Winter Conditioning 2010-2011
Program Synopsis and Tentative Workout Schedule
Crew is the single most physically demanding sport, requiring a combination of the explosive strength found in sprinting or football, and the cardiovascular endurance of cross country or soccer. For any given sport, a rower is more likely to contain more lactic acid in their muscles after a strenuous race than any other athlete. Unfortunately this means that one cannot simply target white or red muscle fiber with just long distance running or weight lifting like in many other sports. Below, I’ve listed a few tentative 2 hour workouts for a young, high school rower preparing for a spring, sprint season with some explanation. This is subject to change: as the rowers progress, the team’s weaknesses are noted and targeted for improvement.
Strength Training Day:
Depending on the number of rowing machines available and the number of rowers, rowers will rotate between rowing and strength training workouts.
15 min – stretch
>> both to prevent injury and build flexibility, I encourage rowers to stretch before practice, and on off days. Target the legs first and foremost, chest, and shoulders. Hamstring flexibility is very important, as well as twisting the shoulders and chest to the right, or left, without moving the hips. I will also teach the rowers how to safely stretch their backs.
30 min – 500 meter split workout
>> the key to rowing is finding and maintaining a low 500m split time, or the time it takes to row 500 meters. Boys will most likely be rowing more than a 2:00 split time and girls a 2:20 at the start of the winter conditioning. They will row on an ergometer (“erg”), or rowing machine, 500 meters, rest for 60 seconds, and repeat the process 4 times to row a total of 2000m, a standard spring regatta distance. They will be given a split to maintain for the 4 sections to complete the “piece.” This workout will be key to lowering the split time for all rowers. The stroke rate goal by the end of the season will be in the neighborhood of 30 strokes per second. Boys will row around a 1:50 split, and girls a 2:10. By the end of the conditioning season, rowers will be tested individually over a 2000m distance on a weekly basis.
10-15 min – break
>>hydration is important especially in the winter. Athletes have a tendency not to drink as much water in the winter, as they sweat less. A high level of hydration must be maintained, however, even if the athlete isn’t as thirsty.
30 min – Strength training circuit
>>the core of both the boy’s and girl’s strength training will consist of calisthenics, isometrics, and plyometrics. Calisthenics are exercise like push-ups and sit-ups, which use the force of gravity, the weight of the body, and the effort of maintaining a position to target not only a specific muscle, but to engage an entire group of muscles to perform a specified motioning with control and precision. This is exactly the task of moving an oar through the water. Isometrics are exercises like wall-sits, where one must hold a position or exert a force without moving. This builds up red muscle fiber and improves an athlete’s ability to handle lactic acid. This type of exercise is also one of the safest. Lastly, plyometrics are used to actualize a muscle’s full explosive power potential. One example is a ‘squat jump’, where the athlete slowly bends the knees, shoulder width apart and with the back straight, to a squatting position, jumps as high as they can and lands with knees bent, all with absolute control and balance. The exercises and repetitions will change from day to day, and between boys and girls, but will include the following:
- Push ups and variants of
- Sit ups and variants of
- Squats and Squat Jumps
- Wall sits and seated squats (squats which begin from a seated position at the end of a chair)
- Static and Walking Lunges
- Leg lifts
15 min – miscellaneous
>>previous exercises may run long, time to use to work on rowing technique on the ergs, time to watch film of college or international rowers, time to talk about the physics of rowing, team building, extra time to steady state on the ergs, time for a jog, or any other uses for maximum flexibility
15 min – cool down/stretching
>>continued hydration and stretching
Endurance Training Day
15 min – stretch
30 min – continuous rowing or “build ups”
>>The rowers will eventually be asked to row up to 40 minutes at a time, at a steady 500 m split time between 2:10 and 2:40 at a stroke rating around 24 strokes per minute. These are referred to as “steady state” pieces. This builds endurance, and solidifies the feeling of the stroke into muscle memory as well as finding perfect timing with the other rowers. This is also a type of workout done on the water. 100m sprinters will commonly run 400m legs in their workouts. College rowers will steady state row for more than an hour at a time. What are commonly referred to as erging marathons, older rowers will often put a movie on and start erging. Build ups are similar, where the stroke rating will change over the course of the 30 minutes, ranging between 18 strokes per minute through 28 strokes per minute at varying time intervals.
10-15 min – break
30 min – long distance running/stadiums
>>building endurance requires varying the types of muscles and motions involved in a cardiovascular workout. If rowers were to erg, and only erg, then their cardiovascular potential would plateau sooner than an athlete who varies their excercies. Also, the rowers will be asked to stay together, in their groups of 8 and coxswain. This will demonstrate that their pace is dependent entirely upon their weakest link in a way that cannot be done on an erg, and that working as a team will require pushing and depending upon one another.
15 min – miscellaneous
15 min – cool down/stretching
