Blog de Puree » Rowing

Great video on correct rowing form

paul — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:53:13 +0000

Rowing, by it’s very nature, is a smooth, rhythmic movement. When coaching novices and other rowers, I often tell them to picture sea grass that sways back and forth with the ebb and flow of the water’s currents. The grass moves in unison, is relaxing to watch and it bends at the same place every time with minimal movement.

While the human body is more complex when it rows, the same concepts apply. Rowing champ Xeno Muller blogged about an instructional video that breaks down the correct rowing movement in all its stages. What’s cool about it, is that it is all done with a simple stick figure so that you can focus on what’s important. Here is a link to the original three + minute video on YouTube

For any rower who rows sweep style, I highly recommend giving this a couple viewings.

Marshaling rowers at the 2007 Festival Regatta

paul — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:29:29 +0000

This past Saturday was the 27th Annual Festival Regatta, hosted by my rowing club, the Merrimack River Rowing Association.

As a club member, my role this year was to drive one of the marshaling launches just upriver from the starting line. The regatta marshal and I zipped around our neck of the river coordinating the rowers and boats for each heat or final, got them lined up “above” the starting line, then escorted them down to the referees at the starting line.

Overall, the job was not too taxing, but for the sun beating down on us all day and the usual confusion of getting junior eights and junior fours untangled and in their correct lanes. The older masters singles were also slightly annoying as they tended to wanted to jump the gun and be at the start line early, at times getting in the way of other races. We had to lovingly swat them away as if they were water striders and send them packing a few hundred meters upriver to wait to be called for their race.

In the morning, the masters rowed 1,000 meter sprints. The start line was just downriver from the Bourke Bridge, so it was relatively easy to get the shells and skulls lined up using the arches from the bridge. Lining the boats up for the 2,000 meter races in the afternoon was more of a challenge because of a persistent wind at that section of the river and there were no lanes marked off. But by using the two star line buoys and getting the boats aligned and pointed to particular arches at the bridge, we were able to get everyone sorted out.

The races themselves were great to watch. Anyone who has been to both head races and sprint races will tell you that the sprints are more exciting, because rowers are competing side by side in designated lanes. As a spectator, you can watch the action unfold in front of you. Head races, on the other hand, have timed starts and it’s difficult to see how boats are faring against each other.

The weather cooperated all day and the regatta was a great success. For more information on the Festival Regatta and the Merrimack River Rowing Club, click here.

Great Olympic singles rowing video online

paul — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:02:52 +0000

Rowing champ Xeno Muller posted an exciting seven minute video of his 2000 Olympic single scull race on his blog yesterday.

Regardless of his finish (2nd place), the video highlights the great technique used by world class rowers. Pay particular attention to how the body, arms and legs all finish together at the end of the drive or how the arms and back finish very soon after the legs. Also notice that the rowers do not lean way back to cause the bow to submerge at then end of each stroke. Awesome technique!

It was also fantastic to see New Zealand’s Rob Waddell during the last 500 meters of the race. At this point, most rowers are pretty smoked. Many will tell you that this is where you start to get tunnel vision because you’re exerting yourself so much. But Rob, never looses a beat, keeps a high stroke rating and you can visibly see him upping the power with each stroke. Within 30 strokes, he surges an entire boat length ahead of Xeno. I won’t discuss race strategy here, but this is why I always train by trying to increase the stroke rating and power at the end of my training pieces as well. Although it didn’t work for him this time, Xeno is also known for his super-fast, powerful race finishes.

The best part is that Xeno proves that you don’t have to be over six feet tall to be a world class rower. Like me, he’s shorter than most scullers and has a powerful, compact stroke. Unlike me, he’s a world class rower. But there’s still hope!

Winter training shifts into overdrive before the rowing season starts

paul — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:52:18 +0000

I’ve rested on my laurels this winter and it shows. I’ve got a slight pooch in my belly and there’s this new double chin on my face. My family says the belly-fat is my layer of love—from being happily married, which I certainly can’t deny, especially with Randye’s cooking. And the double chin is apparently genetic.

