New to rowing, please help

[philrow]

Elamonta,

The point about the weight adjustment calculator is good. As I advocate "lifting for strength/size," I do assume that increased strength combined with sustained or eventually increased aerobic endurance leads to a faster rower. I think just putting on weight for the sake of being bigger is very obviously a bad idea. Strength must increase with any increases is mass.

That brings me to a point that I forgot to state explicitly. In lifting weights, one has to lift weight heavier than one is accustomed to lifting in order to increase strength. Low-weight high-reps will not increase strength in any significant amount, although it will increase muscular endurance. But, to increase strength does not indicate an astronomical increase in mass or even any noticeable increase at all. Over the summer, during a lifting-only phase of training, I gained maybe some five pounds. Yet, during that same period of some 2.5 months, my lifts all increased, including a 100lbs increase in my squat and 150lbs increase in my deadlift.

My adjusted 2k time before that phase: 6:48.4
Immediately after that phase: 6:28.9
After that phase and regaining aerobic endurance and having stopped major regular lifting altogether: 6:05.7

Again, from my experience, that lifting and those five pounds were worth it.

In order to gain mass, one has to eat to gain it. That often entails specialized diets, especially for tall, lean, metabolicaly freakish athletes like rowers. So, if a large increase in mass is not desirable, then replacing some fats and carbohydrates with protein or just adding some protein to one's diet while lifting heavily will still allow for increased strength through augmenting one's neurological pathways, developing muscle fibers, and increasing mitochondrion and capillary density as well as nutrient stores and interstitial fluid. This is what I did -- I added an extra 80-120g of protein to my diet, reduced fat intake and some carbohydrate intake as I wasn't doing cardio at the time and hence could afford it, and lifted heavily.

That's interesting about your teammate -- 50lbs lost is incredible!! It's even more interesting that his 2k performance remained the same. Still, I'm sure he's a much more valuable rower 50lbs lighter.

I mention above that strength gained that isn't so greatly utilized in rowing is reduced over time, and hence atrophy may occur. E.g., in the biceps. However, as the good people at C2 are quick to point out, every major muscle group is used in rowing to some degree. That is why I don't neglect muscles just because they aren't the quads, hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi or other such significantly involved muscle groups. That is, I do lift for biceps, triceps, deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids, calves, whatever. I feel doing so just promotes a sense of overall strength, and I love it! But, I agree that rowers should lift primarily for rowing. Hence squats and variations, deadlifts, and the plethora of rows, etc. are all very important lifts.

Phil

[Elamonta]

Yeah I was pretty stunned when my teammate came back and was pulling similar numbers also. I think it was a combination of very little eating and increased running...he had always seriously lacked endurance...(he would die out around 1000m in OTW). I suppose with the added running it helped him maintain his times...he is definitely more useful in a boat now as it doesnt feel like pulling around dead weight.

[Greg3]

do you think something like this workout would be beneficial to my rowing?
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/circuit.html

* Duo-Chest (Fly's/Chest Press is a super set); 1x10
* Crunch Machine; 1x25
* Duo-Leg (Extension/Press is a super set); 1x10
* Rotary Torso Machine; 1x10@each side
* Duo-Shoulder (Lateral/Press is a super set); 1x10
* Plate Crunch; 1x25
* Duo-Back (T-Bar/Pull Downs is a super set); 1x10
* Triceps Exercise; 1x12
* Hyperextension; 1x12
* Biceps Exercise; 1x12
* Glute-Ham; 1x8

i would sub in deadlifts for the hyperextensions and do one or two days of heavy lifting a week. let me know of any other changes that you think should be made to help it improve rowing more. thanks a lot

[Ray79]

You could probably do worse than follow something from the Oarsport http://www.oarsport.co.uk/training/guid ... e=weights1
or C2 Uk sites http://www.concept2.co.uk/guide/guide.php (section 7)

[iain]

As a guest on this site who does not train others, please feel free to ignore my observations. However, I feel there is another side to this that may merit consideration.

I am no expert in development, but am sure that 15 year olds vary immensely in timing of development. I know that there has been recent research indicating that resistance training is not harmful for younger athletes and I will leave it to those better qualified than I to determine whether this is now accepted fact. However, I would have thought that the type of training appropriate will be dependant on what is happening to you in development terms. To this end, whether you are still growing rapidly and current body shape would be useful information to decide what is appropriate. I know that coaches will not always support me, but I believe that anything that will have a lifetime’s impact on your body is more important than short term gains at your level. Hence it may not yet be apparent whether you are truly a lightweight or are growing into a heavyweight. Further, if you will be a lightweight, whether you will have the capacity to bulk up and still make weight in the future may not be certain. It would be disappointing to find that you need to lose muscle mass to make weight in a few years, but were too slight to compete as a heavy weight.

I know I sound like an old nag, but I firmly believe that performance in the next season should not be the be all and end all of training decisions.

Rant over

Whatever you decide, best of luck.

Kind regards

Iain