RowingChat

Rebecca Caroe
  • 4.3 (19)
  • Sports
  • Weekly

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. 2d ago

    The way we do things round here

    Boathouse habits we all have but rarely record. Boat damage happens on racks and in doorways. Good habits are cheap and broken riggers are not. Timestamps 01:00 Small things with an outsize impact. When you go and lift your boat - does everyone do it the same way? Most of the "lore" lives in people's heads and gets passed on by word of mouth. Boathouse habits worth making visible. 02:15 Before the boat moves Focus on safety here - from signing in and out; which people and boat are you using, and which water circulation you are using. And the safety features in the boat - the bow ball and heel restraints on the shoes. A damaged boat stays on the rack and does not get used. Most clubs take their oars out first with water bottles, seat pads and electronics. Put them where nobody will step on them. When carrying oars do you hold them spoon or handle first? Does it matter which way? If it's important you need a policy on how to do it. 04:00 Carrying boats When moving small boats it's all about balance and managing the boat balance. Big boat safety is about communication amongst the crew carrying it. Single sculls weigh about 14kg - find the balance point before lifting of the rack. Doubles and pairs are carried differently. One person at each end, next to the canvas holding the boat in the crook of your elbow in order to have control over the boat. Before lifting any crew boat agree who is doing the calls. Eights and fours - they are long and we have a rule only one person calls and everyone else is silent unless what they say is abut carrying the boat safely. Spread yourself evenly down the boat, opposite your rigger. Make the calls one at a time - lift - roll it vertical - walk it out. You may need someone to check it's clear of the doorway. 06:45 Protect boats Simple things to protect boats - the pool noodle hack. Slit them and cover them to go over the oarlock (top and bottom of pin). Wooden wedges to tilt the riggers of the boat above up to give more space for lifting. Also tennis balls, rubber caps, old socks also work to protect top nuts. Remember the bit which does the damage is the rigger on the far side of the rack against the wall. Put the protectors back on the riggers before re-racking the boat. https://www.row2k.com/features/6718/rowing-hack-pool-noodled-oarlocks/ 08:00 Boat repairs Do you have a log book for repairs? How are repairs reported? Can you fix something you notice immediately? That is often best and you don't need to report it and take the boat out of use. An 'Out of Use' sign can be made to hang in the gates so it's obvious that the boat is broken. Who is in charge of doing the repairs or preparing a list of repairs for the next working bee? We do these monthly and most of the quick fixes can easily be done by members with no boatbuilding skill. That's where members learn about the equipment, how it is designed and how to look after it. What's important is to write down and document your processes - write them down in your club handbook and teach it at new member induction, teach visitors and at learn to row courses. If you've downloaded the Faster Masters Skills Checklists you can edit those documents to add in your way of doing things for your club. https://fastermastersrowing.com/the-rowing-skills-ladder/

    The way we do things round here

  2. Oct 23

    Build a coaching system around you

    How to blend your individual progress with the coaching resources (virtual and in person) available to you. How can I do each part better, not how can I do more. Timestamps 01:00 Coach each athlete better When you do not have a coach with you all the time you will be self-coaching or doing peer-to-peer coaching. Key is not how to do more but to have a pathway (not just this pathway). The training program shows what to do today; the pathway shows you what comes next so you see your own progress. 02:45 Rowing pathways Masters are all on an individual pathway. You need to know where you are on the journey and what comes next. Your training program is part of a training block of 2-5 months during which you have a specific end goal which may be a race. Base training is happening now with fitness, endurance and robust technique to set you up for 2027. This involves low rate endurance and so you have plenty of time each stroke to think and check that your technique is having the effect you want each stroke. Athletes who tend to zone out - this doesn't serve you well. You will slip off the rowing pattern you should be working to improve. The Faster Masters Rowing training program has notes below each workout which are detailed and explicit. In there are goals to set yourself for your skill, strength and capability. How to gauge your progress - our program structure includes repeated workouts - so you can learn the workout and note your progress from the previous time you did it. They may include a technical focus, a drill or skill with a reference video you can watch that shows you how to do it correctly and points you to things which may be going wrong that you hadn't noticed. This is the advantage of working with an experienced coach. 06:30 Usable feedback - Ask your coach what is my one thing I need to learn or achieve for this training block? A singular focus allows you to sharpen your mind. On the website is the rowing skills ladder with beginner, intermediate and advanced skills for you to self-assess. https://fastermastersrowing.com/the-rowing-skills-ladder/ Find what you need to learn next. - Build your own rowing library of information, videos, ideas, concepts you can use. Review and re-watch webinars from the Faster Masters Rowing learning portal. - Research into motor learning that shows that learners who choose when to get their feedback tend to learn better. Get feedback and be open minded (not judgemental) about it. - Technique feedback is best gained using a model of rowing in your mind. How do I want to look? Use video of yourself 3-5 strokes at low rate and firm pressure. Compare your video to the model and ask what is actually happening compared to what I am feeling. Develop your rowing "eye". - Does your coach explain things in a way that makes sense to you? If it doesn't work, ask them to explain differently or ask someone else. Or pivot and look at "where do we go from here?". - Tell your coach your goals. In the context of your crew, training group and club. That will help them to give you what you need. 10:30 Build a coaching system around you Find what you need and locate the gaps. Always be ready to go back to the beginning of the stroke cycle and re-learn each part over again.

