RowingChat

Rebecca Caroe
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Rowing Chat is the podcast network dedicated to rowing. We have many shows hosted from around the world on specialist topics from Strength Training to USA news, from interviews to data analysis. Produced by Rebecca Caroe, it brings rowing news, coaching advice and interviews to you. Go to https://rowing.chat/ for links to the latest episodes & subscribe in your favourite podcast software.

  1. Ratio in strength training

    4D AGO

    Ratio in strength training

    Improve your rowing ratio while lifting in the gym. Timestamps 00:45 Rowing can be improved by strength training Lifting heavy has lots of benefits - today we'll talk about ratio. The contrast between the power phase and recovery phase. How to use this concept of ratio in strength training. 02:00 Improve range of movement As we age we find our muscles and tendons don't have the same range and so our stride gets shorter. Strength training can help improve or maintain RoM. Weight lifting works in two planes - when you lift the weight and when you return it to the start point. Concentric muscle movements are shortening the muscle (as you lift). Eccentric muscle movements are lengthening the muscle (as you return the weight to the start). Eccentric muscle work can help improve your range of movement. Working on this part of the strength lift can use the rowing ratio as part of the movement. 03:45 Ratio in strength training The braking effect that you use as you control the weight in the eccentric lengthening muscle phase as you lower the weight down can enable you to have greater force production. When lifting heavy for few repetitions or using small muscles e.g. doing chin-ups against your body weight you may find the difference between the last successful lift and when you fail is large. Do your first chin up One way to improve your strength and do your first chin up is to start at the top of the lift with your chin over the bar (you may need a chair to step or jump up there). Then slowly lower yourself by straightening your arms doing just the eccentric part of the lift. You will gain strength more quickly by doing this slowly muscle lengthening under load. When you've done this a few times, try doing one chin up - you probably can lift yourself up. Use approximately a 3:1 ratio in your lifting. The more ratio you can manage the more you will be working the braking effect on the eccentric lift. 06:45 Improve range of movement Consider a difficult lift like a squat using an olympic bar. Getting a deeper squat - to 90 degrees or to a deep squat position is challenging. 08:00 6 week challenge to improve your ROM. 3x per week for 6 weeks. Start each lift with an ultra-light load. This helps refamiliarise your muscles with the movement. Then add weight so that you keep good form. Try to do 3-5 sets of each lift each time you go to the gym. Do 6 sessions on power - increase the load you can lift. Position a bench behind you so you squat down to just touching your bum on the bench. Goal is 90 degrees. For a deep squat choose a lower block to sit down to. Start with 5-8 reps on power - increase load. Do 6 sessions on range of movement - lower the bench. You may need to reduce the load in order to do this. Have someone spotting for you and checking your movements. Do 6 sessions on speed - lower for 3 and push up fast for 1. So build your ratio into these sessions. 11:30 Take your ratio training from the gym back into the boat. Can you push the oar faster through the water so that you can take longer on the slide recovery? You may be able to increase your ratio thanks to your work in the gym.

    13 min
  2. White tape on the oar shaft

    FEB 6

    White tape on the oar shaft

    A visual reference to aide adjustments to blade depth. Timestamps 00:45 Low technology solutions for rowing too deep. The tape goes around the oar shaft so that when the oar is under the water at the correct depth and the handle is at the correct height for you to old. Mark exactly where the shaft is level with the water surface. You can do this where the oar shaft is wet if you do this carefully. Measure the spot, return the oars to land and transfer that measurement to all the other oars and put white tape on them too. While rowing you can look sideways at your oar to see if the white tape is going under the water and where in the stroke it goes too deep (and you can no longer see the tape). 03.30 Causes of rowing too deep Usually it's caused by the athlete holding the handle too high. Modern oar designs naturally sit at the correct depth. If you row 'over the barrel' the path of the handle is too high mid-stroke (and usually too low at the finish so your oar spoon washes out). The water is flat and so the path of the handle in the power phase should also be flat. At the catch if you take the catch by lifting your shoulders it can also cause the oar to go too deep. Tension in the hand grip also can cause the oar to go too deep. In sweep this is often the inside hand holding on too tightly. 05:55 Drills to help you correct blade depth - Backing down into the catch. Push the oars from the finish backing down and then leave the oar in the water and take the stroke. Go backwards and forwards gradually lengthening from half slide to full slide. This helps you to work out the correct handle height. - Row in circles. One person row in sweep and look out at your oar as you row so you can see the depth. In sculling just row with one oar and get a friend to hold the boat steady. - Half blade depth rowing. Row with only half the oar under the water - feel the depth by controlling the handle precisely with very small movements. - The amount of power you put on can affect blade depth. So try alternating light and firm pressure strokes to help you work out depth.

