Rebecca interviews Adrian Cassidy, CEO Founder & Olympic Rowing Coach from Ludum

Timestamps to the show

01:00 Adrian's background in rowing - former head coach Rowing Ireland, University of London and now CEO of Ludum

03:30 Ludum - Freedom to Coach What Ludum is - an online platform to collect data and comms to manage your rowing squad. Users include Rowing Australia, Germany's national team, Vesta Rowing Club. It allows you to use Heart Rate and GPS data as well as direct links from Concept2 erg workouts aligned via an app and collected into a single dashboard for the coach to review.

05:30 Ludum started as a hobby project to share training programmes and crew lineups and more and more people asked to try it out. During 2020 it was completely rewritten as an app as well.

07:00 Used by elite rowing programmes as well as clubs, the software is adaptable and flexible to suit different needs. Paul Thompson remarked that when you move to a new club it's "Different place, same problems". Adrian is skilled at creatively solving the limitations of each club's environment.

Right behaviours are needed for success in rowing. You get the behaviours you tolerate as a coach.

Taking on Ludum and starting to use it is a big cultural thing to change - recording data is not something many people do.

12:15 We introduced Crossy's Corner where Martin Cross interviews top rowing coaches and athletes. He interviewed the Sinkovic Brothers and he was so good at talking to people that I asked him to join the team.

https://ludum.com/author/mcross/

14:00 R5 - The Rowers Conference 2021 This is the 5th event - we realised that there is no education about data in rowing. Jurgen Grobler will be interviewed by Martin Cross next Sunday 24th January 2021 at 3 pm UK time. Register at the link

https://rowersconference.com/

Jurgen is the most medalled Olympic coach of modern times and he uniquely gives strength and confidence to athletes.

19:00 Ludum LIVE launches! A new feature set in the Ludum app software is that a coach and watch live as his team trains remotely.

Watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umv3Wn5709c

29:00 Data in rowing; Why are coaches not confident about data? Data is more than the numbers because a video can be data. The growth in data and people typing numbers into spreadsheets which then isn't used is universal in rowing clubs around the world.

31:00 Data that's useful compared to data that's important is a key concept. For example junior rowers turning up regularly is useful data. An elite programme may be better tracking athlete performance during an outing. It's easy to assume that each athlete did the planned session. But what about those who are ill or injured or those who pull harder than others? They are evidently not doing the same training as the rest of the squad. Using Ludum coaches have insight - and we also support the coach with education and explanations about what the data means and how to interpret it. Data empowers the coach and the athlete.

37:00 Rowing in to the future - what will change? Coaches trust athletes a lot - the sport is coach-driven.The athlete can take control now. During lockdown there will be a bit more individualised training and when groups get back together that will be interesting. Maybe in future the athletes will pick their coach individually and work remotely with them.

Athletes need to know in advance what sort of a programme they are stepping into. Funded programmes are often large and competitive.

45:00 Ludum shares expertise and how to's - we look for what people are searching for and we try to answer their questions. Training zones, Monitoring and testing, coaching styles, physiology and more. It's all on the website blog.

Contact Adrian Cassidy

https://ludum.com/

Marlene and Rebecca welcome 2021 and discuss

- plans for 2021

- force curves on the erg

Timestamps to the show

01:00 Welcome back after the holidays

06:00 CeCe Aguda's photo was featured in Rowing News.

11:00 Kathleen Heddle RIP - very interesting interview video with Marnie McBean

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/rowing/olympics-kathleen-heddle-dead-at-55-1.5871976?cmp=rss

15:30 Plans for 2021 - what will be happening on Faster Masters this year? We will be raising the price of the Annual subscription on 1 February - it's currently $300 compared to pay monthly which is $468.

21:00 Daily lessons - a new feature inside Faster Masters to check your program quickly

24:00 Your Next Race versus Peak Event - what's the difference when you are training? Choose the right program for your main event this season. It may be during May or August - but races which you do before then won't need to be a peak event (for which you taper). Each race builds your fitness and strength up towards your peak event. The phases of training built into the program lead up to this peak event.

