INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER #109 ====================== 08-September-2004 ======================= _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. Newsletter Special Offer 2. Winter Team Relay League 3. Indoor Rowing Grand Prix Series: Newark 4. AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship Offers 5. Paraplegic Rowers To Race At BIRC 6. Concept 2 British Rowathlon Series: Reading 7. Concept 2 European Open 8. Upcoming Races And Events **************************** Feedback Back Issues Subscription Information ________________________________________________________________ With or Without Bells On ***************** If this newsletter is not displaying properly, you can read it on our website at http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/newsletter.htm. If you prefer not to receive HTML email, click on Update Profile at the bottom of this page and change your preferences to Text. With Bells On ***************** For a glitzier, HTML version of our newsletter with pictures and all, go to: http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/newsletter.htm. To receive the newsletter in HTML format, click on Update Profile at the bottom of this page and change your preferences to HTML. ========================================================= Newsletter Special Offer ========================================================= This week's special offer is on Concept 2 Slides, which have been reduced in price from £130 each to £105, meaning that you can buy a set of two Slides for a whopping 50 quid off. Consisting of a simple and easy to maintain track and carriage system, the Slide means that the Indoor Rower will move back and forth under the person rowing, adding an authentic on-water dimension to indoor rowing. The Slide also enables you to link an unlimited number of machines together to create the feel of rowing in a crew. Not only does it simulate the feel of rowing on water but it also forces you to row as a crew, thus helping to develop timing, slide control on the Recovery and connection at the Catch. Two Slides are needed for the first machine but each additional machine only requires one further Slide. The Slides can be either set up or disassembled in a matter of seconds and can be fitted to all Concept 2 models, although the Concept 2 Models A and B can only be used as part of a team set-up if it is at the head of the crew. You can buy on-line at http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/c2slide.php or contact Concept 2 on 0115 945 5522 or sales@concept2.co.uk. ========================================================= Winter Team Relay League ========================================================= [Add funny intro here. Possibly something to do with Viking discoveries? Maybe other famous Leagues? e.g. League of Nations (joke about Woodrow Wilson?), Justice League of America etc. Alternatively ant/grasshopper winter hibernation gag.] The Winter Team Relay League is a worldwide tournament in which rowers race as a team in relay format on one Concept 2 Indoor Rower. As well as overall standings, results are also available for the separate national leagues. The big idea that underpins the tournament is that it can take place anywhere. There is no need for teams to travel to a central location to compete, instead the teams simply race in their own clubs, gyms etc. and submit their results before that months deadline via the website. There are events for teams of eight and teams of four rowers as well as a number of separate age and sex categories. The League is based on an idea that has been successfully running in Denmark for a couple of years now, and they're hoping for over 200 Danish teams to enter this time around, giving it a readymade constituency. The tournament consists of five rounds, which take place each month from October to February. Each round has a different race format and a team doesn't need to consist of the same rowers in all rounds. Round, Eights, Fours, Closing Date Round 1, 2 x (8 x 500m), 2 x (4 x 500m), November 1st Round 2, 25,000m, 12,500m, December 6th Round 3, 8 x 2,000m, 4 x 1,000m, January 3rd Round 4, 8 x 15 minute, 4 x 7.5 minute, February 7th Round 5, Marathon (42,195m), Half Marathon (21,097m), March 7th Entry to the Winter Team Relay League is free, and you can join at any point. All you need to do is register your team, a simple two minute process. The closing date for the first round is November 1st, so make sure you sign up early, and at least that way you can safely ignore the numerous Indoor Rowing News banging about the tournament in the lead up to it. The Winter Team Relay website can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/8gp If you have any questions on the League, contact Concept 2 on 8gp@concept2.co.uk or post in the Message Board thread at http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5642. ========================================================= Indoor Rowing Grand Prix Series: Newark ========================================================= It's inching ever closer to the September 17th last call for entries for the Newark Grand Prix, the first in this year's 2004/05 British Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series. Entry forms, race details and contact information are available from http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/newark.php, and we'll be posting race times, entrants and directions there shortly after the deadline. The race takes place on Sunday 26th September at Newark Rowing Club. The shortest of the Grand Prix's, Newark is run over a mile (1,609 metres), rather than the more usual 2,000m and, with a 500 metre competition taking place afterwards, the day should appeal to those who like their racing fast and furious. There will also be one-minute races for children, with age categories from 3 to 13, so it's also a chance to spot the possible stars of the future. The Grand Prix Series brings together six of the bigger