Rowing, Strength and All Round Athleticism

22/08/2016

Lunch:
20 minutes on stationary bike around 230 watts per hour.

PM
6km r20 on erg at 2:01.2 split
2 minute rest
4km off just garbage rowing.

Felt a little leggy due to the lunchtime session, but this was just mentally weak and once I stopped once, it was so hard to recover. MUST DO BETTER!

23/08/2016

Lunch:
20 minutes row on ergo r20 at 1:54.9 split. Much better!

PM
90 minute rugby session. Been a long time since I played rugby, but it was fun. Don’t plan on doing it serious, but just for a bit of fun now and then.

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Rugby :grinning: awesome… Stay motivated Mr.!!!

@countrygirl2016 - Haha thanks. Felt weird being on a rugby pitch again. In rowing, a duck once got pretty close to the boat, but that is about as close as I came to it being a contact sport. Just hoping it doesn’t break me, as from February onwards eyes will be firmly on rowing at Henley, so a lot of other hobbies etc will have to be sacrificed.

24/08/2016

40 minute row on ergo at r20 at 1:57.7 split.

Much better today. Monday was frustrating, but this is the perfect response.

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Your hilarious and that image had me laughing!!! Thank you

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@countrygirl2016 - Haha, no worries. It was a scary moment in my rowing career.

25/08/2016

So tired and sore today. Did quite a bit of walking and had a bit of fun trying various challenges and moves. Managed about 8 or so 1 arm press ups, managed to do a full bridge for the first time ever so back mobility is definitely improving. Tried dragon flags again, but just short on doing these properly.

26/08/2016

So had to do weights at lunch as I wanted to head to the park to take advantage of the sun, so did the following session in 25 minutes.

Bench Press: 60/5, 60/3, 80/3, 85/3, 90/3, 60/3
Squats: 70/5, 110/3, 120/3, 130/3, 140/3, 150/3, 60/3
Pull Ups: 10, 9, 7

Supersetted each set with a mobility drill, as I am making good progress using Agile 8 exercises and some of Max Shank’s drills for mobility and athleticism.

My bench and pull ups were terrible today, but happy enough with 150kg x 3 for squats, given I haven;t done them for a while.

27/08/2016 and 28/08/2016

Camping in the Peak District, managed over 10 hours of walking up the hills and through the moors.

29/08/2016

72 minute cycle on turbo trainer to the “Hell Hath No Fury” Sufferfest video.

30/08/2016

90 minute rugby session.

Managed to pull my groin which is really annoying.

31/08/2016

Very light 20 minute cycle at 170 watts per hour just to keep moving, but my groin is in a lot of pain. Just found out I was picked for the 1st team (only benching), but still was a bit of a surprise for Saturdays game.

01/09/2016

Had to be very careful with groin strain, so last 2 days has just been 45 minutes of gentle mobility and strengthening exercises mixed in with pull ups and push ups to keep the upper body working.

02/09/2016

15 minute run at 12kph. Basically just to see if I was going to be ok to play rugby tomorrow.

03/09/2016

10km gentle single scull. Groin, much better. Keeping it moving along with hot baths has helped massively.

PM
First rugby game in many many years. Got 20 minutes on as sub on the right wing. We won 8-3. Didn’t get too involved, but was fun to be back on the pitch.

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04/09/2016

AM
10km rowing in a single scull.

PM

Giant Sets:
Bench Press: 60/3, 70/3, 80/3, 90/3, 60/3
Romanian Deadlift: 60/3, 80/3, 90/3, 100/3, 60/3
Barbell Rows: 60/3, 80/3, 90/3, 100/3, 60/3

Giant Sets:
Shoulder Rehab: 10/8, 10/8, 10/8, 10/8
Toe Touches: 12, 12, 12, 12
Sun Salutations: 3, 3, 3, 3

Superset:
Rear Lateral Raises: 12/8, 12/8, 12/8
Standing Broad Jumps: 3, 3, 3

Good double session today. Kept weights fast and explosive. Had to do a bit of shoulder stability work to help strengthen around an old injury, ready for this season. Liked the addition of mobility work in as well, as hamstrings and glutes were very tight after being in the single.

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Are you feeling better? I saw where you posted groin strain… that’s awful!!

@countrygirl2016 - Yeah, quite a bit better thanks. It is still a little sore on some movements, so might have to be careful with Squats, but I want to avoid injuries stopping my training altogether and keep doing a good level of mobility and prehab work to prevent further injury. Luckily this one has been relatively minor, so I have still managed to get a fair bit done. Thanks for checking in.

05/09/2016

2 x 4.5km row on ergo r19 at 2:01.6 split with 2 minute rest.

Just felt very tight today and made extra effort to focus on technique. Still suffering from slow hands away and getting a strong hip drive when my hip flexors are tight.

06/09/2016

Exhausted today so basically just did 20 minutes technical work on the rowing machine, breaking the stroke down and focusing on the power curves. Then followed it up with some dynamic stretching and mobility.

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07/09/2016

4 x 9 minutes on erg r19 with 2 minute rest at 1:58.0 split.

Urgh, still really struggling with my rowing times, but early season, it least the average split has come down from Monday.

08/09/2016

Lunch:
30 minute bike at 227 watts per hour.

