============================================================ INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER #36 ========================= 11-May-2001 ======================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship 2. Concept Ranking 3. Tel's Tales #1 4. Forthcoming Events 5. Maintenance 6. On-Line World Ranking 7. Tel's British Indoor Rowing Championship Tale 8. Top Tips 9. Ultra-FIT X-Training Challenge 10. Red Nose Row 11. Back Issues ________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= Hip hip hooray calloo callay. Today sees the launch of this year's PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship web site! At the moment, obviously, it's only slightly less scanty than the Invisible Man's Y-fronts, what with it having been launched but thirty minutes ago. Still, having said that, for the first time this year you're able to enter the championship online at http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/entryform.php, cutting at a stroke all that boring fuddy-duddy old economy stuff, like finding a biro that doesn't run out halfway through the form and turning your purse upside down because you're sure you saw a stamp in there the other day. After entering your details, you have the choice of either paying the 7.50 pound entry fee by credit card on-line from our secure server or, alternatively, you can pay by cheque (although your cheque must be in by October 26th). If you must enter the boring old way, you can print off a copy of the entry form from our web site (which also has a copy of the multiple entry form for teams and clubs) or send an e-mail to birc@concept2.co.uk requesting a copy along with your name and address. The championships this year take place on November 18th at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and the web site has a news section, (http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/news.php), to keep you up to date with all the latest happenings. Although it only contains five or six items at the moment, we'll be adding to it regularly over the forthcoming months. ========================================================= Concept Ranking ========================================================= Like the new Wembley Stadium it promises to be a flowering jewel at the centrepiece of its sport. Also like the new Wembley Stadium it's run over initial deadlines. Unlike the new Wembley Stadium it's not going to cost 400 million pounds and we've not had to sack a gentleman with a white beard. The new Concept Ranking has now gone on-line at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/ranking.htm and contains over 10,000 results and times, ranging from those for the Junior 12 2,000 metres to the 100,000 metre team event, passing through the women's 40-49 Lwt 5,000 metres on the way. Next newsletter we'll be selecting some of the best performances and profiling a few of the individuals involved. For now, however, we'll leave it to talk for itself. One thing, though: as work is still going on in producing a printed version, it might be worth checking it out on-line now and e-mailing us at ranking@vermonthouse.co.uk if you see any mistakes (heaven forfend of course). ========================================================= Tel's Tales #1 ========================================================= Some find truth in the contemplation of a flowering lotus blossom; some in the ability of the proletariat to overthrow the boss class; some in the bottom of Jack Daniels' finest. Three times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill believes in the Anaerobic Threshold and the Wave Principle of Training. Makes for a dull guy at parties but boy is he the man for a question and answer column. If you've got something you'd like him to contemplate, send it to tels-tales@concept2.co.uk Bruce Harris: "Your opinion, oh learned one, on diets. I am an active man, 45, relatively fit (very relatively). I exercise 5-6 times per week for about an hour and mix it up running, cycling, rowing and throw in some weights so I can look at myself in the mirror. Even so, I carry about 7 kilograms over what I should weigh realistically (95kg instead of 88kg at 6ft tall). "What do you think of these protein diets where you dump carbohydrates because they make you produce insulin which then blah, blah, blah. I tried it for four weeks. The first week I lost 2 kg then nothing after that. It's not easy cutting out starches as pasta and rice are my favourites. My training seemed to suffer at times as I felt very weak with little energy and my times, especially rowing, were poor. Is that psychosomatic or were my fuel stores depleted? "Also THE best music to row to is Ian McNabb's 'Fire Inside My Soul' and ' Be Prepared To Dream' . Fifteen magical minutes of inspiring rock even the titles are the business." Terry O'Neill: The question of diets is really quite simple. All food has a calorific value and all exercise has a calorific value. The calories in food are chemical energy and exercise is mechanical energy. The body converts the chemical energy in food to mechanical energy in movement. If you consume more calories in the form of food than you use in the form of movement then you can put on weight as this surplus is stored about the body. Conversely if you use more calories in movement than you take in as food then the shortfall will be made up from stored fat and you will lose weight. There are seven different nutrients the body needs to remain