    10 min
  3. Using Mirror Neurons to Learn

    JAN 29

    Using Mirror Neurons to Learn

    How watching videos of good rowing can help improve your technique. Timestamps 00:45 Using mirror neurons Parts of our brain get activated when watching movement. Researchers noticed monkeys' brains were firing when watching the researchers eat lunch - as if the monkeys were also eating. Mirror neurons help you to understand and internalise actions, emotions and intentions. This is helpful when learning the subtleties of rowing timing points. 03:00 Yawning is contagious When I yawn the chances are you will too. This is your mirror neurons. Dr Laby from Sports Vision researched if you watch correct performances and see the technique being used. He noted that the video needs to be as close as possible to reality. This means you get best results watching at race stroke rates, not slow motion. Try to create a race situation rather than a training row. You need both - understand the movement first and then be able to do it at stroke rates comparable to a race. 05:50 Watching video Find videos online to watch - they need to be good athletes, rowing well in high cadence high stroke rate situations. Check out MostynARC YouTube channel for Penny Chuter's video collection. 07:00 Coaching demonstration When a coach tells a story about rowing, your mirror neurons activate as you listen. They make you feel that you are experiencing what the coach describes. Neural coupling with the story teller. First get the athletes to observe the task done well - demonstrate the task first yourself. This is more likely to trigger the mirror neurons as the athletes think themselves into what you're describing. Then explain the action at the same time as demonstrating as a second stage. Our Drills Compendium uses this method and adds written captions as well. https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/ Real-time observation and real time skill correction improves skill acquisition. The experts recommend peer-to-peer observation as a further stage. Teach observation and comparison to good technique - this also has a permission-based feedback structure allows the athletes to see if they are getting the movement right.

    12 min
  4. Range of Motion

    JAN 18

    Range of Motion

    Masters have to pay attention to our range of motion as we age, without it we lose stroke length and raise injury risk. Timestamps 00:45 What this is and how to get more of it. Masters rowing is rowing with compromises - we may be less mobile or carrying old injuries. Our goal is full movement potential which helps our performance - with full range of movement we get longer strokes. Things which limit us are tight glutes, hamstrings or back muscles. Injury prevention gets more important as we age - a good range of motion supported by strong musculature helps prevent injury. Muscle capacity for the rowing movement. It's hard to teach rowing to people who cannot sit with their legs straight, who cannot get into the catch position or whose arm extension is insufficient to get the oar handle around the arc. 03:00 Things to do to improve range of motion (ROM) Active isolated stretching is different from a traditional stretch you get movement more of the time and it's a short stretch and hold. One muscle group works (agonist) and the opposite muscle group (antagonist) is relaxing and lengthening. https://fastermastersrowing.com/active-isolated-stretching-rowing/ 04:45 Decline with age We lose our full movement potential as age causes our bodies to change. Natural connective tissue elasticity reduces with age - strive to retain what you have; joint cartilage reduces too, and muscle flexibility lessens. Scar tissue from prior injuries may also exist. 06:00 Range of motion Things you can do to improve - know what ROM you have at the moment. 10 tests for yourself and video exercises / stretches you can do. Free webinar https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/functional-movement-assessment/ Simple changes to your rigging which help you to get into the correct rowing positions when you have movement limitations. Adapting rowing rigging for masters physiology https://fastermastersrowing.com/adapting-rowing-rigging-for-masters-physiology/ Start a practice to improve your range of motion - do it with your rowing friends. Get easy video streams like this https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5694205242376192

