RowingChat

Marlene and Rebecca discuss

- Erg racing mental approach

- Guest: Claudia Pace from Sagamore Rowing Club

- Should you scull or sweep first?

Sponsors

– Sculling Gear – everything you need after you’ve bought a single scull

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/sculling-gear/

– Rowing Directory – the place to find a rowing business selling what you need.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Timestamps to the show

06:00 This past week. Mitzi Nicoletti medalled twice at Denver Indoor Sprints.

A nice testimonial - Marlene Royle & Will Ruth

"Just listened to your Science of Rowing podcast as I’m getting ready for my cold long-SLOW-distance trail run. I think one reason you both are such great coaches for masters (and ancient) athletes is that you don’t just say "do it this way" but are open to conversations about technique and training. Not all, but most masters rowers I know are smart, analytical, and questioning. They need to bring their brains, not just bodies, into the coaching relationship. I spend lots of time around and with college rowers and I’m always surprised that they are so comfortable remaining so ignorant of our sport: they express little interest in learning the reasons behind technique or training or rigging or history etc. Most seem satisfied just doing what their coaches tell them to do. Way different for most masters rowers I know."

To understand ask "why" three times to fully understand.

Running a Scrimmage Regatta - checklist for organisers

15:00 Sweep or sculling first - which would you choose for a new rower. Sculling is better developmentally and a single is your "private coach".

23:00 Sagamore Rowing Association special guest Claudia Pace

a third of our members chose to join Faster Masters Rowing club program in November. We like to work on our own things and use zoom. The group's interests are not homogeneous. Everyone found their performance improved significantly. People have been more "applied" in virtual situation .

29:00 Everyone comes to the club with a different skill level. The program suits divergent goals. We do a monthly coaching call for team leaders.

33:00 How to persuade the Board / Committee to go with Faster Masters training program? It's a good way to keep members engaged. Important to offer something over winter. We priced it out per person and made the fee accessible for everyone.

36:30 Figure out what level you can afford to do. Need a viable number of people. We walked through the program with Marlene and explained it to members. We agreed to do a trial for the winter and since then we've decided to extend it over summer.

If you don't have a coach and can't afford to hire a coach it's a good alternative to having in-person coaching.

41:00 The additional content each month really sold us. You can get out of the program whatever you want. Nobody says it is too hard and I can't do it. It is challenging.

45:00 Mental approach to ergs. There is no excuse and so do not vocalise. Be very well rested. if you are going to tolerate pain you must be rested. Helps to deal with the mental side of the discomfort.

Marlene and Rebecca discuss

- The Science of coaching masters athletes

- Erg Inspiration - how to make it fun

Sponsors

Timestamps to the show

04:15 This past week we are supporting masters rowing around the world by:

- attending the Rowing Canada conference coastal rowing course

- Marlene was interviewed on the Science of Rowing with Will Ruth - details below

- listening to James Leath on intentional coaching

https://unleashtheathlete.mykajabi.com/

- Running a scrimmage regatta locally for masters

- Reviewing the "new masters" status for post-novice rowers before they become age group racers

10:30 Erg inspiration when you get depressed looking at the rowing machine

- make it fun. Ear buds, play list; podcast

- Groundhog day

14:00 Training programme for the Head of the Yarra - use the Faster Masters programme if you haven't got time to write a programme. Masters like to know workouts in advance because they like energy planning, time planning and consistency helps.

18:00 Rowing in 6s in an eight. What is the purpose of the exercise? If you want a stable platform, or a drill for the best chance to execute the drill, being stable is good.

When a pair drops out - have an agreed way to hold your oar when you change pairs; also an agreed way to join in the rowing; also an agreed way to hold the oar to stabilise the boat (against your knees or arms outstretched with upward pressure).

Discuss whether you want a "soft set" or a "firm set" in the drill and what the crew should do.

It's important to keep the handle pressure upwards (so the blade is flat on the water) to set the boat.

Facebook discussion

https://www.facebook.com/groups/595853370615544/permalink/1606787526188785/

24:15 The Science of Rowing - Marlene video interview with Will Ruth

[To get the video link, please join our newsletter]

The research article (Nova Scotia) is about coaching masters looking at Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness. The athletes who got coached experienced high relatedness and also greater frustration with autonomy.

To improve your coaching outcomes we need to ask if the psychological needs of the athletes being met?

Perceptions of masters are no different between the group who is coached and those with not much coaching. The sense of belonging is directly related to the amount of coaching the athlete receives.