Well, I love all my relations, married and blood…but not on my watch! I can’t and I won’t accept not being able to button my pants or the top-most button of my shirts. As my drill sergeant during basic training often said, “That’s the wrong answer!”

Now I have been getting to the gym this winter. Life hasn’t been all Doritos, desserts and laying around watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. Just not enough. And not with any regularity. With the rowing season soon to start in about one to two months, depending on the weather and the river levels, it’s time to get off my arse.

This week, I’ve combined weight workouts with erg training. Three days of my prescribed weight training using tips and workouts from the Men’s Health “Book of Muscle” and three days of erg training, shifting from the usual long distance pieces to sprint-race training with shorter pieces at higher stroke ratings.

Now if I can just motivate myself to get up early enough every morning, or learn to say “enough is enough” and leave work on time, I should have plenty of time to train. But, damn, that 06:00 alarm comes awfully early. And it’s only going to get worse once the rowing season is in swing.

Rowing champ Xeno Muller helps the troops

paul — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:07:22 +0000

Olympic rowing medalist Xeno Muller is reaching out to offer veteran’s benefits at his Iron Oarsman rowing studio in Costa Mesa, Calif. As he explained on his blog, he wants to make veterans’ situations better, whether they are completely healthy or disabled.

He writes:

My idea is to open the IRON OARSMAN every Friday from 4pm-7pm for people who serve and have served in the armed forces. The workouts are sponsored by me as long as I have an indoor rowing studio.

As you know rowing is good for all ages with or without disabilities. I need your help to get this information out.

I thanked Xeno on his blog and think this is an honorable act. If there are any veterans in his neck of the woods, who have an interest in rowing or complete body fitness through the sport of indoor rowing, I hope they take advantage of his offer.

I was also pleased to read that he is offering it to active service members as well as those who’ve served in the past. I’ve been to many gyms that offer discounts and perks to active-duty or active reserve personnel only, and it’s insulting to those of us who’ve served in the past and even have disabilities. It’s like telling someone that their past military service doesn’t count any more.

As General Douglas MacArthur put so succinctly, “Old soldier’s never die, they just fade away.”

Thanks for remembering us, Xeno!

MOKAI – An alternative to the rowing coach’s traditional launch

paul — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:15:41 +0000

When I was a collegiate rower, I remember lugging my coach’s heavy launch with a deep keel from the boathouse to the dock. The coach had to watch how fast he was going so that he didn’t create a wake that interfered with the rowers boats. My senior year, we upgraded to a flat-bottom boat, which seemed to create a shallower wakeand was more fun to ride over waves with.

A year after I graduated, when coaching for a community rowing program at Boston University one summer, I saw what was billed as wakeless coaching launches on the Charles River. Harvard and MIT coaches zipped around on double-hulled, outrigger launches that sat on two long pontoons, like a catamaran. The stern of the pontoons extended past the launch’s engine, thus subduing the majority of the boat’s wake. I thought that was the ultimate launch, until now.

Xeno Muller, Olympic rowing medalist and indoor rowing expert blogged about purchasing a MOKAI, a jet powered kayak that is lightweight, comes with wheels for carrying and is great for kayaking, fishing, hunting, exploring—and coaching—in coastal and inland waterways. The MOKAI is constructed from a high-impact polyethylene plastic and judging from the pictures, gives off little wake at slow speeds. It seems like a great lightweight craft for rowing coaches who need a mobile alternative to the traditional launch.

Here’s a photo of the Mokai, from Xeno Muller’s Web site.

The jury is still out on how effective it is, so I’ll keep a weather eye for another post from Xeno.

An inauspicious end to Paul’s 2006 rowing season

paul — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 01:22:10 +0000

This past Sunday was the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, MA, sponsored by my rowing club, the Merrimack River Rowing Association. It was also the one race all season where I raced against other lightweight rowers (165 pounds or less) and didn’t have to worry about getting smoked by heavyweight masters scullers.

