Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Long and Low
written by DAR
Hello all,
Apologies for the short notice:
3 X 25 minutes
Rate: 18-22
The last piece we will flip the monitors up, and try to hit the average of the previous two. I'll stroke the pieces.
Dan
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday is for ergers
written by DAR
Hello Masters,
The campaign continues. Power output, and its increase, is the goal.
15 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
4 X 1:30/1:30
15 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
The duration will be a strong steady state to cool down.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday - Distance
written by DAR
Hello everybody,
Simple distance tomorrow, with a twist.
3 X 25min, 1 minute rest
Track your meters for each piece. The goal on the third will be to get as close as possible to the average of the first two. Winner gets a prize on Saturday morning.
No "Price is Right" rules, ie. going over does not disqualify. We just want closest in terms of absolute value percentage.
It's time to get some volume.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tools
written by DAR
Ugh, the adjustable. My Oracle of Mechanics, the Sage who taught me all I know, had a word for it: The Devil's Plaything. Vise Grips were known as The Tool of the Incompetent, because you only used them to bail you out of an abject failure, like a nut you'd rounded off.
Above is a picture of my basic tool kit, minus my 7/16th, which another rower seems to have run off with, and including Gordie's nose for scale. There is a Toy of Lucifer included, because it is useful. The box wrench, as in items two and three from the top, are preferable, because of their increased precision, greater number of contact points, and ability to fit in tight spaces. The big wrench is a 3/4", which will also work for 17mm. The nut drivers are homebrewed, with deep sockets welded to the ends of long screwdrivers. One is 10mm, the other 7/16". The depth of the socket allows it to fit over most nuts you'd need to deal with, and the length of the shaft keeps your knuckles away from the boat for fast and damage-free tightening. They are also difficult to over-tighten. I once had a friend who worked at a technical high school get some students to make me some for friends as gifts. They were much prettier than mine, like they'd been done for a grade.
Notice my kit does not include a ratchet. The nut drivers are all the speed I need, and they don't tighten to the point of crushing the carbon or swing into the waterline and make holes. (The blue one IS perfectly weighted for spinning and holstering like Robocop, but that's another story). They can't have their sockets changed out like a purpose build nut driver that comes with a socket set, but the welding also removed any play and vagueness.
Just a plug for my favourite tools.I've had them since high school, and guard them as my children.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday March 21st.
written by DAR
Hello All,
A great week of testing. I propose that anyone who was unable to make a testing day, and has not already done theirs, could go this Friday, March 25th, early in the morning. This provides a time where you can race as a team, rather than slay this beast alone.
For the upcoming weeks, we return to the max power/volume focus that I would like to carry through mid April. As such Monday begins with our power workout:
6 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
8 X 1min ON, 1min OFF
6 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
Rest is 5-10minutes between each segment.
Sorry about the late post. I didn't know how long Irish Night would take. It was a ton of fun, however.
Dan
Monday, March 14, 2011
Foot height and back pain
written by DAR
Firstly, a disclaimer: I am not a trainer, and this is not intended as medical advice. I only have experience, and hearsay from others more knowledgeable than I, of which I can perceive only the faintest shadow of the results, but none of the process by which they are arrived at.
There was a great comment in the previous post about foot heights. It was noted that relative height can make a big change in wattage numbers on the erg, and whether this could translate to the boat. In a word, yes. The reason is twofold. First, simple force vectors (remember Grade 12 physics?) would indicate that the force required to drive the boat towards the finish line (I'm going to avoid the terms "forward" and "backward" for the moment) is horizontal. That is, the only boat movement that helps us is along a single axis. It's not three dimensional, it's not even two. All we want is horizontal movement. Bringing the feet higher puts them more in line with the desired force vector.
Second, higher feet allow us to engage more muscles, including the glutes. This is similar to why racing cyclists are bent over so far (even excluding aerodynamics; super-aero recumbent bicycles climb like slugs because it's so hard to make power when you are supine). Getting the feet high brings these butt muscles into play.
Why then don't we all have the feet slammed to the top? One factor is flexibility. Not everyone can get their bodies over and weight to the feet when their heels are level with they tailbones. Another is the variation in body type. If your knees clear your eyebrows at the catch, then high feet are not very efficient. There are diminishing returns, then, to this thesis.
Moving forward: While I was at Hudson, the footstretchers were a huge area of concern, with significant marginal gains possible. 2009 and newer Hudson footstretcher assemblies have two 7/16th bolts staring at the rower, that allow for the relatively quick alteration of foot angle and height. The Rowing Canada Aviron girls would set theirs everyday before practice to their personal settings. But that's their job. Further, Hudson was working with a company called BATLogic to develop a totally new carbon footstretcher, with steeper toe angles, a support under the heel to engage the glutes, and a bearing underneath it all to allow the foot to pivot around the tibia (roughly). It was wicked cool. Check out the website.
We, the TRRA MW's, will do our best. I'll lobby for the rig to be set a certain way, because I don't want to make big changes from practice to race day. We will, however, make sure the boats are rigged for us, customized, when we come down the course in anger.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Big Week
written by DAR
A lovely Sunday to you all,
It's going to be a big week for us. Tomorrow, we will do our standard Max Power workout, in this guise:
10 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
5 X 1:20 ON, 1:20 OFF
10 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
I would like to record everyone's top wattage again, so that I can add it to the spreadsheet, which I have just shared with everyone.