40:00 Groups in your rowing club - how to enable a range of groups to form, un-form and meanwhile still keep the club stable.

Peter Haining elite rowing expert, Olympian and 3 times World Gold Medalist in Lightweight single sculls.

Sponsors

- Sculling Gear - everything you need after you've bought a single scull

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/sculling-gear/

- Rowing Directory - the place to find a rowing business selling what you need.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Timestamps to the show

02:40 Peter’s background in rowing started when he come in 1966. He ended up winning World Gold in LM1x three times.

05:20 I was born lucky. My Mother was the only person in her maternity ward whose child wasn’t born thalidomide - the morning sickness drug’s side effects weren’t known.

07:15 I was brought up in a damp house and I had bronchitis and asthma as a child. My brother George died of pneumonia aged 6 weeks.

10:30 My Father, Jackie Haining was a member at Loch Lomond Rowing Club and he coached the juniors,.

17:30 George Parsonage and the Glasgow Humane Society. I was watching George sell and how he connects to the boat - he was so fast. I told George I”d beat his Guinness World Record for rowing the length of Loch Ness in 2 hours 43 minutes and I didn’t.

22:30 I went to York regatta and raced Chris Williams from Tideway Scullers in the elite 1x and we dead heated three times. He said I should try racing lightweight. John Pritchard lent me his Glyn Locke single boat stored at Imperial College with Billy Mason.

26:00 Rowing the pair with Glen Knight we went to trials and Mr Raynor lent us his 10.5 stone single scull - it was rigged right over left. We did 42 seat races over 1500 meters before I won selection into the LM8+ and we won at Luzern. It’s a special regatta and I’ve got several medals from there. I dropped my Dad’s wedding ring into the lake when we lifted out boat out of the water.

32:30 I moved back into Lwt 1x after I saw this Staempfli boat at Henley Royal Regatta and I wanted to row like them - it was Ian Wilson’s Nottinghamshire Country Rowing Association crew. So I moved to Nottingham to live and train.

36:00 I was late once too often for the 8s outing and got dropped for being unreliable. Ray Sims offered me a single. I was livid. I decided whatever training the 8 did I would do 2 more trips than them.

39:00 Mike Spraklen wrote to me saying “Miles make champions - but they have to be good miles.”

45:00 I went to Paris to race and try to be the first lightweight to go sub 7 minutes. Frans Goebel the Dutch sculler was just so fast - his catches and finishes were amazing.

The Spanish sculler taught me the catch drill’ Niall O’Toole the Irish sculler taught me to reach with your chest.

52:00 The future of rowing - there’s a lot of urban staleness and the business models of how we get our grants is broken. Participation in rowing is only 300,000 in UK it’s pathetically small. WE need to be more inclusive.

54:00 Team Keane is where I coach - it’s run like a US programme where you pay for your programme and you get coached.

Contact Peter

www.elitesculling.com

Lindsay is the author of Better Great than Never in which she demonstrates her striking lack of "superpowers" while gradually climbing the ladder into the US Womens Eight.

Sponsors

- Buy Lindsay's book - Better Great than Never

https://amzn.to/3j8m8X0

- Sculling Gear - everything you need after you've bought a single scull

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/sculling-gear/

- Rowing Directory - the place to find a rowing business selling what you need.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Timestamps to the show

02:30 Lindsay's background in rowing. On the Womens 8 team from 2005 - 2009

05:30 Success is a ladder. I hated running so I chose ergs. My first World Championships we were inexperienced and came 4th ad 6th. Novices are fast on flat water.

10:00 The voice inside my head is my guide and I reflect on what I did and how it impacted me.

14:50 Tom Terhar was in his first Olympic cycle when he coached me. He wasn't there to impart speed. When we showed progress he gave us a tip. What to work on next.

17:00 Injury - my first big one was after the Olympics. I was unwise coming back into training. This was the first time rowing wasn't building me up every day. What can I do to heal?

21:30 You can never be far enough ahead. Every moment you have you can learn from that., When we first raced Romania there were 10 seconds behind and one year later they were 1 second behind us.

27:40 Athletes and empowerment - learning in the single gives a sense of accountability. Giving us responsibility for our equipment and accountable for staying on the prescribed rate. We had team rules and this created our identity.

34:00 Reflecting on the small moments. This helps mindfulness. Fold into the small moments and have gratitude to pay attention - it will guide you.

38:00 The book is Better Great than Never. I describe this as the book for the "uncertain athlete"/

40:00 Lindsay's Rowing Tale - Sharing is not caring.