29:00 Force Curves - differences between fixed head and floating head rowing machines. Force curves graphically illustrate how you deliver your power.

32:00 Key points to look for in your force curve. Jagged points indicate slippage in your stroke. You want a bell curve shape - broadly. How high is it? How long is your curve?

The Force curve analysis is our bonus in this Month's Faster Masters program.

Steven Dowd became quadriplegic in 2016 in a cycling accident. Since then he’s taken on and beaten some remarkable challenges. The latest is the EnduRow Challenge.

https://www.endurowchallenge.com/

He now has a bold, ambitious plan for a rowing challenge in 2021.

With building a global community at it’s heart, the EnduRow Challenge will be the World’s biggest, fully inclusive, live, static-rowing charity event encouraging participation from able-bodied and adapted men, women and kids globally.

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Buy from Amazon https://amzn.to/39WHcgI

Timestamps

02:30 My personal story in rowing - June 2016 training for Bike London

05:00 Wings for Life Charity whose goal is to find a cure for spinal chord paralysis

09:40 Promise to my wife - I'm a pair of eyes on a pillow and 2 days after surgery in 200 days I'd walk again. Bold, ambitious, and aligned to Christmas.

13:00 After my first big win the next day I needed another goal. Creating challenges for myself. Get back on the bike was my next 200 day challenge. Using the Zwift virtual environment.

18:40 I saw the value of challenges and how to use them for others. I started to create challenges following Ed Jackson who climbed Everest at home up his stairs. We raised £50,000 and I did 12 hours a day for 3 and a half days.

21:30 A journalist asked me What next? I said I fancy a rowing challenge.

22:30 EnduRow Challenge we are all "suffering simultaneously" because of Covid and so we will do a 4 hour erg simultaneously on Feb 6h at 3 pm UK time. The Goal is to have 10,000 people raising £100 each.

26:00 Community using rowing it's a collegiate, passionate thread that runs through the sport. There aren't a lot of "me" in the rowing community.

29:00 Why challenges are a toolkit people can use themselves.

Approach challenges with a clear definition. There is no hierarchy in a challenge, it's yours.

9 tools behind each letter

C - choose to respond effectively

H - help others help you. Facilitate their help

A - accept the situation now - the power to move forwards

L - learn through trial and error

L - leverage all your resources - people, time and money

E - engage. Get in the driver's seat in your life

N - never quit. Different from stopping - but giving up is different.

G - grow through goal setting and set others as you go.

E - ease up and accept you aren't always top of your game.

37:00 I want to build new people into rowing.

You can get pro tips and video from Dr August Leming on psychology on the EnduRow website.

https://www.endurowchallenge.com/training

Contact Steven at www.stevendowd.com

Marlene and Rebecca discuss

- Goodbye to all that

- Review of the year & forward plans

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Buy from Amazon https://amzn.to/39WHcgI

Timestamps to the show

02:00 Head of the Fish trophy

07:00 Rowing From 2020 Virtual Regatta - enter by 3 January on Regatta Central

09:00 Review of the year. We went weekly during Lockdown. Marlene's favorite topic - setting up a home gym. It's important to keep up strength training twice a week. TRX straps and kettle bells, physio ball, elastic bands.

https://fastermastersrowing.com/the-perfect-home-rowing-gym/

Free training program for home rowing during Covid19 lockdown

https://fastermastersrowing.com/register/home-rowing-training-during-covid-19/

12:00 Rebecca's favourite topic - hip mobility for masters - a regular reminder of what to do. How to improve rock over and getting the handle past your knees. Separate stable body from moving up the slide.

https://fastermastersrowing.com/hip-mobility-for-masters/

15:00 What's coming up for Faster Masters? During the past year we have added 3x subscribers to the podcast and 2x the number of customers for our training programs.

Positive things which happened to our listeners this year.