    8 min
  5. Matt Brittin - what rowing taught me

    12/14/2025

    Matt Brittin - what rowing taught me

    Looking backwards to go forwards: what rowing taught me about big tech and what big tech taught me about rowing with Matt Brittin. Timestamps 01:00 From schoolboy to the Olympics - from a family of ball sport heros. Matt was inspired by Martin Cross to row to a high level - he was his school teacher. Later he was President of his university club where he led the introduction of professional coaching. 04:00 Rowing teaches skills Matt was running Google in Africa, Middle East and Europe for the past 10 years - he tells a lot of anecdotes about rowing. Steve Gunn (a harsh coach) taught how to take responsibility for what you are doing. Are you a piece of sh*t on the end of the oar? When the mindset is right but the self-appraisal was not. The things Matt learned at rowing were the human things - more useful than Business School, Consultancies and University. I wouldn't be where I am in the business world without the rowing lessons. 08:30 Act like an owner The unique side of rowing is that when I'm seat racing, I'm against you. When we are in the crew, I'm with you. Act like an owner at Google - take responsibility for what you're doing and win as a team. We collaborate hard - and sometimes a collaborative competitiveness gives a better outcome. 11:00 High Pressure Situations The start line of a Henley Royal Regatta final is where Matt felt the most intense pressure. Take confidence from the feeling of nerves and the adrenaline surge - this is a sign you are ready for a big performance. Get the attention off yourself - focus on the process is helpful. Know there is someone there who wants you to succeed. 14:45 Henley Royal Regatta Progress Matt is a Henley steward - he marks the progress over recent years. Sir Steve Redgrave asked Matt to help the committee to plan a 10 year strategy. It looks unchanging yet it's always evolving. Three new womens quad scull events were announced - near parity in Open events and Womens events. Since 2015 every race has been on YouTube live and on demand. You Win or You Learn. 20:00 Returning to Rowing It has been a joy and a recalibration too. The gains as you come back are lovely - rediscovering the joy. A lot is about remembering the feelings. How to balance training and travelling for work. How you manage your time at work is important. Matt blocks his diary to take kids to school twice a week - the most important time of the week. He does the same for rowing training. The discipline when traveling of visiting the hotel gym. The more senior you get the more important it is to show up refreshed and feeling great - in good shape. Leaders need to be in the moment and to have time for staff. Matt is planning to mentor people in business, improve his sculling, rowing strength training this year. Masters rowing is "running up the down escalator". It doesn't have to be the same each year - unlike younger rowing years. Choose something fun to plan for your future rowing.

    29 min
  6. Alex Wolf & Sam Dutney in conversation

    12/08/2025

    Alex Wolf & Sam Dutney in conversation

    Alex Wolf & Sam Dutney in conversation. Two leading thinkers and innovators for masters rowing discuss strength training for masters. The principles around maximal force applies everywhere. Teach athletes how to express maximal force. Learn the ceiling of what you can do. Turn muscles on and off. Practice being forceful really quickly. Building habitual capability. your day to day. Take a small change from what you do now and a little bit more than you can already do. That's enough. Strength training is one of the most potent stimuluses for our health. The only thing which can repair your muscle structure is targeted loading, not rest. The kenee takes a load of up to 2 times body weight for rowers - masters it will be 1.2 to 1.7 times body weight. When squatting the leg is not the limiting factor - the lumbar spine tolerance is the limit. This is not the case in a rowing boat because the forces are horizontal. The 7 stroke max test has a strong correlation to performance. Increasing this has got a 1:1 correlation with improvement. How can you know if the improvement will come from force production or maximal force? The rowing stroke is primarily concentric force production. Does eccentric have an effect? Yes, it's a long stretch shortening cycle. The end of the drive back to the catch has a significant contribution to boat speed. The Reactive Strength Index. How you control a decelerating force and turn it round into an accelerating force. Rate of force is how much, when and how quickly. Utilise each exercise efficiently is key. The king of exercises is the one that reaches your outcome. You must lift enough to create an adaptive response. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

