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Background:

• HR training
• training notes
• zone table

Other:

• Coxing

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Concept 2:

• training
• technique
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• Erg technique

Training for rowing - 3 to 4 sessions weekly

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Introduction

Before any discussion about exercise or keeping fit, it's a good idea to have a little bit of background information. In this case, only a couple of paragraphs are given, because this is not intended to be an in-depth guide, but rather some general guidance for any club members who want it. More information is given in the other training schedules and in the 'training' section on the website. The only really important concept that I've included below concerns what 'fitness' is as far as rowing goes. 

While sitting around watching TV, walking to the shops, going for an outing in a four, or even doing a full-blown flat out rowing race, most, if not all of the energy that we use is 'aerobic' (or 'with air') energy. We must all constantly breathe to stay alive, because our long term (endurance) energy system relies on us extracting oxygen from the air and pumping it round the bloodstream to the muscles and organs, where it is needed to produce energy. The other form of energy production, which is used for short term bursts such as running for the bus or going off the start in a race, is anaerobic (or 'without air'). They are both essential systems within the body, but only the aerobic system provides long term energy and when we refer to 'getting fit', it normally refers to 'aerobic' fitness. This can be confusing because many glossy magazines, including those with 'health' and 'fitness' in their titles use the term interchangeably to describe all sorts of other 'fitnesses' and blur the issue.

Any exercise over 30s duration is likely to use a significant proportion of aerobic energy. Rowing is a cardiovascular, 'aerobic' sport, which means that it uses and improves general heart and lung fitness. In rowing outings or even shorter races, 70-100% of power (energy) is going to be from aerobic energy. So rowing 'fitness' is nearly all about cardiovascular, aerobic fitness.

Duration and intensity

First of all, why did that word 'aerobic' keep coming up in the intro? Well, even if you don't care about jargon like that, the importance of 'aerobic' fitness and training is to do with intensity or how hard you train and for how long. You see, although we do use our heart and lungs while watching TV, this isn't likely to get us very fit, no matter how long we do it for. On the other hand, and just as important, doing 10, 100m sprints every day isn't likely to either, at least not as far as general aerobic fitness goes. 

How long?

As a rough rule of thumb you need to do at least 3 x 30 minute CONTINUOUS training sessions a week to gain or maintain fitness. 

This isn't exact, but gives a good idea of what is needed. Normally, you need at least 30 minutes in a training session to get a significant effect, once you have done some basic fitness training. It's also better to try to find time to do at least 3 regular training sessions per week.

How hard?

Well for some, probably a lot less hard than they might think and for a few, maybe a bit harder than they'd like. The answer is that you have to work in the aerobic zone (that word again). How can you tell and what on earth is this 'aerobic zone thing? If you want more explanation, then see the section on heart rate monitors in the 5-7 session schedule notes, but a good guide is that you should train at a level where you can just about hold a conversation with someone beside you. If you can hold your breath comfortably for a few seconds then you probably aren't working hard enough. If you are gasping for breath or your legs are burning (not just tired though) then you should slow down. Training too hard for too long will NOT do you any good in the long run-no, really it won't. No, really, if it did then international athletes would be doing it all the time-they don't though. 

This doesn't mean that training is easy, just that there's a time and a place. It also doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't go hard (high intensity), just that the majority of your training should be fully aerobic if you want the best results. As there is no need to go very hard as part of general fitness training, I will not include it here. But the occasional hard session can liven things up if you like that sort of thing.

Training

This isn't designed to give a full year's worth of training schedules. If you want that then watch for the 5-7 session a week schedule which is updated every week (normally) for club members. It will also take into account seasonal variations for races etc. This section is designed to give some examples and some rules of thumb, so that it can be adapted to suit needs, time available etc.

The most basic training schedule would be 3 x 30 minute ergo/cycle/run. So that is a logical place to start. It is also a good place to introduce some guidelines. This is also all valid for water sessions of course, provided that you can work hard enough and keep continuous sessions CONTINUOUS, not with 6, 3 minute breaks for water, changing tops, chats and all that.

Each session should be at least 30 minutes.
Each session should include 30 minutes continuous exercise (even out in a boat-turn quickly < 40s).
Try to do at least 3 sessions a week
Try to space sessions out regularly, Mon, Wed, Sat is far better than Fri, Sat, Sun
Cross training (i.e. not rowing) is good for general fitness, but it is essential to row or ergo if you want rowing-specific fitness too.