PM
5 minutes mobility drills
6 minute core circuit

Superset 1:
Power Clean: 70/6, 70/6, 70/6, 70/6
Burpee Push Ups: 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 2:
Front Squat: 60/10, 70/10, 80/8, 90/6
Skipping: 60s, 60s, 60s, 60s

Superset 3:
Barbell Row: 70/10, 80/10, 80/10, 80/10
Bench Press: 60/10, 70/10, 70/10, 70/10

Superset 4:
Pistol Squats: 5, 5, 5, 5 (Each leg)
Romanian Deadlift: 90/8, 90/8, 90/8, 100/8

New weights programme with lots of reppage early in the season.

09/09/2016

So basically everything hurts!

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I would love to try rowing just once to see what it’s like. I’m sure my arms would be hurting forever. Take it easy on yourself because what you did was a lot!!! Feel better soon :grimacing:

@countrygirl2016 - Haha, it is an amzing sport, although going into a boat for the first time is nothing like anyone expects. The balance and technique side of things make it so difficult. It is often a few months before people can start to put power down. It is actually more about the legs. You get the compression at the front end, engage the glutes, push with the legs and then open the back and it is only the last bit you use your arms. That is why squats and deadlifts have the best carryover. I’ll be fine, I just need to push through until my body adapts to the volume again.

10/09/2016

Double Outing:
1st Outing:
10km in a coxed 4. Utter terrible!

Still missing most of the senior squad. I am all for an inclusive squad and welcoming new people, but not going to lie 1 in particular was just not up to standard. I would be a lot more patient if they do all the land training, work hard and have a lot of fitness and ower to bring to the boat, but when they just turn up at weekend and get included in the senior squad, then I am not impressed.

2nd Outing
Honestly can’t believe how bad the first outing was. 2 of them left after that, but meant I had the option to take a pair out with someone who I can actually row with and turns up to the training.

5km outing in pair. Only a quick session, but oh so much better. Was the morale booster I needed.

Again, I am all for helping those with a good attitude keen to learn who commit and make improvements, but the first outing did highlight some people need to be placed in a more appropriate squad.

11/09/2016

We had an anniversary barbecue for to celebrate the 10th year since our club was formed. Did a few fun races in mixed crews just over 300m each. Great day out and was great to see so many of the club as well as family and friends there.

PM
7.04km run in 32:02. Not bad given lack of time spent running recently.

12/09/2016

Lunch:
About 2km technical work on the ergo again followed by 10 minutes of dynamic stretching and mobility work. Nothing hard due to squad training tonight, but definitely left my hips feeling much looser.

PM
2 x 5.25km on ergo r19 with 2 minutes rest at 1:58.1 split.

Over 3s split quicker than last week and over a longer distance. Its progress and thats all I am aiming for at this point. I felt technically I rowed a lot better in the 1st piece, but reverted to old bad habits in the 2nd piece so need to work on that when I am tire.

13/09/2016

Lunch:
Clean & Press: 20/5, 60/3, 70/3, 70/3, 75/3, 60/3
Squats: 60/3, 100/3, 120/3, 140/3, 150/3, 100/3
Weighted Pull Ups: BW/8, 10/3, 15/3, 20/3, BW/12

Not bad for quick 30 minute lunch session.

PM
90 minute rugby session. Man this was tough, lots of fitness work doing heavy bag carries, sprints, tackle bag work, 2 on 1 defensive work. All this followed by more heavy bag carries.

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger right?

Feeling destroyed right now, but need to keep it going and not get distracted by other shit going on!

14/09/2016

3 x 13 minutes rowing on ergo r19 at 1:57.3 split with 2 minutes rest.

The pace is picking up.

15/09/2016

Lunch:
20 minute run on treadmill. Averaged just over 13.5kph and managed 4.5km exactly.

PM
6 minutes of core

Superset 1:
Power Clean: 60/6, 60/6, 60/6, 60/6
Burpee Press Ups: 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 2:
Front Squat: 60/10, 80/8, 90/6
Skipping: 60s, 60s, 60s

Superset 3:
Barbell Rows: 60/5, 80/5, 100/5
Skipping: 60s, 60s, 60sg

Felt so so drained today. Run was a bit slow, weights I didn’t kill it today, just focused on keeping everything explosive. Will do a light session tomorrow as I have 2 rowing outings and I have been selected for the 1st team in rugby again so will be a challenging weekend.

16/09/2016

30 minutes on the bike at 241 watts per hour.

That’s it for today, but pleased with how easy holding that pace was. Fitness is definitely coming back now.

18/09/2016

11km outing in a coxed 4.

Terrible!

19/09/2016

Turned up to the boathouse only to find every key holder didn’t turn up and din’t let anyone know, so a huge chunk of our evening wasted and no access to the gym. Went home and did a 40 minute cycle, but that is an erg session missed that I won’t get back!

Really annoyed with things at the moment. The crews are just random mismatches. The kind of people who would want to go for Henley are being put in random crews and at the moment every outing is terrible and the people turning up to land training who can row are not getting the chance to row together. If this level of disorganisation continues, I think I may turn my focus to rugby rather than rowing, because this is not boding well for the season and we are at risk of losing some of the stronger rowers.