RowingChat Rebecca Caroe

Coaching adults makes it hard to give feedback. Three things to consider.

Timestamps

00:45 Masters may not have a coach.
We help each other with in-boat coaching. There isn't an obvious person who is a leader.
Feedback is a delicate topic. Some people may not want to hear what you have to say and you may not have sufficient authority in the eyes of your crew mates.

01:30 Ask first
Do you want feedback? Is there a focus for this workout practice? By setting a framework of expectations before you start rowing, there's a structure which everyone can use during the workout and at the debrief afterwards.
Ask each athlete "how did it go?" and "What were you working on?"
So you can align your feedback to their needs.

03:00 Group feedback
The group dynamic risks whatever is said in the first person who talks tends to lead everyone else to follow their theme.
Say one positive thing about the workout. Avoid a spiral of self-criticism.
Give each person one thing to work on and one positive message about the workout.
Strike an appropriate balance that the athletes are ready to receive and understand.

04:45 Video reviews
The tone can be different for this as the whole group watches together.
Set the framework at the start - after watching the video you can say anything you like about yourself and your rowing. But observations about other people can only be positive remarks.
This helps show that care is needed when choosing words.

06:30 What to look for in a rowing video
First ascertain what the athlete can see from their own technique. Playing the short video on a loop means people can watch fast and several times before getting bored.
Up-skilling your "eye" watching rowing and sculling so you know what pattern of technique you are trying to achieve and how that compares to your rowing video.
Can you help the athlete to see what you can see? Do they realise they are squaring late?
Small refinements require skill at looking and seeing subtle movements.

08:30 Unsolicited feedback is never welcome.
Ask if they want feedback or coaching first. The other party has to agree to receive feedback first before you give it.
When someone says yes they want feedback you have prepared them mentally to receive what you are going to say. They will be more minded to do something about your advice afterwards.

11:00 When coaching masters only focus on one thing per workout,
It's hard to think of more than one thing at a time, So wrap up the discussion with the one thing you want then to work on next time.
Set up the best ways of enabling each other to hear the advice and act on feedback offered.


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App alternatives for rowing electronics and how to mount in your boat.
Phone mounts and taking a phone in a boat so you feel confident using it.

Timestamps
What's in the programme this month?
- Two programmes - for 1k racing in May or June and another one for July / August peak.
- Land training and strength and conditioning programme.
- Lifestyle - ways to prepare yourself before going rowing.
- Performance - bladework technique versus erg technique and exercises to get your bladework skills back.
- Different warmups for different workouts.
- Bonus gallery of rowing tattoos.

2:30 Phones in boats
Rowing electronics were getting elderly at the club and so we reviewed what we needed.
Alternatives considered were - apps which can be used in boats; Lowering the cost to membership of tracking simple measures like time, split and stroke rate.
04:15 A mount for the phone
I used a Quad Lock mount phone case which includes the female mount. It came with three different lengths of velcro. I loop this around the wing rigger or the footstretcher in any boat.
The Quad Lock I bought was a version for an arm band velcro strap - which is very long.
07:15 Different mounting solutions
3D printed mount that goes over a wing rigger. Has an NK mount on one end. The silhouette of the profile of the curve for the mount is unique to each wing rigger design.
It isn't a very snug fit because you need flex to get it on and off the wing rigger.
The second one has a curve which allows a water bottle to sit on the far side of the rigger. This version has a Quad Lock mount instead of the NK mount.
Thirdly a footstretcher metal bracket which slots into the saw tooth adjustment for your foot stretcher adjustment. It tightens with a screw knob and I chose a Quad Lock mount.
11:00 Rowing Mindset Webinar with Jack Burns - teaching how to train your mind to balance the body training you do. Improve your ability to focus and avoid distractions.
It will be recorded and then available on demand after 23rd April 2024.
13:00 Buy these from
3D Row in Australia
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556918630054&locale=ps_AF
The Flying Boatman in UK
https://theflyingboatman.co.uk/shop/
14:00 Hacks to take phones in boats.
Take a look at having phones in boats as an alternative to rowing electronics you've used to date.


Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

What is a rowing mindset? Do you need one? And can it be trained?

Timestamps
01:00 Rowing for life
Welcome Jack Burns from Edge Rowing who has an interesting backstory.
He enjoyed the process of learning to row rather than the external competitions and winning.
His struggles were around injury and mindset. He learned the systems and tactics for mindset improvement in a systemised way.
03:45 What is performance mindset?
Ability to handle external factors, to perform to the limit and ability to visualise what you want to achieve. Where is your attention going, how to handle distractions and nerves while dialling your focus to what really matters.
The Edge Rowing business is about getting the edge. Bringing high performance focus to anyone.
Jack wanted to say he had put everything he could into achieving his fullest potential.
08:00 Rebecca's 19 year old self also worked out how to focus.
09:45 Rowing gives transferrable skills for life.
Jack's early rowing progress was based on his drive and his will. He got injured with a good mindset and a good trajectory. When he returned he had a bad mindset and was lying to himself about this.
He trained inconsistently with poor focus.
Jack now helps rowers shortcut the process of learning rowing mindset.
15:00 Why Edge Rowing is different
The approach is to be athlete obsessed to deliver the best service possible. Row to the best version of yourself. Data analysis and tracking individually which is used to make changes to programs.
The coaching mindset is for Edge Rowing to be so good that it could take someone to the Olympics.
Attitude, motivation, understanding new concepts are all part of the athlete experience.
Masters' ability to recover means we cannot do 12 sessions a week - physiology and balance is key.
Each decade as you age through the sport of rowing is very different.
Jack thinks recovery is overlooked as an aspect of performance. He believes rowing is behind the curve in the application of science to training.
if the athlete doesn't succeed in the programme, it's the athlete's fault. But if the coach changes things and it doesn't work, the fault is laid at the coach's feet.
25:00 Riwing Mindset webinar April 23rd 2024
An early bird discount will be shared with members who receive the Faster Masters newsletter. Sign up here
https://fastermastersrowing.com/newsletter/
It will help you find the process you need to focus on within your mindset.
Get yourself a free self-assessment from Edge Rowing - you get a mark and it gives you a clue to whether you are rowing to the best version of yourself with a feedback report including what you need to improve.
https://scorecard.edgerowing.com/
Racing is 90% in the brain - a lot of successful outcomes can be trained. Set up your rowing in a way that will suit you.


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I heard today that Jimmy Joy the legendary coach and founder of the Joy of Sculling conference died. Today's podcast is my reflections and memories of his work.

What changes are needed when doing big or small boats - length / inboard.
Timestamps