But I didn’t do as well as I would have hoped. Not well at all. To start, the weather was awful–a cold, windy, rainy day. As my club was running the race, I spent the morning focused on my race duties as the ramp master. It was my job to direct all boat traffic coming on and off the dock. And when I tell you that trying to get over 200 eights, fours, doubles and singles on and off the water in 3 hours time is a recipe for chaos, that hardly begins to explain the moments of absolute confusion and frustration. But despite the log-jams, everyone made their race and I think a good time was had by all–as much as can be had rowing in driving wind and rain among small, white-capped waves that broke over the bows and sterns of many boats, and caused many an oarsman to catch the dreaded crab.

My race was at 1:15 p.m. On the upside, the course was shortened by approximately three-quarters of a mile because of low water. But it was no help to me. During the row to the start line, I felt good, my technique was right on and the tail-wind kept the waves down on the river. I was just in time for the start of my race and as I crossed the start line, that’s when things took a turn for the worse.

About a minute into the race, the fact that I didn’t hydrate enough that morning caught up with me as my legs started to cramp and I became unusually winded early in a race. About five minutes in, another lightweight single passed me. I maintained my focus, however, and avoided the usual mind-f$%#@ that often happens when you get passed, killing your race-psyche. I continued to row “my race.”

I soon came out of the first major bend in the course, a bit less than a mile in, and was hit by a stiff headwind and waves that grabbed at the blades of my oars during the recovery. From that point on, it was a battle to maintain balance, keep my blades off the heavy chop on the water, push the boat through the wind and row through the nasty cramp that plagued my quadriceps.

To top it off, as I passed the dock and the boathouse over two miles into the race, I caught a crab in front of all the spectators and rowers congregated there. My starboard oar was dragged completely parallel with boat, nearly throwing me into the drink. And there was Randye screaming her head off from the boathouse balcony. (I later found out that she had no idea that what happened was bad until a woman from the club standing next to her said, “Oh, that’s not good,” aloud and explained to Randye what happened.) At this point, I was thoroughly angry. Angry at myself for lack of preparation, my cramping, the weather and water conditions, and this heinous crab that easily cost me about 45 seconds to a minute.

A double-power ten got me back on track and then I noticed that the rowers who were far behind during the race were now off to starboard and closing fast. For the final leg of the race, about 700 meters, I caught two more crabs and rowed consecutive power tens to keep the other rowers behind me, trying to make up for a dismal, miserable performance. Oh, and did I mention that I was completely sucking wind at this point. I was wild-eyed, continually looking over my right should to make sure I was on course, fighting a new cramp in my left forearm and struggling to just finish the race.

In the end, I crossed the finish line with a time of 22:15.7, coming in last place (Sixth out of six). Hardly the performance I was hoping for. However, the second I crossed that line, I vowed to take two weeks to rest my body and begin a hardcore winter conditioning program for strength, endurance, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. My first milestone will be the CRASH-B Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston after the new year. Then I’ll be looking ahead to the spring/summer sprint race season. I’ve got a decent physical base to work off of now, and another season like this fall’s is not an option. See you in the gym…

Another drubbing on the water and it’s back to the gym

paul — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:58:47 +0000

Another unsuccessful regatta this past weekend at the Meredith Bay Regatta.

The negatives were that I came in 11th out of 13 rowers in the Masters Single event and again, my butt was handed to my by a myriad of midweight and heavyweight rowers. Here are the official results.

But there are some positives out of this past weekend. My official time of 18:13.11 for 2.5 miles isn’t too bad if you extend the average of that out for three miles, the actual head race length. Compared to other lightweights in the mix, I didn’t do so bad, especially considering it was raining during the race. (I couldn’t tell if that was sweat or acid rain burning my eyes as I chugged along the lake.) And as Randye would say, I did beat two other rowers!

On a side note, here are the official results from last week’s Coastweeks Regatta in Mystic, Conn.

