The Indoor Rower

In episode 17 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Sam Blythe, founder and coach of FM Rowing, a former British indoor rowing champion, a World indoor rowing silver and bronze medalist and an European silver medalist.

Sam holds the 30-39 10km British Record completing the distance in a blistering 32 minutes and 57 seconds, that’s a sub 1:39 average split and rowed a sub 6 2k in his 40th year!

Within this episode Sam talks about his upbringing in London and love for football, playing professional rugby, his transition into indoor rowing, his coaching style and FM Rowing. He also delves into rowing training and technique for a sub 6 footer, weight lifting, returning to rowing after injury and his future indoor rowing goals.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

1:05 - Sam speaks about his upbringing and how he got into sport.

9:06 - Sam details how he got into playing rugby professionally.

15:28 - Sam talks about his kids.

16:52 - Sam shares how he transitioned from professional rugby into indoor rowing.

22:50 - Sam discusses some of his indoor rowing records and medals.

24:56 - Sam talks about his training and coaching style.

38:21 - Sam goes into detail about his rowing technique.

42:22 - Sam explains how he integrates weightlifting into his training.

48:01 - Sam details his thoughts on the upcoming World Rowing Indoor Championships in February which will be held virtually. 

55:38 - Sam shares his short and long term goals.

Links

https://fmrowing.com
https://x.com/FMPTExeter
https://instagram.com/samblythe
[email protected]

https://tonylarkman.com/ 
https://instagram.com/tonylarkman
https://x.com/tonylarkman
[email protected]

In episode 16 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Jim Berriman, the 40-44 current World Indoor Rowing Champion. 

Jim pulled a blistering 5:58 2, winning the gold medal by 8 seconds after only taking up indoor rowing a couple of years ago. Jim talks about his background and how he came to rowing, his training routing and preparation for competition, nutrition, how he achieved his sub 6 2k, his competition day routine, his future goals and what he learned along the way.

Sit back and be enthused by Jim's remarkable achievements in a relatively short period of time.

Key Points:

 0:00 - Introduction 

1:20 - Jim talks about his background and how he got into rowing. 

4:06 - Jim recounts his time with martial arts, powerlifting and boxing. 

7:51 - Jim details how he achieved a 300kg deadlift. 

10:19 - Jim shares how he transitioned into indoor rowing. 

16:48 - Jim dives into his training routine and preparation for competing at the World Rowing Indoor Championships. 

29:32 - Jim talks about his nutrition. 

33:23 - Jim discusses his split times during the dreaded interval workout, The Rugby Test session (the last 750!)

35:42 - Jim recounts when he realised he had achieved sub 6. 

37.:27 - Jim details his competition pre race routine. 

39:49 - Jim discusses his mindset and strategy midway through a race. 

42:10 - Jim talks about his training and how he doesn’t really do any heart rate control work. 

46:48 - Jim shares his future goals in rowing and other adventures. 

52:24 - Jim reflects his route to pulling a sub 6 and what he’s learned along the way. 

Links https://tonylarkman.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman 

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman 

[email protected]

In episode 15 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Dr. Simon Handley, a GP Partner in Gloucester.

Simon is a former international world medallist swimmer and a very powerful indoor rower. He’s pulled sub 1:30 splits for a mile, has a 2k personal best (PB) of 6:03, rowed a sub 1:16 for 500 metres at age 47 and has been producing some great results as he enters the over 50's category.

Tony and Simon discuss his history in swimming, his swimming training and the benefits of lifting weights. Simon also gives his diagnosis on how he became a doctor whilst swimming competitively, his achievements in swimming and how he got into indoor rowing. We examine his PB’s in indoor rowing and his indoor rowing training. And the Doctor discusses overtraining and its negative effects and how nutrition helps recovery and optimum performance.

Dr Simon also discusses the positive effects of strength training for older athletes plus his future competitive plans.

Key Points:

 0:00 - Introduction

1:16 - Simon recounts how he got involved with swimming. 

5:15 - Simon discusses his swimming training.

6:35 - Simon talks about lifting and its benefits.

10:53 - Simon details how he qualified to become a doctor whilst swimming.

12:16 - Simon lists his achievements in swimming.

12:59 - Simon discusses how he got into indoor rowing.

16:35 - Simon goes into some of his indoor rowing personal best times. 