races on the race calendar. You can enter as many or as few of the races as you want, with your top four Grand Prix performances counting towards your overall standing. For more information on the series, go to http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ ========================================================= AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship Offers ========================================================= Entering the AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship is ample reward in itself. After all, it's not like you can spend every weekend in an arena in Birmingham busting a gut while going nowhere only to topple slowly to the floor at the end. We were going to stick a joke about Emile Heskey in here but, you know, it wouldn't have been funny so we couldn't be bothered to either do that or rewrite the opening paragraph. Anyway; tortuous openings aside, entering the Championship does provide you with a host of advantages. On the day itself there'll be some sort of goody bag. No idea what's going to be in that mind you. However, what is for certain is that entering gets you a fair whack of money off some top quality stuff, specifically the Oarsome Foursome DVD and "Inspired" by Bernie Shrosbree. The Oarsome Foursome DVD is a general fitness and training DVD for all fitness levels presented by Australian rowing legends and Olympic champions the Oarsome Foursome, famed as perhaps the best technical rowers ever. Whatever your goal - building strength, balance and flexibility, getting into shape, improving posture or increasing energy levels, the Oarsome Foursome are on hand to lend some Aussie-twanged advice. Featuring: - Beginner to advanced body weight exercise routines led by the Oarsome Foursome (no rowing machine required) - Perfect your rowing stroke with the Oarsome Foursome - Aerobic & sprint training instruction and correct use of the Concept 2 Indoor Rower - Two 6 week fitness programme and lesson plans designed by the Oarsome Foursome - Fitball workout with Lisa Westlake You can buy the Oarsome Foursome DVD on-line at http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/oarsome_dvd.php "Inspired", meanwhile, is Bernie Shrosbree's first book and has as the subtitle "the blueprint for total conditioning". A former Marine and a member of the elite Special Boat Squadron, Bernie was British cross-country ski champion and an international at both biathlon and triathlon. Now he has established himself as a key fitness and performance adviser in the ultra-competitive world of Formula 1, and also trains other internationally successful sportsmen and women, including Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and the British Olympic rowing squad, Britain's top mountain bike rider Ollie Beckinsale, Bath Rugby Club and World Champion rally drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Saintz. In this book, Bernie Shrosbree sets out his personal approach for the first time in a blueprint for total fitness which means that you can benefit from the same advice, encouragement and straight talking as the world's top professionals. Inspired is a jargon-free total conditioning manual which will tell you how to establish where you are now, plan meaningful personal fitness goals and build really effective programmes - whether you are starting a conditioning programme for the first time, coming back after a lay off or are already training hard. In "Inspired" dozens of myths are exploded, and the importance of the training environment and the psychology of self-motivation are not forgotten. It shows you how to train for a whole range of specific sports, from running and cycling to basketball and equestrianism, with over 100 resistance, core stability and flexibility exercises carefully photographed and thoroughly explained. You can buy "Inspired" on-line at http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/shrosbree_book.php The Oarsome Foursome DVD normally retails at £19.99 but is available to all British IRC entrants for £12.49. "Inspired" meanwhile is available at the bargain price of £11.99 as opposed to the RRP of £17.99. For information on how to take advantage of these offers, contact Concept 2 on 0115 945 5522 or info@concept2.co.uk. ========================================================= Paraplegic Rowers To Race At BIRC ========================================================= For the first time, the AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship will see paraplegic athletes compete alongside able bodied ones. This is made possible by advanced electronic technology called functional electrical stimulation (FES), which allows the paraplegic competitors to contract their paralysed muscles by electrical stimuli transferred to the muscles by self-adhesive electrodes that are placed at each end of the muscle. Paraplegics have difficulty in achieving high intensity workouts because their paralysed muscles cannot be actively engaged in the exercise. However, FES can enable rowing for whole body exercise. The long-term goal of the research is to develop options for therapeutic physical exercise that helps to prevent obesity related disease in people with spinal cord injuries. Brian Andrews and Garry Wheeler, working between Brunel University and the Steadward Centre at the University of Alberta, Canada, have conducted the groundbreaking research that has allowed this to take place. Robin Gibbons is one of the team's paraplegic rowers and can be seen here on his adapted rower. He is now in training for the British IRC: "I started out on my adult working life as a Graphic Designer. That was some 27 years ago! Since then, I have spent over 10 years in the Royal Navy's 'Grey Line' surface fleet leaving in the rank of Lieutenant, sub-specialized as a Navy Diver followed by 3 years as a Lieutenant in the Sultanate of Oman's Navy as an Officer Cadet Trainer. Since 1992 I have been a commercial pilot rising to the dizzy heights of a First Officer