So, it was back to the gym today–I didn’t feel up to water time–and beat my previous time on the erg for 5,000 meters. I pulled a time of 20:15.7 with 2:01.5 splits. This week, I’m prepared to give it three hard days on the water, taper on Friday, take the day off on Saturday and return to the water for the Textile River Regatta, sponsored by my club, the MRRA in Lowell, Mass.

Poor Showing at the Coastweek’s Regatta

paul — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 01:03:44 +0000

I thought I was in good shape for the Coastweek’s Regatta this past Sunday in Mystic, Conn., but that was not the case. It turned out, I was unprepared for the race length, which was just over 2000 meters, and not 2.5 miles. A big oops. (The two races styles, head race and sprint race, are two different animals and need to be treated as such.)

I thought the race course seemed really short as I was rowing upriver to the start line, but it wasn’t until I was about a third of the way through the race when I felt for sure that the course was much shorter than I had originally thought. It was then that I had to turn it on for sprint race mode, but it was too late as the pack behind me was already starting to catch up.

The plus side of this weekend on the water was the rowing clinic I was in on Saturday. I received some great feedback on my technique from a club member’s son, who medaled in the Royal Canadian Henley regatta and coaches at the famed Craftsbury Sculling Center in Vermont. Two of the three problems I was having, I knew about, but wasn’t sure how to isolate and fix them.

From the clinic, I now know that I need to work on my blades going too deep in the water, which affect my finish. To fix this, I must concentrate on letting the oars drop into the water at the end of the recovery/slide, not force them in by jamming my hands up. The second thing I need to work on is where my hands are in relation to each other during the drive, or stroke. It seems that I’m holding my left hand higher than my right hand. I need to concentrate on keeping them level and as the hands come close in the middle of the drive, the top of my right hand rests just under, and touches the palm of my left hand. I need to maintain that level throughout the entire drive as it’s throwing off my balance, and again, ruining my ability to get the port oar out of the water at the finish. Finally, I am laying back too far at the finish–a residual habit of when I rowed sweeps and I was the shortest guy in the boat, thus having to compensate to lengthen my stroke. I need to concentrate on finishing my legs, back and arms at the same time to finish with my torso straighter than I am, and that will translate into faster hands away at the finish, as well as less time with no productive body motion when I’d be waiting for my arms and hands to finish the stroke after my legs. This translates into free speed and less expended energy–a somewhat obvious, but quasi-complicated, physics solution to row faster.

So, while my rowing was cleaner on Sunday, it wasn’t quite fast enough and I’m back on the water, training in the club’s Fluidesign single scull in preparation for this weekend’s Meredith Bay Regatta on Lake Winnepesaukee, in New Hampshsire.

Making the A-List

paul — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:24:33 +0000

I had a particularly good, long row this morning, and held off our club’s top rower during a three-mile piece at about 75% pressure and a 26 to 28 stroke-per-minute (spm) rating. He crossed the river when I was about half-way along and he never caught me, so that’s a good sign.

Upon finishing, and returning to the dock upriver, he gave me some more coaching. An interesting technique item he pointed out was that I am putting my oar blades too deep into the water. Apparently, at the catch, I’m not letting the blades just fall into the water, but forcing them down and too deep. This could be the reason why I’m having issues with my finishes.

I think I impressed him enough though, because he told me to start using the club’s A-boats, which are reserved for the experienced and competitive rowers. After determining my weight at about 160, I’m going to try the club’s blue Hudson lightweight single. She’s a real beauty with sleek lines and a svelt blue and black paint-job to match. She also has a hull with a straighter line, so she won’t bounce along as much as the Kaschper single I’ve been rowing. If that boat ends up sitting too low in the water, I’ll then bump up to the midweight Fluidesign that we have. It will sit higher in the water because it’s made for rowers in the 145 to 180 pound range.

I’m a little nervous about starting with a new boat so soon before another race this weekend, but with a few days on the water and some coaching at a clinic being held at the club on Saturday, I should be okay to race.