    Build a coaching system around you

  3. Oct 12

    Pivot! When things go wrong

    Why the rowers, crews and clubs that cope best are not the ones where nothing goes wrong. They are the ones that can change direction when the plan falls apart. Resilience isn't powering through with brute force, it's the ability to adapt to try a different approach and let go of what's not working (in the boat, the crew, the club). Same question every time - What's our next move from here? Timestamps 01:15 When Ross from friends gets a couch The perfect picture of life when the obstacles are bigger and the path isn't straight. In rowing we get situations where a pivot is needed. Ross was right you do need to have the ability to pivot. 02:30 Technique pivots In technique you find the coaching approach isn't working - trying harder may just create tension, stress and no improvement. The pivot is to change the approach not the effort. Have a different cue (aural not verbal) or body position which is a different way to achieve the change. Try video, try it on the erg, in the single, slower / faster. All these approaches enable you to make a change by thinking about a pivot to a different way to do it. 04:00 Finding a crew You want to get a group together to do something - it often doesn't work. It can be hard to break into a group which appears to be already sorted. Don't wait for the "perfect" lineup - think about changing the approach instead. Row with the crew you've got - cut an eight into a four, have a regular list of alternates/substitutes who can come at late notice. We often suggest building your own crew rather than trying to break into an existing crew. Ask new joiners to try rowing a quad on a Wednesday. Look at the Learn to Row graduates and pick out a few who might be able to join you. "super stars" may get invited to join the fast crowd but most of us don't get selected like that. Be available to be the regular substitutes when the fast crowd crew needs an extra person. This can lead to the two crews blending and helping each other out - it builds trust. 07:30 In the Club Things break - often just before an important regatta. Or the club has no money to do what you want to do. Your pivot could be to start with what you have. Can you borrow or share a boat? Could you run a club repair day and invite the local boat builder to show you how to do repairs on site? Ask if someone has tools who could lead a working bee to fix up the club house - simple things that don't require a lot of expertise. Other fundraising ideas can come from other sports - would a group watch party for a coaching video be fun? Sell food at the same time. when things don't go to plan, shouting Pivot louder is not a solution. Keep asking the same question "what is our next move from here?". Listen to the quiet people - the introverts - they often have good ideas and get shouted down by the loud folks. These things compound and that can become the "new normal" for your club.

    Pivot! When things go wrong

  4. Oct 4

    Rowing is a Triple Extension Sport

    Hip extension is dominated by the three muscle groups - hamstrings, glutes and paraspinals. Get the timing right, your back becomes the connector between them. Timestamps 01:15 The power phase takes less than a second to do. The legs, back and arms deliver the power and part way through, the back changes its job. Triple extension means three joints opening together. Starts with pushing onto the feet and quads work to straighten your knees. The hip extension uses hamstrings and glutes to activate and throughout the paraspinal muscles keep your trunk firm. 03:00 The hand off The hip hinges twice each stroke - once on the power phase and once on the recovery. When you hinge on the recovery the spine is neutral - it's not actively working the muscles. But on the drive phase the same hinge action opens up the back angle. In the drive phase there is a 'hand off' between the legs and back muscles. Classic rowing technique suggests using the back swing after the legs are 50% used up. This is when the back changes its job. As the legs start the drive your back is holding its leaning forward angle as part of the kinetic chain linkage. The back starts to be part of the hip hinge activation at this point. Your glutes are the hinge joining back to legs and learning how to activate the glutes is difficult. You need to learn this. One way to do this is to clench your butt muscles. The back's job is to continue the acceleration through the water that the legs have begun. 08:00 You can only use each body part once per stroke. If you take the catch by partially using your arms, that muscle is not available to use at the end of the stroke in the arm draw. Similarly, if you use your back to place the oar in the water at the catch, you have less back to use later in the power phase, because you've used it up already. This limits the potential of your stroke. https://fastermastersrowing.com/what-your-puddles-are-telling-you/ 10:00 Fast boats vs slow boats The back movement is not the same in big, faster boats. The boat moves faster through the water and so your leg drive finishes sooner and the timing of the back swing starting is also earlier. Feel the difference by experimenting with your back timing - watch your puddles to see the effect. To learn this - increase the load while you row so you can feel the muscles working against the increased gearing. 12.30 Back swing only rowing Train your back to do this movement by isolating the back swing - train it on its own. Tighten your glutes as you rock forward, start the stroke and move your back more dynamically. https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/ The drills compendium has a drill to teach this and a video explainer. As you add in more body parts (arms, legs) the oar must continue to accelerate through the water. Keep the back swing active and dynamic as you add in more body parts.