So a very basic, rowing fitness schedule would be:

OK so it's a bit boring, so what next? It would be possible to run or swim or cycle instead of rowing or ergoing, but there are other ways of improving this.

Variation and Progression

Of course there are any number of ways of improving and altering the most basic schedule. I'll group them together below:

1. Changes 'inside' the session
   This kind of thing is much easier and more interesting in the boat; rate changes every 2/3 minutes (e.g. 18-24), pyramids, 15 firm strokes every 500m, technical exercises and even wrapping a bungee cord around the boat are the kind of thing that are used. Some of these can increase the intensity of the session too though. Ask around for ideas-most actually have a point to them though so might help technique or boat handling.
2. Changing length of session
   It is not a bad idea to increase session length where practical, to 40-60 minutes, although it should be done gradually. Even doing 1 or 2 longer sessions a week will give benefits. Over 60 minutes (continuous) would not give the average person training for general fitness much benefit compared to the toll it can take on the body in terms of fatigue and injury risk. So by all means try, but make sure that you enjoy it! 
   For weight loss then lower intensity and longer time periods are essential to burn fat. Hard and fast doesn't work here, only long and slow-put on the radio or TV if you're at home.
3. Changing intensity of session
   This is one of the best variations to make, and a few suggestions are made in the sample schedules below. It is possible to do harder aerobic sessions that don't 'cross the line' into anaerobic training on a reasonably regular basis. But, for the true die-hard masochist only, the old favourite that is 6x500m flat out every so often could be included for fun!?! (2min rest between each one for those that are interested.)
   It's best to do at most 1 or 2 harder sessions a week out of 3 or 4. Even then, 2 hard sessions back-to-back should be avoided and really hard anaerobic sessions should be kept to a minimum, because they can actually cause you to lose fitness.
4. Changing number of sessions
   Self-explanatory really, maybe do 2 shorter sessions on a Saturday rather than 1 long one and vice versa-enough said.
5. Weight training
   Depends really on whether you want try it or not. I would only recommend doing it if it is carried out properly and if it is done as an extra session or as a circuit. There are certainly documented advantages of doing weights to prevent muscle loss with ageing etc., but they are certainly not an absolutely essential part of any general fitness programme, especially if there is only time to do 3 sessions a week. However, they do have a point, can be a bit different and many people enjoy this type of training. Very heavy weights need a lot of practice though and are probably more of an injury risk than beneficial, so I will not talk about them here.

Sample schedule

With all the above in mind, here is a sample 4 week schedule. Feel free to mix and match depending on what you want to achieve. Some people are very content with doing a 30 minute ergo twice a week; others prefer to really go for it. Bearing in mind all the advice above, tune it more towards short and enjoyable (and interesting) for general fitness, slower and longer for weight loss and a mixture of intensities of aerobic training for higher fitness levels and racing (but not back-to back hard stuff).

If you want to do 3 sessions then chuck the session that you are least interested in and space out the remainder. Notice that there is a small pattern, in that the weeks change LIGHT, MEDIUM, HARD, LIGHT. The difference at this level isn't massive but it is there for a reason and might be worth preserving if you construct your own schedules.

I have copied most of the next bit from the beginners schedule with minor changes, so if you've read it, you know the score, but it still should be said.

WARM-UP 

Every session should start with a warm-up, where you do some very light exercise and build up gradually to the speed that you want to get to during the session. So if you were going to do the session at about 2:30 pace, you should start at 3:00 or so and take 5 to 10 minutes to come down to 2:25 to 2:30 pace.

Stretching is also worth doing as part of the warm-up, BUT must be very gentle. It's worth being shown a few stretches if you're not used to this rather than overdoing it the first time. Stretching can cause injuries just as easily as help to prevent them. There are good stretching guides on the web, but it's best that someone shows and takes you through them first. 

MAIN SESSION

See schedule above. The only other bit that I will copy from the beginners schedule is this. THE IMPORTANT POINT IS NOT WHERE YOU START BUT THAT YOU KEEP GOING. 

WARM-DOWN

Again very important for your heart, body and for recovery, spend at least 5 minutes slowly paddling after the main session.