Faster with Bill Chambers

The first in the Power Meter Series. Greg Benning started rowing at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and hasn’t stopped since — over 20 Head of the Charles wins and nine Silver Skiff International Time Trial titles.

We go through how he uses a power meter to set the boat up, judge the effectiveness of the stroke, and programme his training.

Thirty years in the sport, from High Performance Manager with Australian Rowing to organising Olympic and World Rowing Championship events. Matt has seen rowing from both sides — the performance end and the operation that puts the racing on.

A solo episode on exactly what I monitor through a season to manage performance, and why. If you’re trying to work out which training metrics and devices are worth your attention and which are noise, start here.

Jan Lammers, CEO of RP3 Rowing Machines, on the history of RP3 and the design philosophy behind simulating on-water rowing.

We cover why dynamic machines are easier on your back, and where e-racing and connected rowing are heading.

Meredith and Kevin from Concept2 explain the full range: blades, shafts and grips, and how the company got from its beginnings to where it is now.

What we cover:

• The real differences between blade shapes and shaft types

• How to set the boat up for different oars

• Care and maintenance that makes them last

• How to test which set actually suits you

Dr Conny Draper is an applied sports biomechanist with deep expertise across rowing, canoe/kayak, para sport, diving, swimming and athletics. She was Senior Sports Biomechanist for Rowing at the Australian Institute of Sport and now consults to national teams, universities and masters rowers.

We talk about what national programmes actually look at when they analyse the stroke — and what a masters rower can take from that to move the boat better.

Multiple masters champion Greg Benning and I go through how we each look back over a completed season and use it to build the next one. What we got wrong, what we’d repeat, and how the review actually shapes the plan.

Tony is Head of Performance Support at Rowing Australia and has been in rowing sports science for more than two decades.

I was most curious about the Endurance Training Score system he developed to quantify training load specifically for rowing — but he goes much further:

• How to breathe in rowing for best performance

• What his experiments found about the ideal race-week taper

• Dynamic warm-ups and activating the body to be ready to race

Real insight into how the very best prepare, and what masters rowers can adapt from it.

Nick is women’s coach at the Swiss Rowing Federation and assistant to Ian Wright. He grew up in Sydney and coached some of the most successful school crews in Australia and New Zealand before moving into the Swiss programme.

We talk about what it takes to bring a crew together so it moves as one unit, and his approach to technique.

Books mentioned: True Blue, Last of the Amateurs, The Boys in the Boat. Video mentioned: ‘The Crew’ — Nudgee College.

Marty coached Xeno Müller to gold in 1996 and silver in 2000, and the Gier brothers to gold in 1996. He’s held positions with Rowing Australia, the Victorian Institute of Sport, GB Rowing, the Scottish Institute of Sport and Swiss Rowing, and was named Coach of the Year by the international federation.

He’s also a superb storyteller, with plenty to share about working alongside Jürgen Gröbler, Harry Mahon, Paul Thompson and Chris O’Brien — and clear views on what actually makes a boat move.