    Rowing is a Triple Extension Sport

  5. Oct 1

    Supplementation for Masters Athletes

    Is your diet really enough to support the training you're asking of your body? Or are you spending money on supplements that do more for the marketing department than for your rowing? Key takeaways Eat well, then close the gaps. Food comes first, and supplements fill the shortfall between what your diet supplies and what your training demands. Bruce's two non-negotiables are protein and creatine monohydrate. Protein needs are higher than the guidelines suggest. The standard recommendation of 0.8 g per kg of body weight is a minimum. Bruce works to around 1.6 g per kg and spreads it across four or five meals or snacks, because older bodies make better use of protein in regular smaller doses than in one big meal. Creatine is the best-researched supplement there is. Most of us get only a gram or two a day from food. Bruce takes 5 g of creatine monohydrate daily in his morning coffee, and talks about the emerging (and still early) research into creatine and brain health. Be sceptical of the next big thing. Magnesium helps Bruce sleep but hasn't touched his cramps. Collagen may or may not help his joints, but it adds 18 g of protein to his day, so it stays. Recovery is where masters rowers win or lose. You don't get stronger in the gym, you get stronger recovering from it, and sleep is where most of that repair happens. Bruce's slides: [https://fastermastersrowing.com/supplementation-for-masters-rowers/ This episode is for general education only and isn't medical advice. Check with your doctor or a registered dietitian before starting any supplement, particularly if you have a health condition or take medication.

    Supplementation for Masters Athletes

  6. Jul 14

    The outside hand is a second oar pivot

    Follow one hand through one stroke in sweep rowing. Your outside hand is a second oarlock - controlling the handle when the blade is under the water. Timestamps 00:45 Setting the height Visualise your outside hand tracking through one stroke. It's setting the height for the oar. It goes through the longest arc. You get control for catch and finish timing from the outside hand, force on the face of the spoon and rhythm. 02:00 The second pivot When the oar goes into the water, it doesn't move much during the power phase. But the boat is being levered past the oar tip. The pivot point from the end of the spoon is your handle and this is the 'second oarlock concept'. the outside hand times the catch placement and manages the oar depth. Placement is proactive to make the handle move before your slide stops at the change of direction. Your outside hand moves a greater distance - moves further - than your seat moves. Placing with the inside hand won't give you the same finesse and control compared with the outside hand. This is because it's closer to the pivot point at the oarlock. 05:00 Middle knuckles Your outside hand knuckles should point forwards towards your feet / the stern. This helps to keep your wrist flat. It also connects the handle through the kinetic chain to your feet. Look at photos of rowers whose hands are not wrapped around the handle - they are likely using their inside hand to control the handle. 06:00 Where the inside hand does control From 90 degrees square off in the power phase your outside hand loses leverage and your inside hand takes over. Try not to let your elbow point out the side of the boat - let it go along your side ribs and point it to the person behind you. From this point to the finish you can add power with your inside hand (pull hard). 07:00 Outside hand at the finish This controls how the blade comes out of the water and sets the rhythm for the recovery. Use the movement of timing the extraction - sit still while extending the outside hand and arm only to take the oar out of the water and start moving to the stern on the recovery. Speed of the handle into the body is approximately equal to speed out from the body. Only move the shoulders after the arm is straight. This makes the rhythm for the recovery. On the recovery the blade shaft should be parallel to the water surface and approximately the same as all the other blades on your side of the boat. Four jobs for your outside hand - height at the catch - pivot through the drive - a clean release at the finish - rhythm on the recovery.