healthy, vitamins, minerals, fat, protein, carbohydrates, fibre, and water. These are all contained in a normal diet and, more importantly, in a form the body can deal with. Any diet that excludes any of these should only be followed for a very short time as they present a risk to your health. Cutting out carbohydrates from your diet could easily have made you feel tired and sluggish and a look at your blood sugar level would confirm this. You are a big bloke with a big appetite and this is the first thing to address. You don't need to cut out but cut down. Eat smaller portions and eat as slowly as you can by putting less in your mouth and chewing every mouthful 12 times. Eat often, 5 times a day so you don't let the hunger pangs build up. Sensible eating and regular exercise are the best combination for a healthy life style but it gets harder as you get old and your percentage body fat increases naturally. ========================================================= Forthcoming Events ========================================================= Name: West of England IRC Date: 9th June Venue: West Somerset Sports and Leisure Centre, Minehead Distance: 2,000 metres and 500 metres sprint. Entry Fee: 8 pounds for 2,000 metres (includes free T-Shirt); 4 pounds for 500 metres (includes free medal) Contact: Neil Hutchinson. Tel: 01643 708857 E-mail: wsslc@wsslc.demon.co.uk Name: Stranraer Scottish Indoor Rowing Championship: Date: 24th June. Venue: Ryan Centre, Stranraer Distance: 2,000 metres Entry Fee: 5 pounds (includes free T-Shirt) Other: Closing date for entries is June 15th Contact: David Hislop. Tel: 01776 703535 E-mail: davidh@dumgal.gov.uk ========================================================= Maintenance ========================================================= Lubrication, stiff links, tightening of nuts and wiping with a cloth after use. Yes, you've guessed it, it's the debut of a new monthly maintenance and product tips column. The first one kicks off with a guide to what you need to do on a regular basis to keep your machine in tip-top condition: Daily ---------------------------------------- *Wipe monorail with a cloth after use. Every 50 hours of use (weekly for institutional users) ---------------------------------------- *Clean and lubricate the chain with the oil provided (or 20w Motor Oil or 20w 3-in-1 oil) *Check the socket screws used to install the front leg and frame lock for tightness. Also check that each toe piece nut and bolt is tight. *Check battery power on monitor. Every 250 hours of use (monthly for institutional users) ---------------------------------------- *Inspect chain for stiff links. If thorough lubrication does not help the chain should be replaced. *Inspect chain-handle connection for wear. If the hole has become elongated, or the U-bolt is worn halfway through, the entire connection should be replaced. *Tighten the shockcord if the handle does not return all the way to the fan enclosure. *Loosen or tighten the nuts on the Performance Monitor arm joints as necessary. *Check for dust inside the flywheel with a torch. Vacuum if needed. Approximately every 800 hours of use ---------------------------------------- *Replace the batteries in the Performance Monitor (PM2 or PM2+). The PM2 and PM2+ use 2 AA batteries. NOTE - The monitor is a sealed unit. Do NOT take apart. Any attempt to disassemble will void the warranty. Contact Concept 2 for problems with this part. IMPORTANT: Use of the Concept 2 Indoor Rower with a worn or weakened part, such as the chain, sprockets, chain/swivel connector, handle U-bolt or shockcord, may result in injury to the user. When in doubt about the condition of any part, Concept 2 strongly advise that it be replaced immediately. Use only genuine Concept 2 parts. Use of other parts may result in injury or poor performance of the machine. ========================================================= On-Line World Ranking ========================================================= You wait months for a Ranking announcement and then two turn up at once. April 30th was the close of the rowing year for the On-Line World Ranking (http://166.82.35.96/sranking/home.asp). All of the results up to then have been archived in the "historical rankings" section of the site, while any new entries will be competing on a whole new playing field. Looking back at the 'closed' world rankings, one thing is immediately apparent: Britain and Ireland kick butt over 5,000 metres. Ten of the fifteen places overall go to the British Isles, with Nik Fleming taking the top spot with 16:10.7. In the Junior 18 section Chris Mollison (16:57.1) and Scott Rennie (17:14.6) take one and two, while for the 19-29 age category, David Kealy (16:19.7), Padraic Hussey (16:22.5) and Andrew Norris (16:26.7) take the top three spots, with eight people in the top ten. In the 30-39 slot, it's an impressive five out of five, with Nik Fleming, Julian Tomkinson (16:26.7), Chris Brett (16:27.3), Phil Rogers (16:33.4) and Scott Samuels (16:50.4) sitting pretty. The older age groups show a similar pattern, with Kevin McKeown (19:44.5) and John Howell (19:50.0) finishing second and third in the 70-79 category. In the women's categories, Pip Regan managed a great 18:37.9 to finish second overall, as did Phillipa Bentley in the lightweight version with 19:37.0. Anna Bailey, meanwhile, dominated the 40-49 category with 18:57.2, nearly 30 seconds ahead of Lynn Loughton (also of Britain) who did 19:24.1. Go Britain, go Britain. ========================================================= Tel's