01:00 It's all about gearing.
How long are your oars and what is the ratio for the outboard to the inboard?
Small boats versus large boats. You have to carry your share of the total mass of the hull, riggers and oars. In a single scull you are carrying around 14-17kg. As the boat gets bigger, you carry less mass because it's shared between more people.
If you have a bigger boat - you can afford a heavier gearing on the oars.
Coaches try to give each athlete a consistent load to move the boat so you don't have to work a lot harder in small boats compared to big boats.
They adjust the rigging to make this broadly consistent.
03:00 So you should be able to rate a similar strokes per minute almost regardless of which boat type you are rowing in. Generally people rate higher in larger boats.
03:50 The span and spread affects the load.
Last week we reviewed the arc through which the oar tip moves each stroke.
You want a wider span on a smaller boat (single = 160 cm) but in a quad it may be tighter 159 cm.
Sweep spread is measured from the mid point of the hull out to the pin and these will be wider for smaller boats.
05:15 The oar length
You have to be strong enough to move the oar past the fulcum. A 1k race is around 100 strokes and you need to be able to deliver each stroke to a similar power.
Sculling oar lengths - sculls will be set at a length of 287 - 288 cm long
Sweep 370-374 cm.
These rigs are what you expect for younger rowers.... and oars get passed around the club and the lengths aren't changed.
07:20 Jim Dreher invented the adjustable length oar - the story behind the invention.
10:00 Load on the body from the blade
Masters are a hugely divergent age and strength group of athletes. Increase the load for younger masters, tailwinds and for beginners.
Decrease the load for older athletes or it's a headwind. The more experienced are more dextrous and can cope with a higher load and can rate higher.
You have to be able to put the oar in the water at the same speed the boat is moving past that part of water.
13:00 Rig your own boat to suit you
How long are your oars and span/spread? How old are you, how fit are you?
Rigging for Masters webinar - Volker Nolte has a detailed chart for oar lengths and span/spread for masters. He considers most masters to row on much too heavy a gearing.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/rigging/
If you are older you probably want to decrease your load.
When buying oars and sculls the spoon size and shaft weight / flexibility are different options you can choose,
Cut an oar shaft in half - the internal diameter isn't spherical - there are more layers of carbon on the front and back edge. This gives more or less rigidity / flex to the oar shaft. The tensional stiffness in the shaft comes from the thicker carbon which is on the front / back of the shaft facing the direction of travel when the oar is square in the water.
Buy the webinar and get Volker's oar and scull charts.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/rigging/


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Ways to use your boat rig to get a longer arc for the oar. Simplifying why it works and some key principles.

Timestamps
00:30 Rebecca's new shiny object is a wing rigger mounted gadget to mount a stroke coach and water bottle over your rigger.
01:45 Rigging a longer stroke
Having the oar in the water longer (distance rather than time). Taking the tip of the blade through a greater distance each stroke.
Use the principle of the lever to understand how rowing oars and sculls work to propel the boat. Inboard and Outboard ratio is important to understand.
With longer levers you need a greater force on the handle to move the oar though the same arc in the same time.
03:45 Is longer better?
As long as your athlete has the physical strength and power to move the oar through the water then you can use longer oars. There is a point of diminishing returns.
The rowing sliding seat was invented to increase the arc through which the oar is rowed through.
A longer slide gives a greater arc.
05:00 Does the athlete have the oar handling skills such that they can put the oar in the water at full reach at frontstops so you don't miss water? Missing water means you have a shorter stroke than you are capable of.
Rigging a longer stroke is a good solution for someone who is less skilled in bladework. Suggest the athlete rows on a longer arc.
- Shorten the inboard of the oar/scull
- Move the footstretcher closer to the stern
- So the catch angle is the same as other athletes
- And they get a longer effective stroke when the oar is actually in the water
A physically short athlete where you want them to have the same oar arc as other crew members. Shorten the inboard and adjust the outboard so their gearing is the same as the rest of the crew.
07:30 Rig Diagram
This might be useful for you to try. Check the rigging diagram from Stephen Aitken - rowing angle changes presentation
https://www.slideshare.net/rcaroe/rowinangle-changes-duetospanandinboardjan13

08:00 Study the arc through which the rower's arm and oar moves during the power phase.
The solid line shows a reduced span (moving the pin closer to the side of the boat).
Th length of arc is determined by the athlete's anthropometrics (leg and arm length) and torso (height).
A formula to calculate typical arc lengths.
10:00 For small changes of span/inboard this is a useful assumption.
Review the faulty logic
- Only change one thing at a time (not always possible as one change affects other parameters)
- Options of things you can change span, inboard, stretcher position, gap between handles at the finish for sculling. Which COULD you change to lengthen the stroke?
12:00 The conclusion that there's only one option that works
Reducing inboard and span equally and adjusting footstretcher to keep the handle gap the same at the finish works with increases in all angles - catch and finish.
Stephen recommends first reducing the inboard and then reduce the span equally.
13:15 Standardise rig across your boat fleet
Keep oars the same - similar inboards for quad/double and adjust for single. For sweep adjust for eight/four/pair.