive sport is a cruel mistress. You are competing on merit, but you can have a gad day - like everyone else. You must listen (not if) to those who know what they're talking about." 04:30 A learning opportunity - constructive criticism Do I want to improve the way I row and scull? If the answer is y

You're preparing to race and are concerned you aren't rating high enough. Why rating matters. Two drills you can do to get the rate up. What prevents you getting the rate up? Resource: Practicing Racing Starts https://fastermastersrowing.com/practicing-racing-starts/ 3 Value Bombs 1 - Know your ideal mid race rate 2 - Precise bladework can always be improved 3 - Over-rate drill helps you get confident at high rates Timestamps 01:15 First you must know what your ideal race rate goal is for the main body of your race. Your training programme should have increasing race rates to help guide you closer to your race rate goal. 04:20 Be precise in your bladework practice. Can you get your oars in and out in perfect time with your crew mates? Increase the quality of precise practice. Have a clearly defined sequence of the rowing stroke cycle. Do these movements slowly and then test under pressure (rate, firm pressure). 10:30 Over-rating as a test Can you practice rating higher than your race pace rate? 11:00

Staying hydrated for training and racing can give you hidden benefits. It's very easy to become dehydrated and not realise. Performance improvements and recovery gains from hydration. Resource: Home Made Sport Drink Recipe (below in notes) 3 Value Bombs 1. Daily drink plan for hydration 2. Always use sport drinks while training for electrolyte and carbohydrate intake 3. Drinking caffeine can help on regatta day Timestamps What you are drinking and how to get fluids into your body. It's more than just drinking while training, off the water drinking matters too. 01:00 Daily Drink Plan. Start with a glass of water when you wake up in the morning. Every time you have a meal or snack, have another glass of water. Snacks might be mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Get into the habit of 2 litres of fluid a day - this includes any hot drink, shake or smoothie count too. Keep a record of your hydration - cricket notation makes it easy to see each 5 glasses of water you have. 02:30 Before during and after training ses

Ever since the 2007 movie, we've started bucket lists for everything. Now it's time for you to plan your rowing event bucket list. Timestamps 00:30 Things we are going to do in rowing before "kicking the bucket". The Faster Masters Rowing self-guided training plan to help get you fit, faster and the confidence you're doing the right thing in your training. How to train as we age - masters rowers are not the same as youth rowers. If you train three times a week minimum, this program may suit you. Get a free trial download masters rowing program https://fastermastersrowing.com/rowing-program/ 03:30 if you already have a program and. want to read the articles we write on topics of interest to masters rowers, buy the monthly Masters Rowing Magazine. 04:00 Famous rowing waters Bucket list rowing is about doing things that are special and have value to you. Andrew Turner suggested this episode. Row on famous waters - places which are renowned in the sport of rowing. Row on Olympic courses - Sydney, Munich, Paris, L

What's masters rowing like in the South Island of New Zealand? We meet South Island Rowing chairman, Peter Midgeley. Timestamps 00:30 South Island of New Zealand has an association who owns and runs the Twizel lake which includes a 2k rowing course. The NZ National Champs and NZ Secondary School champs (Maadi Cup) regatta are held there. The Cup was first raced in Egypt after the Second World War in Maadi, Cairo, Egypt. It was brought home by returning soldiers and is now presented to the fasters secondary school boys eight each year. 02:45 The Clubs in South Island NZ One club is only masters, most have a masters section. Many are small (20 rowers) half are recreational and half want to race. There's a year calendar which Peter sets. There are 5 major regattas a year and the masters have set events within those regattas. They use the handicap system which counts down additional seconds so everyone finishes at the same time - making a better spectacle for the crowds watching. Every second year the NZ Maste