Rowing Workouts Archives | Rowing News

Navigating No-Man’s Land

Rowing News — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 18:41:34 +0000

BY JOSH CROSBY
PHOTO BY PETER SPURRIER

March and early April in New England are the equivalent to the third 500 of any 2k—that section of the race we rowers lovingly deem “no-man’s land.” Why? For one, it’s often brutal outside. And in many spots, it becomes a waiting game for the ice to melt so you can finally take some strokes in a boat after a long season hammering it out on the rowing machine. Lakes and ponds, meant for oars dipping in and out the water, are instead dotted by ice fishermen still dropping lines. This can be torture.

Back in the early ‘90s, while getting my first competitive strokes at St. Paul’s School, I’ll never forget coach Chip Morgan’s dryland training at the beginning of our spring season. Coach Morgan kept us busy and distracted, waiting for the thaw by being creative with the team’s workouts. We did weight circuits with more bench pulls than I care to remember. We ran hill repeats and charged through the campus woods. We pushed through erg sessions and tests. And just when the ice on Turkey Pond started to loosen its grip, it was a race to the boathouse to grab heavy wooden poles for chopping and shoving ice away from the boat docks. It’s amazing how a few dozen rowers, anxious for a return to the water, can speed up the thawing process.

So, inspired by Coach Morgan, I’m delivering a little something to get you through “no-man’s land” and ready to take on your summer goals.

15 minute Row:

3 minutes easy intensity, 22-24 strokes per minute
1 minute medium intensity, 24-26 strokes per minute
1 minute hard intensity, 26-28 strokes per minute
Repeat two times.

15 minute Strength Circuit:

Break each minute down by 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off (rest)
1 minute burpees (with push-up and jump)
1 minute V-ups (hold for 10-15 seconds and then repeat for the 40 seconds until able to hold the entire time)
1 minute box jumps (find a height that is right for you, but 16 inches is usually good place to start)
1 minute push ups
1 minute rest/rehydrate
Repeat two times.

15 minute Run:

3 minutes easy intensity
2 minutes medium intensity
2 minutes hard running
30 seconds hard
One minute walk.

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On the Road

Rowing News — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 04:01:12 +0000

It’s easy for rowers, cyclists, and swimmers to default to doing their single sport. As a rower, the familiarity of moving my body in the same way, week after week, becomes a dependable routine.

But here’s the problem: it creates muscle, joint, and ligament patterns that overburden the body, and at a certain point, it can also stop producing the endorphins that put a fire in your belly and help maintain mental engagement and inspiration. Our bodies get bored, and so do our minds. Neither of which is a good recipe for growth. But I’ve learned to disrupt this well-traveled road through a staged approach to running.

My return to running was slow and measured, due to a tendon injury that sidelined me for two years. I started on a treadmill. It was a softer landing than pavement and gave me total control of my speed and incline. My first workout was a mixture of speed walking and hiking. I soon progressed to running with short bouts of walking. It felt great to swing my legs underneath me, to land softly but quickly on my feet, to stand tall and focus on getting air deep into my lungs.

Start this program slowly. Even if you’re already good shape, it is easy do more than you should. Also, do one session at a time and separate each one by at least two days. If running is not comfortable for you, switch to speed hiking and set the incline between 7 and 10. Always focus on landing lightly on your feet, arms swinging by your side, and staying tall with the core and upper body.

Session 1: 15 minutes

Two minutes easy walk; 2 minutes medium walk; 1 minute job. Repeat three times. Keep incline at 2-3 throughout.

Session 2: 20 minutes

Two minutes at an easy walk. Then go for 6 minutes, with 3 minutes medium walk; 2 minutes jog; 1 minute run. Repeat twice with the incline set at 3, increasing one level with each set.

Session 3: 25 minutes

Warm up with 2 minutes of fast walking and 1 minute of jogging. Then go 2 minutes medium run; 3 minutes steady walk; 3 minutes medium run; 2 minutes steady walk; 4 minutes medium run; 1 minute steady walk; 2 minutes medium run; 1 minute steady walk; and 2 minutes hard run. Keep the incline at 2-3 for the duration.

