So, you want to get noticed by a College Rowing Program, but your 2K time is not within the desired College Range. Rowing is a very complex exercise using almost every muscle in your body. While practicing rowing, you are training your body and mind to blend a sequence of movements into one graceful, powerful, and effortless motion.
1. To accomplish a better score on the indoor rower you need to start with Proper Rowing Technique. Ask your coach to video tape you on the indoor rowing machine from the side and review it with him/her. Better yet, actually have a live feed on a television of you rowing. You will be able to see what needs improvement, make appropriate corrections and not only feel what it is like to row properly, but also see what it looks like to row properly.
If you are new to the sport, I suggest you ease into rowing with the proper technique before you start to train hard. Break the stroke down into smaller parts (arms only, arms & body, legs only, etc) then start combining the movements gradually increasing the speed. Frequently go back to the basics to double check that you are continuing to row with good technique.
2. Your Cardiovascular System, which involves the Heart Rate and Breathing is extremely important to life, let alone rowing your best. Calculating your maximum heart rate for training is part of monitoring for over-training. You can get an approximate maximum heart rate by using the following formula: MHR = 220 – Your Age.
If you are not getting enough oxygen to your working muscles then fatigue will set in much sooner than it needs to. The breathing pattern while rowing is not necessarily rhythmic, as in yoga or pilates, you have to find your own rhythm. Typically, once you have rowed for a few minutes, you will find that you need to take in more oxygen than only one inhalation during the recovery and one exhalation during the drive. Once you exceed the point of one breath per rowing stroke, try changing your breathing to: One big exhale on the drive. With the complete breath pattern being: the recovery, inhale, exhale, and inhale again just before the drive, exhale again on the drive.
3. Setting up a Training Program is the next step to a successful 2K. Start by working on your aerobic capacity. If you are starting from scratch, take a couple of months and work on your aerobic baseline. You want to work at least 30 minutes at a time, up to 1 hour of cardiovascular training. It is not necessary to spend the entire time training on an indoor rower, include cross-training with running, biking, swimming or other fitness equipment. Keep you heart rate at about 65-70% of your maximum, or about 120-135 bpm. Once or twice a month, test yourself with either a 10K or 6K Test (meaning consistently row for that distance and measure the duration of time it takes). Use the results of the 10K/6K test splits to further improve your aerobic base and overall fitness.
4. The next step is to add interval training. Interval training consists of both shorter, more intense workouts and medium length interval workouts. The shorter workouts would be more anaerobic, meaning working without oxygen and creating shortness of breath while performing them. Anaerobic training teaches the muscles to continue to work without the sufficient oxygen that is normally supplied to them with normal breathing. The medium length interval workouts would be a little more intense than the aerobic base workouts, holding a heart rate of about 80 - 90% of your maximum heart rate, or about 150 – 165 bpm. These “anaerobic threshold” workouts are said to be the best for training and lowering your 2K time.
Figuring out how to fit these different workouts in during a week of training, and in what sequence is the key to your success of a better performance when tested.
Please remember that all workouts need to begin and end with stretching and drink plenty of liquids before, during and after your workouts.
Aerobic training is performed throughout your training program. 1 or 2 workouts of this type should be done each week, perhaps one longer piece (30 – 60 minutes) and another with 2 or 3 longer intervals (15 – 20 minutes each).
In order to give the body time to recover from an anaerobic threshold workout, these more intense workouts need to be preceded and followed by less intense work. An example of a good AT workout would be 3 X 8 minutes, with 3-4 minutes of easy paddle between. The easy paddle between is important, this time should not be used to sit on the indoor rower and tighten up your muscles. Rest time for AT workouts should be about 35 – 50% of the work time. You can make it a little more interesting by increasing stroke rating during each 8 minute piece (2’ @ 26 spm, 2’ @ 28 spm, 2’ @ 30 spm, 2’ @ 32 spm). Remember to use proper technique throughout all training.
Anaerobic workouts are short intervals done at a very high intensity (95-100% max HR or 180-190+ bpm). An aerobic workout should also be preceded and followed by less intense work for maximum effect. An example would be 6 X 1 minute, followed by 2-3 minutes of easy paddle. Typically, you want the rest time to be 2-3 times the work time.
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Now it’s time to take a 2000 meter test and set a goal. When setting your goal, make sure it is reasonable so you don’t get frustrated and give up. On the other hand, make sure you don’t choose one that is too easy.
Here are some examples of how to set a goal for your 2000 meter test:
Let’s say you are a female athlete and you just rowed a 7:20 on your test. That 7:20 breaks down to a 1:50 500 meter split. Keep this in mind – the lower your score gets the harder it is to take seconds off your split. Typically for women, the closer to the 7 minute mark you are the harder it is, and for men, that time is closer to 6 minutes. So, for this athlete, just taking 1 or 2 seconds off that 1:50 split will be a challenge.
My suggestion would be to go for a 1:48 split, making the test end with a 7:12. For this female athlete, these two seconds will be challenging enough to keep her motivated but very reachable. Obviously, if this athlete were to reach this goal in a relatively short period of time, the goal can be adjusted.
Now let’s say that you are a male athlete that has just started training, and your first 2K time was 7:40. You are relatively in good shape but a little rusty. I would suggest you go for taking a bit more time off than a couple of seconds. Try 12 seconds, making your next test goal a 7:28 (1:52 500 meter split). Again, the goal can be adjusted if reached too quickly.
Remember to stay focused and keep training – you will achieve your goal!
Provided by: Ted Riedeburg - Head Rowing Coach
The Bolles School