18:00 Recovery is as important as training. After the workout you recover and adapt to the load. This is the OTHER training category (recovery) you get into shape after the workout.

20:00 Resilience - do the things to manage stress levels. Sleep and eating right matters.

22:00 Curling my toes reduced stability in the boat.

24:00 Virtual races and the ability to practice mental training. Stay in touch with challenges will help regular competitors.

27:00 Look around to check where the rock island is.

32:00 Electing a team captain for masters. Liaison between the athletes and the coach. What do they do? Outings, lineups, safety tests, regattas? First define the job.

Our next podcast episode will be on 14th January 2021.

See you all on the other side.

Rebecca and Marlene discuss

- The difference between exercising and training

- Keeping balanced as a single sculler

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Buy from Amazon https://amzn.to/39WHcgI

Timestamps to the show

01:00 Welcome. Marlene was teaching at the US Rowing Convention on Training for Life. She covered the effects of ageing on your rowing practice and keeping consistent training.

07:00 There’s a new Royle Row website http://roylerow.com/ it includes a link to the Newsletter archive in the footer

09:00 Exercising versus Training. What’s the difference? Training does not go inside exercise. You can do WOTD and that’s exercise. But it has not relation to what you did last week and plan for tomorrow.

11:00 Training - there is a goal. When you are training there’s a system. Each session contributes to the period of training. The Faster 5 sits under the training umbrellas. We do the thinking for you. Train effectively. Challenging but do-able.

18:00 How to stay balanced as a single sculler. Balance and stability matter. balance is the narrow width of the hull. Stability is a wider platform - keeping the riggers level. You have to know where your body weight is and stay symmetrical. How are you sitting on your seat? Footstretchers? Head?

Sit at the release, blades square - weight over the handles. Do the tapping drill. Level riggers equal a balanced hull.

22:30 Stability is within your control. Your hands, downward pressure on the handles while the oars are out of the water. Staying stable takes your core and your handle height consciousness. Left hand to the stern of the right hand. Faster 5 Bladework ebook (on our website). Watch videos of Thomas Lange sculling in rough water.

https://fastermastersrowing.com/faster-five/

28:30 Keep steady in the body - equals being quiet. Adjust on the handle. This skill enables us to row with oars off the water.

32:30 Staying emotionally balanced in the 1x. This is “type 2 fun” - you do it and afterwards it feels great. But you’re afraid beforehand.

Mix it up with a crew boat sometimes.

Be clear what your focus is - what you’re working on. Train in g1x but also in a group as a pack single sculls outing.

Go to a camp and join other rowers for fun, especially if you train alone.

42:00 Personal body maintenance. Rebecca went to her osteopath for a “loosener” body massage and realignment before the holidays.

Author of The Long Win, Cath is challenging our approach to success.

A multi-Olympian and world medalist, she asks what does winning mean?

How "winning" holds us back

And presents a new approach to winning

Buy Cath's book https://amzn.to/2IPCKVT

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Buy from Amazon https://amzn.to/39WHcgI

Timestamps to the show

03:00 Background in rowing - 2 Boat Races, 3 Olympics but she was categorised as not a sporty girl at school.

07:00 I was envious of the camaraderie the sporting girls had in the novice boat and decided to give it a try. This gave me the freedom to opt in it was liberating. Rowing is collaborative from the start

12:30 The Long Win book - my own reckoning as an Olympic rower. The culture of rowing and the love of the sport got me on the path to GB trials. This was about to get serious.

15:00 I tried to be the toughest. It didn't help me to be fast in a rowing boat. Sydney was a disaster when we came 9th. Sports psychology was about the performance mindset and this helped me. Diplomatic work is all about how you see success. Can we all gain? Binary win/lose never works.

19:30 How did you feel when you crossed the line? Second is the first "loser" position.

22:45 What can sport for all take from the Long Win? Participation and medals need to be connected more. We make false separations. We have an obsession with spotting talent. It's about connection, life skills as well.