British Indoor Rowing Championship Tale ========================================================= Six months to the British Indoor Rowing Championships, which promises to be the biggest and the best ever. Miss it and your life will have a big empty hole in the middle. You'll wake up screaming in the middle of the night. You'll hit the bottle, friends will avoid you, you'll lose your job and end up sleeping under Waterloo Bridge. Alternatively you can start on Tel's compressed six months training programme. You will go to the ball, realise your dream, friends will swarm around you and you will gain promotion at work. From the week ending 19/20th May there are twenty-six weeks to BIRC. Weeks 25-26 will form the taper leaving 24 weeks, which we will divide into 4x6 week blocks. The training regime for the first six weeks is based on six sessions per week. If you train five times a week, knock off one of the light sessions. If you train four times a week knock off the other light session. The training aim for this first block is to establish a sound aerobic base. Ideally you should supplement this training with some strength training on the DYNO. A recent study from the Ohio State University has found that cross training on the DYNO brought about significant improvement on indoor rowing performance because it is so specific. I'll be giving more info on this report in the next newsletter. The first part of the training programme can be found by visiting http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/news.php?news=telsplan.inc ========================================================= Top Tips ========================================================= Every fortnight for the past year we've asked readers for their Top Tips. So far Top Tips have included Harry Welsh's ingenious Heath Robinson contraption to take fluid on board during a long work out; Patrick Andrew's suggestion about wearing wrist weights to build up shoulder and arm strength and Richard Comfort's race tactics. Unfortunately, every fortnight for the past two months there's been a silence that can only be described as deafening on the Top Tips front. Just because the weather's finally started to turn nice is no excuse to stop thinking about indoor rowing, so make sure you send in your suggestions, hints, tips and whatnots to webmaster@concept2.co.uk ========================================================= Ultra-FIT X-Training Challenge ========================================================= Last year Terry O'Neill's TV career went up in flames when the Home Shopping Channel he was working for burned to the ground. He claims it was as a direct result of the phones being overloaded after one of his "charismatic" presenting spots. It's known that the fire brigade take a subtly different view. Although it looked initially that he was stuck in the scrap heap of former presenters and commentators alongside Christopher Lillicrap, Wincey Willis and Bernie Winters (plus Schnorbitz), he's now been rescued from obscurity by the Ultra-FIT X-Training Challenge this weekend at the Stratford-upon-Avon Visitor and Leisure Centre. The Ultra-FIT challenge is the toughest event in the cross-training calendar, testing every aspect of strength, skill and endurance over ten pieces of fitness equipment. Commentary will be provided by one of the leading names in fitness, Mark McKeon, flown all the way over from Australia, and Terry O'Neill, bussed all the way down from Nottingham. The individual men and women's events take place on the Saturday, while the Sunday sees the team event. Competing in this are five members of the British gold medal Olympic rowing eight - Steve Trapmore, Luka Grubor, Louis Attrill, Simon Dennis and Ben Hunt-Davis. Taking part under the name Pieces of Eight, with any luck they'll be able to demonstrate once again that rowing is the ultimate fitness sport. For more information, check out http://www.ultra-fitmagazine.com/XTC.htm ========================================================= Red Nose Row ========================================================= Yes, yes. We know we said we'd be sending the Red Nose Row certificates out in a couple of weeks more than a couple of weeks ago. And we know that after six months of churning out the metres you want something to prove it wasn't just a bad dream. Well rest assured. We'll be sending them out in the next couple of weeks. No, seriously this time. Look, stopping looking at us like that, OK? ========================================================= Back Issues ========================================================= For those of you in search of back issues, they're all now available on-line at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/newsletter_index.php3. New old issues will be posted on the release date of the following newsletter. ____________________________________________F E E D B A C K Like what you read? Dislike what you read? Ideas for future newsletters? Make sure to tell us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk. Or of course, you could always tell us at our message board: http://www.concept2.co.uk/messageboard.htm. Oh go on. _________________________________________________________ _______________________________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO If you think you're on this mailing list accidentally, just return the e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. If you're getting more than one copy, then reply with "multiple" as the header.