with Virgin Atlantic Airways as well as being a part time fitness instructor, until three and a half years ago that is. "Tragically, on 7 January 2001, I ran off the road on black ice and in so doing broke my back at thoracic vertebra 3/4. My lesion was certified as complete, which meant I was now paralyzed, permanently, from the middle of my chest down. This was without doubt the most difficult time of my life. "I heard about Professor Andrews and his work and I tried FES in May 2003. It was truly a delight to see my paralyzed legs once again moving under my control, albeit with the use of electrical stimulation! It is a sight that never ceases to amaze me. In those early days the necessary adaptations to the Concept 2 were still in their infancy and some of them were clearly unsatisfactory. Not only this, but the rowing sessions were plagued with hiccups and, as can be expected after over three years of paralysis, my legs were weak and untrained. "It is a very different story today. Two developments have simultaneously been taking place. Major design changes have been made and new equipment manufactured by a UK charity called Demand (http://www.demand.org.uk) who specialise in adapting everyday items for disabled use. Of particular note has been the seat design, harnessing and angled rail to the rowing machine. "At the same time, not only did my indoor rowing training begin in earnest this year but important lessons were learnt from other separate studies in muscle strength and endurance training which have had an influence on our training regime. I have been training on a modified Concept 2 on average once a week and have been conducting leg strength training two to four times a week at home. My weekly 'homework' initially involved stimulating my legs with an off the shelf stimulator. I would lie on my bed with my legs dangling over the edge. My legs would miraculously alternatively lift and lower with the stimulator set on automatic mode. I later progressed to 3lb weights attached to walking boots to add resistance. It became obvious that the weights were not enough. The turning point came as a result of a discussion with the team after one of my weekly rowing sessions. I found I had enough strength in my legs to stand! "We are now achieving 2,000m in around 11 and a half minutes rowing. However, the overall time is 23 minutes because of the rest stops I need to allow my stimulated muscle to recover. The team is now working on a more sophisticated stimulator, which will enable two or three sets of thigh muscles to be stimulated alternatively and allow me to complete the race non-stop. "So much for adaptive rowing! I would like to close with some of the benefits I hinted at in my introduction. The most important of these has to be the increased cardiovascular workout. I regularly swim 80 lengths of Aspire's 25 metre pool, and I push my wheelchair around a 2-mile dirt track in my local park, but the highest heartbeat I have been able to achieve is around 110 beats per minute. With adaptive rowing I am able to sustain almost 160 bpm! The benefit of increased cardiovascular fitness is of course being able to get around and do everyday things more easily. Other benefits expected in the longer term include a decreased risk of heart disease and diabetes. "Secondary benefits are better body weight control and because of the different action, less risk of repetitive strain injury from life in a wheelchair. A stronger heart results in better circulation and the body's lymphatic return is improved. "Finally, there are also psychological benefits, which may not be at first appreciated. Rowing is one activity that is the same whether you are disabled or able bodied, so there is a definite feel good factor there. Also we have all heard it said that inactivity breeds lethargy. In the disabled fraternity, this is even more relevant. The sheer effort of doing the simplest activities of everyday life in a wheelchair is huge. Tragically this naturally breeds a downward energy spiral where the paralyzed person wants to do less and less. I see adaptive rowing as an activity that has the potential to break this behavioural pattern by getting the individual out and into an environment where he or she can workout with other like minded individuals and by doing so reverse this effect by triggering increased energy levels. "The physical benefits speak for themselves. The different action resulting from the rowing action has helped stabilize my shoulder girdle. Since engaging on regular training sessions, I have not suffered from repetitive strain type conditions which a growing number of long-term wheelchair users complain of. My cardiovascular fitness has without doubt increased beyond anything I could have hoped to achieve with any other activity and my arms are the strongest they have ever been either before or after my accident with none of the usual muscle discomfort associated with hard physical exercise. "In summary, I am totally convinced that adaptive rowing is the ultimate exercise regime for many paralysis sufferers in that it has the unique ability of allowing the user to maintain the highest levels of all-round fitness, health and well being. Not only do I feel better and more stable within myself emotionally, but also I have found the activity has given me the increased energy levels necessary to help me to cope with the daily grind and frustration of life in a wheelchair." We will be updating you on this new research and the team's progress in the lead up to the British IRC. ========================================================= Concept 2 British Rowathlon Series: Reading ========================================================= The second race in this year's Concept 2 British Rowathlon series took place at Reading on the 4th of September. Bright sunshine and temperatures in excess of 28 degrees added an extra sting to the day's racing. The bike section was shorter than in the other races in the British Rowathlon Series and