Wednesday, we will do a 20 minute test, and follow it up with a viewing of the TRRA Safety Video.
Saturday, we're on for 2k. Just to see how we're moving along. Tanks for the remainder.
Everybody, get lots of steady state volume in between. This will aid recovery, and continue the training process while we test as a group. If you're not going to be there, please post to the comments, and perhaps you can set up a time with others to get this done. Let's get after it together!
Dan
Friday, March 11, 2011
Saturday
written by DAR
Based on conversations, I'm going to continue working on the "weight coming to the feet." As such, I'll do the exercise I was practicing with Wendy on Wednesday, but now with the entire team.
We will determine groups as needed upon arrival, and organize for the maximum amount of tank time possible.
DAR
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Wednesday Mar. 9th
written by DAR
G'day, all,
Ratchets again this week, as per two weeks ago.
2 X 20 minutes, split into quarters
5min @ 20min TEST + 12
5min @ + 8
5min @ + 10
5min @ + 6
Rest = 4 minutes
This precedes a new week of testing. Expect a new 20 minute blast next Wednesday. For the rest of this week, try to get in one day of volume and one day of power. It doesn't matter which you do on Friday, or which on Thursday. Suggestions include weight lifting, or our Max Power workout, and running, biking, or erging.
Cool. See everyone tomorrow morning.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Monday Mar. 7th
written by DAR
Power day. We will shift up slightly, doing the following:
10 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
6 X 1min ON, 1min OFF
10 X 10s ON, 60s OFF
We'll finish off the rest with Steady State, cooling down.
DAR
Carrying Boats
written by DAR
An excerpt from an email conversation I had with one of our rowers. I just want to establish how I'd like things to be done, so that we are all on the same page. The concern here was how the boat can become suddenly very heavy when it is being carried down to the dock, and a concern that height might be a large factor, and that one end may be burdened unduly.
I love these kind of efficiency arguments. I will try to be brief.
I agree that many programs do not carry their boats in the most efficient manner. They spread out opposite their riggers, and the boat pivots off the middle as it goes over humps, and crushes the tips when it passes over a dip. We can see this most clearly when bad high school crews carry bow coxed fours. No one goes to the coxswain's area, and half the boat remains unsupported, and teeters alarmingly as they stagger to the dock.
However, I would challenge your twin assertions that the bow is longer and heavier, and that crews cannot bunch at the bow. First, if we take "stern" as beginning at the back of stroke's rigger, then the difference is nil. Second, two seat often fails to go to the bow side of the bow rigger, needlessly removing themselves from the position in which they can do the most good. In this case, it is two seat's fault if bow seat is unduly burdened, not that of the stern four.
Regarding the "over heads, on the ramp," it is my experience that this is necessary if the stern of the boat comes perilously close to the roof of the bay on exit or entry. Such an event is a concern when dealing with a very steep ramp, or with rowers who are not truly bunched to the ends and a gentle ramp, causing the hull to pivot on those in the middle like a seesaw. Should either of these conditions be present, we will begin lifting over heads as we exit. Lastly, once everyone is on the same plane, differences in weight distribution should be a function of someone bailing out, rather than the physics of the matter.
I won't ask people to arrange by height in order to carry down, however. Bunching is adequate, and rational, while some arrangement that is drastically different from the boating order will only take extra time.
Any more concerns? I do actually think about this sort of thing; I could also get into the proper order of bolts to tighten on a rigger in order to cause a minimum of stress and maximize centering, or the proper tension of said bolts and/or loading straps.
Dan
I will try to continue posting on these sorts of issues as the water season approaches. I understand certain conventions may be different than those used previously; many times, this is a stylistic decision, and I would welcome the discussion. For example, I picked up the optimum strap rolling method while at Williams, so I am willing to listen. Next will likely be a discussion of strapping.
DAR
Friday, March 04, 2011
Saturday March 5th
written by DAR
Only ten days to the Ides of March. Beware.
Tomorrow, I have an idea for a technical focus. I want to change the way people think about holding the arm, especially the outside arm. We will do an exercise to find the lat muscles, and some drills in the tank that will focus on hanging off the handle.
Please alter the sign in sheet, if you have time, and I will set up groups for ergs and tanks. Expect that we will shoot for volume again. I would like to make maximum use of the ergs, however, and so will do an asymmetrical workout, with the first erg group spending 2X16 minutes on the erg, with much of the balance to 8:30 in the tanks, while the first tank group will spend only 20 minutes on the erg, and the balance on body circuits.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Wednesday
written by DAR
Given our limited time together each week, I will be going more towards steady state with moderate intensity, and leave it to you guys to get some serious base. Tomorrow, we will do 19 minute Pyramids. For these, the rate will vary, but the pressure will not. Hold your 20 minute score plus 8 seconds.
4min @ 22
3min @ 24
2min @ 26
1min @ 28
2min @ 26
3min @ 24
4min @ 22
Rest: 5 minutes
I am going to build volume progressively. We did 2 X 20min last week. This week, we will also do 2 X 19min, with some body circuits following. Next week, we will ramp up slightly in volume.
Lastly: I know it's March. Now is the time to buckle down and get to the boathouse. We are establishing a new rhythm, and want everyone to be on the same page. Further, I don't want to break rowers with volume they're not accustomed to, because they didn't get the erg mileage in the winter. Let get this done together.