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Get a Leg Up

Rowing News — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 04:01:20 +0000

Social media makes it easy for people to ask me for training tips, workouts, or videos. Recently I received this message from a woman just getting started with indoor rowing. “I am an avid runner and purchased your WaterRowerGx rowing machine so I could have more of an upper-body/total-body workout. Here is the problem. I keep reading about how the power in rowing comes from the legs, but I don’t feel like I am giving my legs a workout. I have the order correct, pushing with my legs first and then using the core and arms, but I don’t feel any power from the legs. Any tips on what I might be doing wrong?”
The leg drive—leg connection and leg power—is indeed the power player in rowing. Whether you are starting cross-training on an indoor rower or fine-tuning your boat speed, without leg engagement, you’re not going to get anywhere. Try these simple tips and workout to begin leveraging this most powerful muscle group.
1. As you initiate the stroke with the legs, make sure your handle and seat simultaneously move backwards. If the seat moves by itself, independently of the handle, you are pushing with the legs first, but you don’t have the resistance or “grip on the water.”
2. As you begin to push with the legs, pay attention to the tugging feeling on your fingers from the handle as the energy from your legs travels up through the core, out to the arms, to the fingers, and finally to the flywheel.
3. Still not feeling it? Push harder and quicker with the legs right from the catch. On each drive, think like you are trying to jump off the back of the machine as far as you can.
Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of easy rowing focusing on pushing with the legs first, then opening with the core/torso, and finally drawing the arms to the chest. On the return just reverse it and take twice as long coming forward as you do going backwards.
Austin Meyer racing in the lightweight men’s single at last year’s World Rowing Cup in Lucerne.
The Workout:
6 minutes with 1 minute easy at a 20; 1 minute medium at a 20; 1 minute hard at a 20; 1 minute easy at a 22; 1 minute medium at a 22; and 1 minute hard at a 22. Rest for 90 seconds.
Repeat the same sequence, upping the stroke rate to 24 and 26 strokes per minute respectively. Rest for 2-3 minutes.
Repeat the 6-minute sequence, going back to a 20 and 22 respectively. Break 90 seconds.
Repeat the sequence one last time, with stroke rate changes of 22 and 28 strokes per minute respectively. Maintain the leg connection at the higher rate.

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Memberships Required

Rowing News — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:27:58 +0000

We all know that a gym membership is only as good as you make it. Personally, I have succumbed to a monthly membership in the hopes of getting “ripped,” losing weight, or becoming game-ready. But for one reason or another, after I sign up my feet rarely end up hitting the rubber of the cardio floor. And for those times when I do make it there, I spend too much time trying to figure out which piece of equipment to jump on and how to use it. Have you been there? If so, follow these tips and workout to make your gym time more productive.

Keep it Simple: We are easily distracted by the latest and greatest piece of fitness equipment or class. But if time is tight, stay true to what you know. Get in, get on, and get it done.

Prepped and Prepared: The night before gym day, jot down the prescribed workout on your phone and load up your favorite pump-up playlist. That way, there will be no wasted minutes of precious training time devoted to sorting out your soundtrack.

Ask for Help: Schedule an appointment with a trainer. Even if you only have time to meet once every couple months, working with a trainer will provide you with a routine you can follow in the gym or on your own. Plus, having them show you proper form will enhance results and prevent injury.

Mix it Up: A huge benefit of a gym membership is the variety of offerings available to keep you motivated. Forty-five minutes of cardio goes by fast when you divide it between the rower, treadmill, and elliptical.

The Workout:
Putting the below three disciplines together provides a full-body endurance workout that keeps the mind fresh. Throughout the 45 minutes, you will repeatedly raise and lower your heart rate—a fantastic way to burn calories and build your cardiovascular fitness.

Indoor Rower: Easy for 5 minutes at 22-24 strokes per minute; medium for 5 minutes at a 26; easy for 2 minutes at a 22-24; medium for 2 minutes at a 26; 1 minute hard at a 28-30.

Treadmill: Run or walk for 15 minutes total, going 2 minutes easy, 2 minutes medium, and 1 minute hard. Repeat three times. Note: You don’t have to adjust your speed to increase intensity. Don’t be afraid to add some incline too.

Bike/Elliptical: Go for 15 minutes, completing 4 sets of 2 minutes easy, 1 minute hard. Cool down during the last 3 minutes of the workout.