staged on the 500m cycle track within the stadium. This made for an exciting spectacle for the crowd, who could track the racing and support their friends and families at all times throughout the race. After the 2.5k row and 7k bike, it was out onto the athletics track for a seven lap (2.8k) run to finish the event. Probably the most eagerly anticipated race of the day was the head-to-head battle between Hywel Davies and Dan Staite in the M30s. Dan was the first man to beat Hywel in a Rowathlon Series race when he finished ahead of him at Castle Coombe in August. Hywel was back from illness though and firing on all cylinders for the Reading event. With the bike leg drawing to a close, Dan had a lead of around twenty five seconds on Hywel and it looked as though the run section could be crucial and excitement was brewing. But to the dismay of the spectators, Hywel had been confused by the lap counter and headed for transition a lap early. He soon realised his error and headed back out onto the track and although he then ran the fastest run leg of the day, the gap had grown too large and Dan was champion again with an awesome total time of 28:49. Racing was tight in the other categories too. In the M40s Mark Kleanthous just beat David Wright to the line in a thrilling sprint finish with a time of 31:52 whilst Cathy Rogers held off Christine Costiff for a second time in the F40s. Once again Michelle Parsons was the clear winner in the F30s in a time of 32:46. Following his Castle Coombe victory John Booth was unable to catch Lee Holdaway who took the M50s in a time of 33:08. With two rounds still to go the next race at Thruxton is set to be a thriller. Full results and series rankings can be found at www.concept2.co.uk or www.rowingtriathlon.com. ========================================================= Concept 2 European Open ========================================================= If you're planning on going to the 2nd Concept 2 European Open in Amsterdam on the 18th of December (and you should, because it's going to be hella good) then you're probably going to want somewhere to stop. The team hotel this year is the Amsterdam Novotel, a 4-star hotel in the middle of the business centre of Amsterdam. The organisers of the Concept 2 European Open have negotiated a special room rate at the Amsterdam Novotel of 100 euros for a double room. To get advantage of this rate, just contact the hotel and mention the European Open (although, apparently, there's some sort of seasonal offer on at the moment, so if you book now, you might be able to get it cheaper anyway). You can contact the hotel on: Tel : (+31)20/5411123 Fax : (+31)20/6462823 E-mail : H0515@accor.com ========================================================= Upcoming Races and Events ========================================================= If you've got an event you'd like adding to the Event Calendar, the full version of which can be seen at http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/calendar.php, then e-mail editor@concept2.co.uk. Name: Enfield Indoor Rowing Gala Date: 12/09/04 Venue: Southbury Leisure Centre, Enfield Distance: 2000m Organiser: Frank Birch Contact: T: 020 8886 8499; E: Frank.Birch@MyHo.me.uk W: http://www.EnfieldIndoorRowing.org.uk Name: Thruxton Rowathlon Date: 26/09/04 Venue: Thruxton Race Circuit, Andover Distance: 3k row, 21k cycle, 3.5k run Organiser: Adrian Butt Contact: T: 023 8040 7612 E: adeb@hantsfiretri.com W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowathlon Other: Third race in the 2004 Concept 2 British Rowathlon series Name: Nottinghamshire IRC (GP 1) Date: 26/09/04 Venue: Newark RC Distance: 1,609m Organiser: Graham Price Contact: T: 07793 437582 or 01636 605779 (evenings) E: graham@smtt.co.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/newark.php Other: The Newark Grand Prix. First race in the 20004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series Name: Marlow Rowathlon Date: 03/10/04 Venue: Marlow Rowing Club Distance: 4k row, 25k cycle, 7.5k run Organiser: Mike Spencer Jones E: race@rowersrevenge.co.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowathlon Other: Final race in the 2004 Concept 2 British Rowathlon series Name: Cambridge GP (GP 2) Date: 09/10/04 Venue: TBC Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nik Fleming T: 07801 099714 E: fleming.n@ucles.org.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ Other: Cambridge Grand Prix. The second race in the 2004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series. Name: South Eastern IRC + Able To Row Date: 17/10/04 Venue: Maidstone Leisure Centre Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nick Bird T: 01622 683959 E: nick.bird@ceridian.com Other: Entries close 1st October. There is a full range of categories from J11 to 80+ with good quality prizes to be had. The Able to Row event is aimed at disabled athletes who want to participate in the Championships. These would be particularly welcome. Name: South East Of England IRC (GP 3) Date: 24/10/04 Venue: Southampton Institute, Southampton Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nigel Mayglothling T: 0115 951 5516 E: nigel.mayglothling@nottingham.ac.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ Other: Southampton Grand Prix. The third race in the 2004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series. ____________________________________________________FEEDBACK You like? You dislike? You want to write something for the newsletter? Want to mock us on making a basic error? Make sure to tell us at editor@concept2.co.uk. Or, of course, you could always say something at our message board: http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/ _____________________________________________________BACK ISSUES Have a blast from the past by going to http://www.concept2.co.uk/news/newsletter_archive.php and checking out the hidden treasures of the Indoor Rowing News. New issues are posted on the release date of the following newsletter.