    The outside hand is a second oar pivot

  7. Jul 5

    Soft hands_ strong stroke _Edited_

    How gripping tighter makes you slower. In this episode you’ll discover why the tightest grip on the handle is often the slowest stroke, and what to do about it instead. The idea comes from Tai Chi, not the boathouse, but it applies directly to your hands, wrists and shoulders on the water. Here is the reframe. Softness is not the absence of power. It is how power actually travels through the body. Tension blocks it. Softness lets it flow. Soft hands, hard drive. Let's go. Timestamps 01:00 Tight handle grip does not give you control You might think that if you grip harder, you'll row faster but if your thumb is tight, your whole hand is tight. Tension is like a virus - it spreads. A tight thumb leads to tight fingers, wrists, shoulders. Fear of losing your grip or catching a crab when under pressure makes you clamp down instinctively. How should you hold a blade handle? Imagine you're holding a kitten or a puppy - or like it's a banana - if you squeeze too tight the skin splits and you have squashed banana on your hands. Tension blocks power When you have a tight hand or thumb it locks your wrist and forearm and travels up the kinetic chain of your body. Control and power are two different problems. A tight hand is just stiff and loses strength rapidly. Relaxing while keeping your fingers hooked around the handle gives you control and security. 04:00 What to do When trying harder (like when rowing firm pressure) your instinct is to grip harder. This stiffens the kinetic chain and slows the transfer of power from your legs and body to the blade. Soften your hand grip starting with your thumbs, then move to your fingers and you'll find this also loosens your forearm and try to row with a long neck (drop your shoulders). A muscle which is already tight finds it harder to activate when you are calling for that muscle to work during the power phase of the stroke. A relaxed muscle is easier to engage and activate to move the boat. Let your focus come down to the mass of your body and your leg drive doing the work rather than your hands being the driver of effort. Keeping your hands soft allows the mass/weight of your body to make the power. A mental re-frame - soft hands, hard drive. Softness isn't weakness it's how explosive power propels the water. Tai Chi says Tightness is life running out of a stroke, softness is life flowing through it. Hand tension blocks power and gives you a slower catch, a slower grip on the water. Let this flow into soft shoulders which will enable you to get your body weight behind pushing the blade through the water.

    Soft hands_ strong stroke _Edited_

  8. Jul 3

    Fueling for multiple races

    How little energy you burn in one race - about one banana. The real skill is racing more than once in a day - what to eat and drink. Timestamps 00:50 Fueling at regattas If you have more than one race in a single day you need to fuel appropriately. A single race barely touches your "fuel tank". The key is timing your meals and recovery between races. A race is not a big calorie burn - about 150 - 200 calories for 1k. Your body stores thousands of calories of glycogen. When you put out a lot of effort you assume the intensity means you are burning a lot of fuel. Separate habit from what you need to fuel on race day. 03:00 What's actually happening? If you race once in a day - fuel is not your limiter. Your hydration and glycogen are where they need to be if you've had a good meal the night before and on the morning of the regatta. Your job is to feel good on the day. You cannot empty your tank in one sprint race. Racing more than once in a day the goal is about recovery in the gaps between your races. You have to replace fluid, nudge glycogen up a little but still keep your gut feeling comfortable. 04:00 Stop fueling the race, start managing the day. After the first race don't eat a big meal - go small, frequent and easy to digest. 3 levers - rehydration (do this first). Fluids, a bit of sodium, rehydration salts. Sip between races. Choose a rehydration mix you like and know - it can have protein as well as carbohydrates in it. - refuel (do this second). Small, easy carbs in modest amounts or a small protein snack if you have time to digest it before your next race. Choose a banana, a small protein bar. Enough to feel topped up but not full. Finish eating with time to spare before your next race to allow for digestion. Ideally 40 minutes to 1 hour. Different people find this different - practice and notice what happens to you on race day. Time when you ate and how you feel at the second race. How your tummy feels may affect your nerves and affect digestion rates. Never trial a new food on race day - it's not worth the risk. 06:45 Key takeaways - I'm not replacing calories, I'm staying ready. - Know you're not depleted removes the panic eating - Fuel for one race by how you feel - Fuel for many races by planning the gaps between races. Use a race day plan / timetable - add fueling into the timetable and checklist. Here's an article which may help you. https://fastermastersrowing.com/rowing-regatta-checklist/

    Fueling for multiple races
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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
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    RowingChat

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