============================================================ INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER #79 ===================== 04-April-2003 ====================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. Indoor Rowing Training Guide 2. Tel's Tales #1 3. Racing Results 3. YMCAfit Group Rowing 4. Tel's Tales #2 5. AXA PPP Healthcare National Indoor Rowing Marathon Day 6. Eastbourne 24-Hour Row 7. Forthcoming Events **************************** Feedback Back Issues Subscription Information ________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= Indoor Rowing Training Guide ========================================================= The second edition of the Indoor Rowing Training Guide has finally hit the stands and by golly it's good. It's over three times the length of the first edition (which, embarrassingly, we used to call the ultimate indoor rowing resource. Boy is our face red) and contains a wealth of new information. A couple of months ago (oh, alright, about a year ago) we asked what people wanted to see in the new Guide, and with any luck, we've pretty much covered most of the bases. We've got a 35-page guide on weight training, for example, which has a section especially written for the guide by Jurgen Grobler, the British Heavyweight Men's Coach and former BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year. We've got a really good section on sports nutrition written by leading expert Dr Marjorie Hagerman. We've got a section on Sports Psychology by the British rowing team's sports psychologist; we've got sections on cross-training; training during pregnancy; training for the elderly; training during the menstrual cycle; training with a partridge, in a pear tree; and much more (did we mention chapters on how to train on holidays; how to personalise your training programme Danish stylee; a chapter on core stability training?). In fact, we've not even finished there; the Guide is published in a ring binder, and the aim is to produce updates and new chapters which can be added easily and peasily. There are two ways of getting your mits on it. You either buy the printed version for 25 pounds from the on-line Concept 2 Shop (http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/merchandise_lit.php3) or by calling 0115 945 5522 or emailing info@concept2.co.uk. Alternatively, you can download it for free from the Concept 2 website: http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/training_prog.htm. We've put up two versions of the Guide for you to download, the full 253 page Guide (the Whopper, as we don't, but possibly should refer to it) and an abridged 82 page version (the Tiddler. Possibly). You can also download individual chapters. Get in. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #1 ========================================================= Now that he's finished doing the Indoor Rowing Training Guide, three-times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill has very little to do all day apart from moodily kick a can around the car park and hang around outside chip shops. If you want to help give him something to do and save him from a life of crime, send your questions to tels-tales@concept2.co.uk. Gary John: "We hear so much these days about the necessity of one's training being as sport specific as possible. Can you therefore explain why anyone should do any training that is anything but the actual sport you compete in? In other words, if your chosen sport is 2,000m indoor rowing, why not simply row flat out 2,000m pieces as often as possible. After all, what could be more sport specific than that? "Could you explain why one would carry out the following training, for instance: 1. 30 to 60 minutes of low intensity (e.g. 60-70% MHR) ergo work 2. Ergo Intervals 3. Weight training - even if sport specific - e.g. bench pulls, bent over rows, squats, leg press, etc. 4. Heavy tens - very low rating on the ergo with the resistance set on 10 5. Cross training - e.g. cycling, running 6. Plyometrics 7. Circuit training "I currently carry out all of these training methods from time to time, but sometimes wonder what benefits I might be reaping, as they are clearly not 100% sport specific." Terry O'Neill: The answer is not as simple as the question. If you did as you suggest, this would be the quickest way to achieve your best time over 2,000m given your current basic aerobic and anaerobic capacity. You would reach this plateau in 6-8 weeks, beyond which you would not improve, and may even slide back. To move on from this point you have to train to develop your aerobic base, which the 30-60 minute rows address. Strength is a component of power and the weight programme is designed to increase your strength, which you hope you can then convert to more power. The cross-training, cycling and running are largely psychological and add variety and to some extent so do the circuits; the plyometrics for rowing are dubious as the risk of injury outweighs any potential gains. All joints have several associated muscles. Muscles cannot push, they can only contract and so the two main muscles on each side of the joint are called the prime mover and the antagonist. If you only trained the prime mover then the joint would become unbalanced and there is an increased risk of injury. In football the prime mover for kicking a ball is the quads, but footballing injuries are predominantly to the hamstring (antagonist). The other muscles that operate on the joint are the synergists and fixators and these hold and stabilise the joint while the main activity is being carried out. Again, these muscles need to be exercised in proportion to the exercise of the prime mover to maintain joint stability. Finally, in rowing most injuries are to postural muscles and so training to develop core stability should be an integral part of any training routine. Specific training does not just mean the development of the prime movers but to understand the role of the body as a whole during the sport and addressing these demands. ========================================================= Race