18:54 - Simon and Tony discuss indoor rowing training.

26:10 - Simon talks about overtraining.

29:28 - Simon gives his opinion on nutrition for effective training.

34:22 - Simon discusses the effects of weight training for older athletes.

40:05 - Simon talks about training for power.

41:02 - Simon details the negative effects of overtraining.

44:48 - Simon broaches the subject of his future competitive plans

Links https://tonylarkman.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

[email protected]

In episode 14 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks about weight training periodisation, specifically for the first few months of the new season.

This is designed for rowers who will be competing in the winter months of 2024/25. 

Tony specifically looks at the preparation for building a platform of strength, the different types of weight training periodisation, what undulating periodisation is, hypertrophy, the rep range to increase strength and exercise prescription. 

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

1:23 - Tony talks about the general preparation period for indoor rowing.

3:02 - Tony explains three different types of periodisation for weight training.

4:56 - Tony details what undulating periodisation is.

10:38 - Tony discusses hypertrophy and the rep ranges common to increase strength.

13:05 - Tony lists the exercises he recommends.

15:27 - Tony explains the block periodisation system.

Links

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

[email protected]

In episode 13 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Elizabeth Gilmore who has taken the indoor rowing world by storm, with a meteoric rise to the top. She’s not only claimed gold medals at the World Indoor Rowing Championships, but has shattered records in the 30 to 39 age group. 

Elizabeth talks about her background, how she got into indoor rowing, details some of her winning times and PB’s, discusses rowing on the water, her training routines, her diet, her future plans within rowing and much more.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

0:51 - Elizabeth talks about her background and growing up in sports.

5:41 - Elizabeth shares what she did once she left college.

9:08 - Elizabeth details how an injury started her indoor rowing.

12:05 - Elizabeth explains how she got into competitive indoor rowing.

16:29 - Elizabeth shares her competitive plans for 2024.

17:57 - Elizabeth details her C.R.A.S.H.B. times.

19:38 - Elizabeth discusses some more of her personal best rowing times.

25:44 - Elizabeth talks about how she got into using sliders and why she uses them.

30:02 - Elizabeth shares when she got into rowing on the water.

30:58 - Elizabeth details how she found the transition from indoor rowing to rowing on the water.

35:03 - Elizabeth discusses who she is trained by and specifies some of her training routines.

46:01 - Elizabeth explains her diet.

47:56 - Elizabeth talks about sleep.

49:27 - Elizabeth shares her future plans.

Links

https://www.instagram.com/eltgilmore/

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

[email protected]

In episode 12 of The Indoor Rower, Tony dives deep into the world of indoor rowing, addressing a plethora of questions from curious listeners. Whether you're a seasoned rower or just starting out, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
Included are training tips, food for rowing, weight training, periodisation for success, the height factor, common mistakes and how to avoid them, and zone training.
Enjoy as Tony unravels the secrets of indoor rowing, helping you become a more informed and effective rower, whether you row for fitness, competition, or just the pure joy of it. Get ready to take your indoor rowing game to the next level!

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

0:50 - Can you go to max heart rate when rowing a threshold workout?

4:55 - Can you boost your fitness by hard training before commencing base training?

6:38 - Can you row zone 2 training by feel?

8:40 - How to fine tune specific training  and how people respond to certain stimulus?

12:45 - Do I cycle my training programmes?

14:26 - Why does height matter so much?

17:26 - What is the best footwear for indoor rowing?

20:25 - How to incorporate more in-person rowing events in the racing calendar? 

21:40 - How to eat for rowing?

25:45 - Do I train to heart rate or power watts?

27:43 - How important is weight training for rowing?

Links

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

[email protected]

In episode 11 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Luke Wollenschlaeger, the current indoor rowing 50-59 2000m world record holder with a time of 6:01.00, shaving 0.7 seconds off the previous world record. Tony talks to Luke about his time in swimming, water polo, rugby and the move into crossfit, which ultimately led him to the world of indoor rowing. Luke discusses his training routines, strength and conditioning training, his work with John McGrath and Bill Chambers, nutrition as well as discussing his current world records and his future plans to attempt to break numerous other world records.

Key Points

0:00 - Introductions

1:23 - Luke recounts his early life and getting into swimming.

4:01 - Luke discusses his time playing water polo.

5:04 - Luke talks about his move to rugby.