25:30 What are the stories about YOUR club which you want telling?

28:30 Rowing can be a beacon in the community. Different groups - social challenges of obesity and mental health. We should be ambitious - broaden the framework for health and sport.

31:00 Lessons for how we teach coaches. The learning pathway for coaches should be ongoing. It's isolating - the mantra of 1 coach to 1 crew is not inviolate, team coaching, peer coaching are possible. The macho narrative. Creating an ongoing pathway learning to develop the environment into which athletes come. More autonomy and success criteria beyond medals.

36:30 Peer coaching - a competitive classroom does not help learning. We set up unhelpful competition against our peers. Alfie Kohn criticises education. https://www.alfiekohn.org/

39:00 What is the purpose of school rowing? What lessons can we learn. Is it about setting you up for a healthy life or winning at Henley? How to measure success? How many of your class still row 10 years later? How many people are we losing from the sport?

44:00 Broaden the success criteria - situate it with other things. Pupils setting up activity clubs, teaching nutrition to the rest of the school. Your responsibility as an athlete. Discipline, healthy life and a platform.

48:00 The challenging conversation - how to start it with your club committee? We have a sense of review and improvement. Enable the ongoing conversation. It's not a threat to the status quo. People really need to be heard and feel they are totally understood. A good place to start. There's a kernel of truth in every perspective. The Long Now Foundation debates are worth watching. The aim is to understand both views.

54:30 The leader facilitating the great ideas - rather than having all the answers.

57:00 Cath's Rowing Tale about her trip to Galway to race.

Buy Cath's book

https://amzn.to/2IPCKVT

Marlene and Rebecca tackle

- exercises to improve finger and forearm strength

- how to build aerobic base while training for the CrashBs

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Buy from Amazon https://amzn.to/39WHcgI

Timestamps to the show

04:00 Marlene is presenting at the US Rowing Convention on Training for Life

10:20 Exercises for fingers and forearm strength. Things to get right first

- handle grip size - get the correct size for your hands

- Initiate the turning movement don't turn the full 90 degrees as you square and feather. If you get to 45 degrees, the oar will continue to turn under gravity

- 3 With your fingers make sure the back of your hand and wrist never falls underneath the handle. Because you need downward pressure on the handle to help roll the oar

- Check your boat set-up. Are you able to achieve the correct static positions at the finish?

15:00 Curling the fingers and knuckles exercise. Your extensor muscles aren't strong. Flexor muscles are 4-6 times stronger. They are meant to grip and so get worked more than extensors.

Elastic band for strengthening the intrinsic muscles in your hand.

Wrist strength - take a small weight in your hand. It's important to stabilise your forearm. Hold your wrist over the end of a table and flex up and down and side to side.

String on a dowel rod - roll it up and down with a 2-3 lb weight on the end.

19:00 If you have osteoarthritis - don't push yourself into inflammation and swelling with your rowing practice. Don't use your thumb to apply internal pressure on the oarlock either if you have osteo.

20:00 How tight should you hold the handles? As if you're holding a kitten, puppy or a small bird.

23:00 If your forearms wake you up at night feeling restless. You should stretch them.

Do the "Karate Chop" drill on the recovery and Open Palm Sculling drill.

26:00 Trigger finger syndrome can be developed from rowing. The anular ligaments get pulled and swelling happens in the tendons.

28:00 How to train for both speed and endurance simultaneously. If you are doing CRASH-Bs erg race in March and enter the 30 minute and the 500m sprint event.

Follow the Faster Masters Rowing training plan first and foremost - pick the 1k racing plan. If you have extra time include a 40 minute low intensity row or aerobic cross training session.

32:30 Keep the group together - over the holidays stay in touch with your crew mates and become accountability partners. Community matters in masters rowing.

Meet our special guest, Amanda Kraus, who took over the helm as CEO at USRowing this summer. In this special Ready, Row! USA interview episode, The founder of Row New York shares her hopes, dreams, and plan of action for the organization with host Jim Dietz, 6-time Olympic athlete and coach.

