rowing trouble

Question
hi, i am a high school senior who has been rowing for the past four years.
freshman year i was on the novice boat or second freshmen eight,
sophomore year i was on the lightweight eight, junior year i was on the
second eight despite me still being underweight, and now at 135 lbs and at
5'7 i am on the second eight again. the problem is that being a senior i
should be better, compared to the other seniors. i am lanky and my lowest
2k test was a 2:12. what are some tips to help me work with what i have and
get stronger?

Answer
Hi Natalie: Not knowing how well you row, I will focus on what you can do to gain strength.  To do that, you need a good weight lifting routine to augment your rowing workouts.  While rowing is a great form of exercise, it won't help you gain muscle mass.  Weights will.



If you haven't started a lifting routine yet, it may be a good time to start.  Emphasize leg exercises like squats and leg lift machines.  Add some back exercises like lat pulldowns and seated rows.  Finally, do some arm exercises like the bench press and military presses.  Do 2 sets of 8-10 reps on each exercise, with a fairly heavy weight.

Here's a few things you can do to improve your erg scores that I found in another web site:

HEAVY TENS Set the Model C ergometer resistance on a high value, 10 for men, perhaps 8 for most women. If you are using a model B, use small cog open vent. Now, the rest is pretty simple. After a good warmup, and some stretching, do the following workout on a day that you have scheduled strength training. Row 10 maximal effort strokes while carefully maintaining the stroke rate at about 14. It will be tempting to let the rate slide up, but keep it very low by really creeping up the slide. Every stroke is a highly specific strength training repetition involving all of the rowing muscles in the proper sequence. Really focus on maximal controlled pressure. Use the pace or watts screen as feedback regarding the quality of each stroke
After each set of 10 (or a time of 1 minute if you prefer), rest for 60-90 seconds and repeat, for a total of 6 to 10 sets.


SEGMENTED ROWING- As a variation on your row-specific strength training days, you can try this: Again use the highest resistance setting. Now do the following sequence. First row with "LEGS ONLY", at a low rate of about 18 while maintaining the back in the catch angle (shoulders in front of hips throughout) and the arms fully out stretched. The whole focus is on engaging the legs at the catch, while maintaining the connection to the oar with the back musculature. After 1 minute of maximal controlled effort, rest for one minute. Next, row for one minute at maximal controlled pressure (18 spm) using only the normal body swing and arm draw, or "ARMS and BACK". Do not over reach with the upper body. Rest one minute, then put the two together with one minute of maximal pressure controlled rate rowing at full slide (again 18 spm). Repeat this 3 exercise sequence 3-4 times for a good, rowing specific strength session.

PEAK STRENGTH/POWER TESTING on the ergometer (CII) The ergometer can also give you good quantifiable feedback regarding your maximal functional (rowing) strength. Once a month or so, try this after a good warmup.

1. PEAK ROWING STRENGTH- With the monitor on WATTS and the flywheel still, do ONE maximal effort stroke and record the watts value you achieve. Let the erg completely come to a stop and repeat this about 5 times to find your max value.

2. PEAK ROWING POWER- Power is different from strength because it involves a velocity component. To find your peak rowing power, start with the same setup as above, but do a 5 stroke full effort racing sequence. The peak watt value that comes on the screen is your PEAK ROWING POWER and will probably happen on the 2nd or 3rd stroke. It will be somewhat higher than the watt value you achieved for the one stroke test.

3. ANAEROBIC CAPACITY- Start the same as above except set the monitor timer on 30 seconds. Do an all out race effort and record the AVERAGE WATTS at the bottom of the screen. An alternative method is to do a 200 meter trial and record the time. This will require between 30 and 40 seconds.

Hope these help/AP