6:38 - Luke recounts his move into crossfit.

10:10 - Luke details the crossfit exercises he struggles with.

13:18 - Luke discusses his strength and conditioning training.

16:26 - Luke recounts his move into indoor rowing and setting world records.

23:07 - Luke discusses working with John McGrath and Bill Chambers.

28:33 - Luke details his nutrition at different stages of his training.

31:49 - Lukes discusses his world records and how he got there.

43:17 - Lukes shares his goals for future world records and how he plans to approach his training for them.

Links

Instagram: luke.wollenschlaeger

Facebook: Luke Wollenschlaeger

Youtube: @LukeWollenschlaeger

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

[email protected]

In episode 10 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Albert Maher, one of Irelands top scullers from the nineties and noughties. He now competes in the masters 50+ age category, has recently broke the Irish 5K record in a time of 16 minutes and 41 seconds. He also recently organised and was part of the small team heavyweight 24 hours world record indoor row, which smashed the previous 50+ record by over 25000 meters. Tony talks to Albert about how he got into rowing, his international rowing career, club rowing, notable wins and competitors, indoor rowing, training, his 10 man 24 hour indoor rowing world record, training with Eddie Fletcher, Nutrition, the Gavin Glynn Foundation, plans for future world record attempts and workout routines.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction
1:10 - Albert talks about how he got into rowing.
4:51 - Albert discusses how he got into international rowing.
14:01 - Albert shares his move back into club rowing and his Henley wins.
16:24 - Albert details some of his notable wins and competitors.
21:26 - Albert talks about his physical profile and his indoor 2K erg.
23:54 - Tony gives his opinion on different training routines for different types of athletes.
28:05 - Albert shares what sports he’s done outside of rowing.
32:24 - Albert discusses his journey back into rowing.
33:46 - Albert talks about his 10-man 24 hour ergo world record.
37:13 - Albert details his training program with Eddie Fletcher.
40:33 - Albert shares his nutrition plan for the world record.
42:22 - Albert talks about the Gavin Glynn Foundation, which the world record helped fundraise for. 
44:48 - Albert discusses the potential of any future world record attempts.
48:10 - Tony and Albert compare their current workout routines.
52:58 - Albert give his tips on getting faster.

Links

https://tggf.ie/ https://fletchersportscience.com
https://tggf.ie/
https://tonylarkman.com
https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman
https://twitter.com/tonylarkman
[email protected]

In episode 9 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks about the importance of strength training, not only for rowers but for most people who tend to have sedentary lifestyles . Tony talks about why we should strength train, going into detail of his current strength exercise program. This specifically includes details on his deadlift, squat, bench press, row and should press routines.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction
0:49 - Why strength train
3:46 - Where does weight training come into it
5:10 - The deadlift for strength
7:40 - Tony’s current strength exercise program
8:55 - The deadlift routine
12:27 - The squats routine
17:28 - The bench press routine
21:17 - The rows routine
22:24 - The shoulder press routine
25:33 - A roundup of the program and the benefits 26:51 - The importance of rowers to lift weights 30:04 - Recovery and the importance of good protein

Links

https://tonylarkman.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman https://twitter.com/tonylarkman [email protected]

In episode 8 of The Indoor Rower, Tony discusses strategies for 2000 metre (2K) races. This episode is specifically related to the upcoming World Indoor Rowing Championships in Canada, followed by the C.R.A.S.H - B’s in early March.

Tony discusses numerous strategies available, why certain strategies aren’t the best for 2K races, his strategy for a 2K race and developing a race strategy with your
training, allowing you to be better prepared and confident going into a 2K race.

Key Points

0:00 Introduction

0:35 - Tony explains how putting together a strategy for a 2K race is important to have the greatest success and not to 'Fly and Die'.

3:01 - Tony talks about the ‘Defending the Lead’ strategy.

4:25 - Tony details the ‘Even Splits’ strategy.

6:01 - Tony explains the ‘Negative Splitting’ strategy.

7:27 - Tony discusses his normal strategy for a 2K race.

9:02 - Tony details why understanding your stroke rate helps you to be competitive.

11:30 - Tony talks about developing race strategy with your training.

17:17 - Tony explains the how dropping your split the final 500 meters can make a huge difference in a 2K race.

Links
https://tonylarkman.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman
https://twitter.com/tonylarkman
[email protected]