Being an involved husband and father, I rarely spend more than an hour on the rowing machine per day. Forget rowing on the water all together, it takes to long to haul the boat out and wash it off after the row, let alone the friendly conversations with fellow rowers, time is of essence, especially now with the current economic crunch time.
Back to the headline of this blog. Whether you are 16 or 70 years young, you need to take into consideration that the body produces energy the same way. It is therefore no surprise that the training methods ought to be the same. The belief that "no pain, no gain" is right, is dead WRONG, whether you are 16 or 70.
For twenty years as an athlete and now for 6 years as coach, I can assure you that pain is NOT the secret to winning races. Ten times 500 meters all out, followed by two 2000 meter all out pieces, WILL NOT make you better or faster. This type of training will make you plateau and eventually make you physically sick and injured.
At age 16 rowers are impressionable and less likely to listen to the wisdom of elders. They follow what their coach tells them, which is more often than not: "more pain, more gain, or the other way around". If the junior rower is lucky, he or she will enjoy the benefit of the false positive improvement curve, which is a positive gain in stamina just because of the body maturing into adulthood.
With age comes wisdom, not always the case, but in my example odler means smarter. Knowing that you only have one body, long and steady becomes more enjoyable of a workout than the short hard intervals. Here is exactly the secret to attaining above normal stamina. Whether your name is Rob Waddell, Thomas Lange, Marnie McBean, or even me, there is one SURE WAY to gain without pain. Now, don't read me wrong, you have to do a ton of work, but you do not need to puke your lung out and hate life at the same time.
The above mentioned athletes all had one thing in common. We all did a lot of steady state training. Our stroke rate ranged between 18 and 22. We looked for torque at every stroke we took. We wrapped bungees around the boat and did specific weight lifting. We were lactate tested at our earlobes once to twice a month during our rows or cross training exercise. We did our hard workouts too, but they would only be four to six times a month!!!!! We avoided the overproduction of lactic acid and thus avoided acidosis.
What I write about is no secret. This type of information can be found on www.fact-canada.com or in Volker Nolte's book Rowing Faster. Using a lactate testing device is as simple as a glucose tester. Yes it involves a tiny bit of blood, but with latex gloves, paper towles and alcohol wipes it is really safe.
Do most of your training below 2mmol of lactic acid, and you will see your stamina improve.
For the skeptics: Some "successful" coaches may not believe in what I write above, but look carefully at what type of athletes they coach. Often you find genetic monsters, or the last rowers standing, making the boat, while others crumbled after the endless sickening workouts which made them swim in their own lactic acid, all while being screamed at by their coach and teammates to questioning their commitment to the sport.
Well, I can assure you that brawn alone will not win the races all the time, you need brain for that. The best brains may not be with the most durable bodies that can sustain 10 times 500 meters and the extra 2 times 2000 meter pieces ALL OUT. Rob, Thomas, Marnie, and I are proof of that.
If you want to learn more about some of the stuff that I coach, you might be interested in the latest DVD that I produced. It has me row the single scull (yes I made time) while I am hooked up to a wireless mic. While I scull, explain the different, muscles I use to control and glide with the boat. In addition I show technical drills for blade work and body preparation. There is a second part on the DVD that has me break down the rowing stroke on the rowing machine.
All the best,
XENO
Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.
