Why thinking like a scientist will fix the voice in your head and harness it to coach yourself in a rowing boat.

00:30 Positive self-talk coaching

When you row you are thinking about what you do - it's the voice in your head. The devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. Masters work best when thinking about one thing at a time.

Create the outcome you want with different ways of saying it - how will you do it, when will you do it.

02:30 4 competency stages

- unconscious incompetence

- conscious incompetence

- conscious competence

- unconscious competence

When you no longer need to use your brain to think about one technical point, you free up your mind to think about other things. Acquire the skill, learn it and put it into the background in your mind so you can do the skill without thinking about it. The voice in your head is working hard.

04:30 Objectivity is key

The voice in your head can be devilish. It talks subjectively to you which can make a negative spiral of thoughts which do not help you to row better. Train the voice in your head by thinking like a scientist. They are objective (no value judgements), it's an observation only. Assess if you did or did not do the movement e.g. squaring early. It's not "good" or "bad". Keep the voice in your head 'on task'.

06:15 Can you self coach in a rowing boat?

Watching your blade is a good way to start self-coaching. The blade is a good indicator of how you are rowing. Look at it at the catch, blade depth at the mid-stroke, look at the finish. Row in circles watching one oar at a time.

Play games with yourself - on the water have some fun. Take a small challenge - little goals give a focus for self-coaching. Try exaggerating part of the stroke so your body moves with precision and consistency as if you're demonstrating to a beginner. Notice how this impacts your stroke and how the boat moves. You can do it deliberately wrong too. That's great fun. It creates a contrast between the two - find a happy mid point.

10:00 Positive Self Talk

Enable your brain to be a positive thought that adds to your rowing. Try rowing for 10 strokes without thinking of anything. After those ten, allow your brain to focus on your technique point and do the scientist observation again. If yes, continue rowing without thinking; if no, make a small change to get back to the technique and then continue rowing without thinking.

Use this skill to train your brain through the 4 competency stages towards unconscious competence.

A useful article

https://www.craftsbury.com/blog/self-coaching-in-the-single

Train a rowing mindset

https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/rowing-mindset/

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