Results ========================================================= A couple of race results for you; firstly, the results for the Doncaster Dome IRC can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/local.htm, while those for the first On-line IRC can be found at http://www.supercanoa.de ========================================================= YMCAfit Group Rowing ========================================================= As a quick chip across the Channel shows, mainland Europe doesn't always march in step with the UK; there are a lot of things that are far more popular over there than here, David Hasslehoff, Nutella and mullets are only the obvious examples. One thing that's been massive in Europe in the last couple of years has been Group Rowing, a sort of crew class to music. The good people at YMCAfit have recently developed a new module in association with Concept 2 to help get this out into gyms in the UK. The module is ideal for group fitness instructors looking to broaden their repertoire by teaching up-to-date, fun and challenging group classes to music. The class provides an effective whole body CV workout that is suitable for a wide range of fitness levels. The next dates are: 26-27 July, 2 August Esporta Health Club, Leeds 26-27 June, 03 July 03 London, Central YMCA 25-26 September, 3 October 03 London, Central YMCA For bookings and further information, contact YMCA Fitness Training on 020 7343 1850 or info@ymcafit.org.uk. You can also check out their website at http://www.ymcafit.org.uk. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #2 ========================================================= Recently I gave a talk to a group of sports therapy students. At the end of the talk during a question and answer session, I was asked what were the major changes I had seen during my thirty years of coaching. There have been many changes; boats and oars are no longer made of wood and are much lighter. Our top rowers are full time athletes supported by lottery funding and coaches are full time paid professionals. However, the biggest change is the increase in the volume of training and the importance of other fields of expertise that impact on rowing. When I started I'd never heard of a nutritionist, and now nutrition plays a vital role in the preparation of an athlete. When we went to the Olympics in Seoul we arranged for a chef to be at the training camp. The chap was a chef in the British army stationed in Hong Kong and I don't know how this was swung. Although we had organised a British chef this was more to do with taste than making sure we had the right nutritional balance in the diet. Every morning he would provide an English fry up breakfast and we could get him to make steak and kidney puddings for dinner and treacle pud for afters. It was absolutely fantastic, the type of food that put the Great in Great Britain. The thing is that we were eating a load of crap according to today's standards. Today, when Oxford and Cambridge go onto camps in Spain, the hotels are given a daily menu that is carefully designed to provide sufficient carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals to fuel the high-energy demands of the training routine. I mention this because the Boat Race is really a parochial sideshow compared to the Olympics but they recognise the importance of nutrition. I would go so far as to say that, with the increase in training volume, the biggest single reason for athletes' under-performance is due to poor nutrition. The new Training Guide carries a section on nutrition that a member of the BOA medical team said was the best nutritional advice he had seen. Lil, get that pasta on, I'll be home in twenty minutes. ========================================================= AXA PPP healthcare National Indoor Rowing Marathon Day ========================================================= Marathon Day is now just over a week away, taking place on Sunday, March 13th. Remember, there are a number of gyms and clubs up and down the country that are acting as drop-in centres for people who want some company while they row. For more information, check out http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/marathon.htm ========================================================= Eastbourne 24-Hour Sponsored Row ========================================================= Eastbourne Rowing Club and Willingdon School joined forces recently to take part in a 24-hour row. With around about 25 people taking part, and Olympic hero Ben Hunt-Davis flying the flag and urging people on, they covered over 340,000 metres and raised around about 5,000 pounds to spend on rowing equipment for the school. Eastbourne RC are also organising a Schools indoor rowing regatta on the 3rd of May, where a number of schools will be competing in a team event and where Sir Steven Redgrave will hopefully be on hand to lend his support. ========================================================= 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/v4/calendar.htm, then e-mail editor@concept2.co.uk. Name: South Dartmoor IRC Date: 06/04/03 Location: South Dartmoor Community College, Ashburton Distance: 2,000m plus Junior distances Organiser: Dave Carpenter Contact: T: 01364 654267 E: pe@southdartmoor.devon.sch.uk Name: AXA PPP healthcare National Marathon Day Date: 13/04/03 Location: Nationwide Distance: 42,195m or 21,097m Organiser: Concept 2 Contact: T: 0115 945 5454 E: info@concept2.co.uk Other: More information can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/marathon.htm Name: Scottish IRC Date: 26/04/03 Location: Ryan Centre, Stranraer Distance: 2,000m Organiser: David Hislop Contact: T: 01776 703535 E: davidh@dumgal.gov.uk Name: Enfield Indoor Rowing Gala Date: 01.06.03 Location: Southbury Road Leisure Centre, Enfield Distance: 2000m, 500m, Team Event Organiser: Frank Birch Contact: T: 020 8886 8499, E: F.Birch@EnfieldIndoorRowing.org.uk, W: http://www.enfieldindoorrowing.org.uk ____________________________________________________FEEDBACK You like? You dislike? 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