EPISODE LINKS:

https://USRowing.org

Production: https://PiercePress.com/podcasts

https://AllAmericanRowingCamp.com

Photo credit: https://newyorksportsconnection.com

Marlene and Rebecca discuss

- Mapping out a good erg program

- Feedback on caring for elders

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Timestamps to the show

01:00 The rowing seasons are changing. Winter rowing beckons

05:00 Masterclass Transitioning to Winter. Sign up here

https://fastermastersrowingwinter.eventbrite.co.nz

07:00 US Rowing Conference. Wednesday December 9th 2020 the Training day. Marlene is talking on Training for Life at 12.45 EST. See the full schedule.

https://rowcon2020.sched.com/

Speakers include Stephen Seiler who was on a previous RowingChat episode

https://rowing.chat/power-in-rowing-symposium-stephen-seiler/

09:30 Update on the National Masters Strategy New Zealand - we are creating a model framework. If you want to copy the model, contact Rebecca Caroe

15:00 Caring for Elders was last week's topic. Feedback from a listener. Training is a great outlet for your stress cortisol levels.

18:00 Short intervals on the erg or a power workout are time-efficient which suits carers.

21:00 Mapping a good erg program. Faster Masters programs for December 2020 include 2 separate programs. Base preparation for 1k (next summer) and Base preparation for 5k with a spring peak. if you are planning the Tideway Head Races or the Heineken Regatta or CRASH-B erg races.

Every workout has a land and water instruction including stroke rates.

Faster Five fitness assessment helps you to individualise your program.

25:00 Understand the purpose of the workout. Priority sessions.

Adapting workouts for the erg - 2 points lower in rate.

28:00 Check the resistance and the drag factor of 80-90 on Concept2. Marlene recommends erring on the light side for resistance.

30:00 Riggers on the rack don't line up - how to rack your 1x when some boats have forward wings and others have back mounted wing riggers.

32:00 Marlene's nightmare of having to use a ladder to rack her single scull on the top rack.

Rebecca and Marlene discuss

- US Rowing Conference

- Training while caring for kids and elders

- Upcoming Masterclass Transitioning to Winter Rowing

Sponsors

Rowing Retailer Directory - every rowing business listed and categorised for YOU. Find what you want from oars to gifts, from coaching to ergs.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Rowing Tales 2020 book - the collection of rowing stories you'll love for Christmas.

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/rowing-tales-2020/

Timestamps

02:00 Family Quads at the Bennett Shield Regatta

04.30 inter squad fun races - with nickels and quarters as prizes

07:45 Transitioning to Winter training masterclass - sign up

https://fastermastersrowingwinter.eventbrite.co.nz

09:00 US Rowing conference Wednesday December 9th 2020 the Training day. Marlene is talking on Training for Life at 12.45 EST. See the full schedule.

https://rowcon2020.sched.com/

17 Training while caring for kids or elders

19:30 Rowers can be very generous - they give their all. Take care of yourself first. Boundaries are needed - scheduling is a problem. Be as consistent as you can.

Reduce cortisol levels by training regularly. Choose from erg / walk / stretch / row on water.

22:00 Don't give up on structure. Commit to 30 minutes a day.

Resources in a past episode we covered

https://rowing.chat/rowing-training-while-raising-kids/

What can you delegate? Cleaning, gardening, shopping?

24:00 Use the travel circuit suggestions which we covered in this episode.

https://youtu.be/oivuKUmpkrU?t=906

Set up a nice home rowing gym

https://fastermastersrowing.com/the-perfect-home-rowing-gym/

Dionne is "super-Mom" she trains around her kids naps and their sport sessions.

28:00 Run with the kids to school and then you run home alone.

30:00 Protect and defend your time. The beautiful word called "NO".

Find some regular training partners who can sub in for you at the last minute if something comes up.

35:00 Erg Studio at home - make it a nice place to be.