Buy Lindsay's book - Better Great than Never

https://amzn.to/3j8m8X0

Connect with Lindsay

https://www.lindsaydareshoop.com/

Marlene and Rebecca talk about

- Weight loss and diet quality

- Naming your erg and your boat

Sponsors

- Sculling Gear - everything you need after you've bought a single scull

https://rowing.chat/sponsor/sculling-gear/

- Rowing Directory - the place to find a rowing business selling what you need.

https://rowing.chat/retailer/

Timestamps to the show

06:00 This Past Week - what we've been doing to advance Masters Rowing.

Marlene has been at the Rowing Canada conference gaining a certification on coaching coastal rowing from Guin Batten.

Rebecca investigates introducing a new racing classification "New Masters" in New Zealand; and also explains how to get an eights group training together in your club.

15:00 Naming your erg - Have you named your rowing machine?

http://bit.ly/2MozjY7

Marlene's first van Deusen single scull was called Finse - the tallest mountain in Norway.

We discussed Sobakevich from Gogol's novel, Dead Souls.

22:00 Weight loss and diet quality. Since Christmas how much weight have you lost?

Changing habits is key. What improves diet quality?

- less sugar

- less refined foods (is there a wholegrain version?; is there a fresh version?)

- made at home means fewer preservatives

- boost your vegetables, fruits and high quality proteins.

Your brain likes "crunch" texture

Are you really hungry? Change soda to selzer water (sparkling water) - try to eat your calories not drink them.

Good habits

- small plate

- chew

- portion control

Rebecca and Marlene both use My Fitness Pal app for logging what you eat.

The World's Healthiest Foods book by George Mateljan

https://amzn.to/3cpmw2h

35:00 Plan your week - remove decisions from the moment by planning ahead.

Christine Coughlan started Sculling Gear when she couldn't find good products all in one shop.

https://www.scullinggear.com/

Timestamps to the show

01:30 Background in rowing and coxing

03:40 ScullingGear.com is 5 years old.

I went to Craftsbury and tried a flyweight boat and bought it. Then I started shopping for rowing "toys" like a mirror, slings and a boat cover.

06:10 Rowing Gloves are #1 Best Seller. There's a shift in attitudes about gloves. Silicone on the palm, elasticated fingers and they prevent ripping off blisters. Use at camp or racing.

09:00 #2 best seller is the Take a look mirror - it is popular as it comes with a case and a carry carabiner. Use in races for quick adjustments to your steering.

#3 best seller is the Skwoosh Seat Cushion. It has circles of gel for your sit bones. The back is grippy for boat seats and ergs.

12:20 What's new in Sculling Gear's store? Health coaching - a foundation in nutrition, mindset change, psychology. For masters rowers.

14:45 Diet course for rowers will come soon focusing on clean eating.

Marlene and Rebecca discuss

- Synching schedules. It's the hardest thing for a masters group to figure out.

- Injuries outside training

Sponsors

Rowing Tales book. Buy 4 (one of each edition) for £35 or US$48 plus shipping. Less than half price.

Email [email protected]

Timestamps to the show

05:00 This past week - Marlene is a nordic ski coach; she guested on The Science of rowing podcast and will be studying coastal rowing coaching at the Rowing Canada Aviron conference with Guin Batten.

Rebecca has been reviewing the novice masters status in New Zealand and seeking a rule of racing change. You get the behaviours your tolerate in your club.

15:00 Ways to align your crew schedule. Review your lineups, the number of people in your group and seek regular days.

Cliques in clubs can rip clubs apart. Good leadership is essential.

22:00 No wasted water time. This is something we value a lot.

23:30 Marlene has seen a huge increase in injuries from our athletes. when you get injured you have to heal the injury, rehabilitate it and then progress back to training.

These are non-rowing injuries and were caused by carelessness on land. Your body is fragile. It doesn't take much to derail your training.

Accidental injuries when you are in a fatigued state your tissue is fatigued.

26:50 The further you lean away from your body to pick up your boat it puts you at risk of injury. This is relate to poor judgement.

Be mindful of how you move your body.

34:00 The United Nations list of

Craftsbury Common is one of these heritage sites - the Trouble with Harry movie was filmed there.

35:00 Mike asks are there any good videos that can explain all the basics to a never/never rower - someone who has never sculled before?

Rebecca uses these two videos in slow motion for her beginner class. There's no commentary so you can overlay your own interpretation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=882yriTw1VA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQMaxr-gxp0

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