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Mountain Time

Rowing News — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 15:51:07 +0000

Climbing up to the birthplace of extreme skiing—New Hampshire’s Tuckerman’s Ravine—was my way of closing out 2016. Nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, on the back side of the East’s largest and deadliest mountain, Mount Washington, the 2.4-mile ascent doesn’t let up until you reach the shelter, nicknamed HoJo’s, at the base of the ravine. It’s anywhere from a 90-minute to two-and-a-half-hour trek depending on weather, fitness, and mindset. My friend Seth and I were handed a tough, but magical New Year’s Eve day: 20 inches of new snow and a deadline from our wives to get up and down before the kids were done with breakfast.
Seth and I only saw a handful of adventurers along the way—some with smiles on their faces, all a bit beaten by the mountain. We made a few stops, but pushed through tough sections and numb hands motivated by what we hoped to see at the top. When we finally emerged above treeline the view of Tuckerman’s melted the cold, the pain, and the burn we had endured. Our time of one hour and 37 minutes wasn’t too bad either. After a quick change of gear, a few photos, and the two-mile powdery ski down, all I could think of was wanting to go back up again. This day also unexpectedly set me up for my winter training. It gave me the goal to make it to HoJo’s in one hour and 20 minutes and then ski Tuckerman’s ravine when I return this April. In order to do so, I will regularly be incorporating the below two workouts—one for strength, one for cardio—into my training.
The Workout:
Power Player
Repeating this circuit will build muscle endurance needed for repeated efforts such as in hiking and skiing. Add sets as you get stronger.
15 jump squats
30 mountain climbers
15 burpees with a push-up
15 tricep dips
20 single leg lunges (10 each side)
10 pull-ups
Cardio Crusher
The goal here is to build endurance and mimic the steeps and flatter sections of a climb.
Ten minutes of easy rowing and then go five minutes medium, five minutes hard. Recover for three minutes and repeat two to four times, envisioning summiting the mountain as you approach the midsection of the last piece.

World champion rower Josh Crosby is an international fitness presenter, coach , and co-developer of group fitness programs IndoRow and ShockWave. www.JoshCrosbyFitness.com

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Winter Classic

Rowing News — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 21:00:57 +0000

As a collegiate rower, I never looked forward to this time of year. I knew that soon the boats would be racked for the winter and I would be relegated to the weight room, the tanks, and the ergs. Although I loathed much of winter training, it helped forge an unbreakable bond between my teammates and me. Whether it was the mini-reflecting pools of sweat beneath our machines or the post-practice runs up to the food hall, the indoor season brought us together in preparation for the racing season months ahead. It helped build confidence too, the three hours of daily work instilling feelings of invincibility among us. And while I am clearly at a very different fitness level today than I was 20 years ago at Brown, I still rely on some of those classic indoor workouts to get me through the dark and dreary days of late fall.
Warm-up: Row for five minutes at an easy but connected pace at 22-24 strokes per minute. Focus on sitting tall and hinging from the hips, pushing the handle forward for nice, long strokes. Next, row for two minutes rowing at a challenging but doable pace at 24-26 strokes per minute. Focus on driving with the legs, and follow it up with 90 seconds easy at a 24 and then 90 seconds hard at a 28. Rest for two to three minutes.

The Workout:

1. Go for 3,000 meters hard at full pressure (but not all out) at 26-28 strokes per minute. Take each 1,000 meters one at a time. For the first 1,000, focus on consistent power output and a controlled recovery. For the second, work on your technique, taking 10 strokes for leg drive, hinging from the hips, finishing strong, and for staying tall on the recovery. For the last 1,000, focus on maintaining a constant split. Record your average split for the distance. Rest three to four minutes.
2. Go 2,000 meters hard at 26-30 strokes per minute. Keep your split time one to two seconds faster than what you held for 3k. Break down each 650 meters using the same focus points as above. Rest three to four minutes.
3. Row 1,000 meters hard at 28-30 strokes per minute. Keep your split one to two seconds faster than what you held for 2k. Break the piece into 250-meter segments with the last one all-out. Cool down for three to five minutes.

World champion rower Josh Crosby is an international fitness presenter, coach, and co-developer of group fitness programs IndoRow and ShockWave. www.JoshCrosbyFitness.com

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