    1h 4m
  7. Oar protection

    12/01/2025

    Oar protection

    Defensive protectors for oars and sculls to prevent the paint wearing off and the spoon degrading. Things you can do to preserve the spoons and handles. Timestamps 00:45 Oars get wear and tear You paint the spoons in the club colours and the paint wears in the middle of the back of the oar and the tips of the blades get worn off at the corners (so you no longer have a sharp corner). Defensive protectors for oars Our dock is wood and the surface gets greasy and is a slip hazard. We put non-slip matting onto the dock - water drains through the holes. The brand is Ako Matting and is recommended for ice, snow and water uses. The downside is the surface is abrasive on oars because of the non-slip elements. 03:00 Rules for oars We have a rule that when you land and leave the dock we always put our oars tip side down on the dock. This helps to preserve the paint and stop the wear patterns on the back of the oars. Tips down meant we got wear on the tip of the blade. Croker Oars have tip protectors - little triangles which fit over the corners and you superglue in place. https://www.crokeroars.com/product-page/row-tip-protectors-pair-4-tips The plastic takes the wear rather than the carbon oar. Concept2 oar users can use the vortex edge - it's a strip which goes along the length of the oar tip. https://www.concept2.com/oars/sculls/blades#vortexedge The wear on the tip of the oars reduces the surface area of the spoon. And the wear is always in the same direction - my sculls ended up thinner than 3mm. This is the legal minimum for World Rowing rules - I had to sand down the tips of the blade to restore the minimum 3mm. 05:30 Protective decals A scuff pack kit made to protect the back of the oar from rubbing when your oars are on the bank. Defensive protectors for oars https://crayfishrowing.com/shop/ols/products/scuffpatch-kit-for-two-oars and the Croker oar corners Lastly - blade wraps - vinyl that is pre-printed with your club colours and they are cut to the oar spoon shape. Use a heat gun to apply them and it also gives some protection to the oar spoon. https://regattaprint.com/blade-wraps-team-sweep-oars/ How to wrap oars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxcaeTeOz_g&t=10s Take care of your oars to make them last longer. If you paint your oars the old fashioned way is to sand them and use marine-grade gloss paint with undercoat and topcoat paint layers. Others have used spray can car paint too. We had stickers (decals) of the club logo made to put on the shaft of the oars so that they can be identified - helpful if you don't paint your oars and they look the same as every other club. Easy for them to get lost at a regatta. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

    9 min
  8. Up your intensity

    11/23/2025

    Up your intensity

    Ways to improve speed of the oar through the water. Keep the stroke rate the same and increase the speed. Timestamps 00:45 This is a long term project. Less experienced rowers push the oar less hard than the more experienced and you need to train this. Time through the water at stroke rate of 20 is approximately 3 seconds per stroke. Pushing the oar through the water on the power phase takes 1.2 to 1.5 seconds and yet we row with a ratio of at least 2:1 at low rates. Experienced rowers get more rest every stroke. They push the oar with high intensity through the water and so they have more time with the oar out of the water. 03:30 Same rate more speed How to row at the same stroke rate and deliver more force into the boat hull. The key to training this on the erg was to start with a focus point once every 5 minutes for 10 strokes. For ten strokes push harder through the power phase but you're not allowed to take the rate up. This showed us how much harder we could push and how much more rest we got as a result. It depends on your muscular strength and fitness. Then we moved to doing this for a minute. After each intense stroke period we allowed 5 strokes to recover and take a little rest. Over time, you don't need to take that rest. 06:00 Up one: down one Taking the same principle of increased intensity into the boat. We call "Up one down one" which means take the stroke rate up one point in rate through the water and down one point in rate on the slide. So at rate 20 you move to rate 21 through the water and rate 19 on the slide - which averages to 20. This has the effect of intensifying the power phase. Train yourself to do this and it gets a better ratio in the stroke - you learn how to relax more as you rest on the recovery. The benefit is slightly more boat speed, slightly more rest and this helps to keep the boat moving fast through the water. Here's an earlier episode which covers this topic further of how to train yourself to relax. https://fastermastersrowing.com/get-more-speed-on-the-recovery/ Do this for short periods to begin with as it's tiring. Introduce it to your warmup just for 5 strokes at each stage in the pick drill. Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192

    9 min
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About

Rowing Chat is the podcast network dedicated to rowing. We have many shows hosted from around the world on specialist topics from Strength Training to USA news, from interviews to data analysis. Produced by Rebecca Caroe, it brings rowing news, coaching advice and interviews to you. Go to https://rowing.chat/ for links to the latest episodes & subscribe in your favourite podcast software.

Information

  • Creator
    Rebecca Caroe
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    500
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    RowingChat

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