(This is scary stuff. Buckle your seat belt.)

Physics: the science of matter and motion.

(Told you it was going to be scary.)

If you were pressed hard you could divide rowing into two distinct spheres. The first would be the art of rowing. This “art sphere” deals with human factors such as motivation, team work, leadership, etc.—those human issues where there may not be a distinct right or wrong answer, but an answer nonetheless.

The second sphere would be the science part, specifically physics. Yes Physics. The same word that has freaked out an unlimited number of students and drove more of them to be English majors faster than the thought of Jane Austin could drive them away.

Over the past two weeks I’ve received several inquires about the physics of rowing, so I thought instead of addressing each separately I would post this. I spent years studying the physics of the ocean. When I started I remember thinking, “Wow, this will be cool!” And for the most part it was. Really cool. But there were so many dry, boring, difficult parts that physics about drove me nuts.

The main reason was that the way it was taught and explained. It was removed so much from reality and kept in the theoretical world that it was hard to really like it and see how it applied to more than just a few experiments and line drawings.

But since then a day has not gone by that I haven’t used some of my physics background in rowing. And if you row, or coach, or just work on the equipment, it is the same for you, whether you know it or not.

Physics plays a huge roll in rowing.

Disbelieve me? Read on.

Continue Reading »

Downturn . . . Buyouts . . . Recession. Turn on the news and daily we are told in some manner or form that money is going to be tight—really tight. And whether you row by yourself in a single or on a team with 50 other people, rowing is the type of sport where money makes a difference.

I’ve written a two-part post about the mindset you might want to have as our economy struggles (Part 1 & Part 2). A few followup emails asked about specifics things that could be done—steps taken to keep a rower fast as the economy slows. Following are a few suggestions, and links to posts, you can do (and read) that just might help you keep things fast in a tough money time.

Suggestion #1: Know what you have

Knowing what you have is so much more important than knowing what you want. Have and want . . . two critical words when money is tight. Why? Because knowing what you have can make a big difference on getting what you want.

Last month I needed two coxbox microphones to replace two that had just broken at practice. We didn’t have any so I bought them from NK. I needed them in a hurry so I paid for the zip shipping.  Just last week I found exactly what I needed—two microphones—in a drawer in the boathouse. I spent money for shipping and my time to get something I needed, when I already had them.

Continue Reading »

. . . it very well could be!

Casey Baker, who has been featured here before, recently wrote to me about damage to the bottom of shells. He has been noticing it due to the hard Nalgene water bottles that many rowers are using. Casey is currently the Southern rep for Resolute Racing Shells and sees a lot of boats at all the races he attends.

According to Casey what causes the problem is that during practices rowers store the bottles in the bottom of the boat. The bottles tend to roll around and if there is any sand or grit the bottle can cause wear that actually goes through the inner skin of the boat.

This can especially be a problem in wade-in launching situations, and also may be an issue in saltwater programs since salt can act as an abrasive, like sand.

A simple solution that Casey recommends is to put a sock around your water bottle. Another is to get a padded water bottle holder and clip it to the heels of your feet.  Pad it and/or prevent it from moving as much as possible.

Casey (and I)  hope this keeps some of you from needing unnecessary repairs!

Thanks Casey!

As coaches and rowers we spend tons of time focusing on where our rowing is going. We train, plan, and focus on the future.

And that usually works well.

However, one tool that might help is a perspective on where rowing has come from.

The past, as much as we like to ignore it, does often has a significant impact on the future.

Isn’t there a little bit of you that is interested in where rowing has come from? I have written humorously about the history of rowing but there is a resource that can really help you get an idea of where we, collectively as rowers, have been.

The Friends of Rowing History site is full of great photos, articles, results and stories of the olden, golden and not-so-golden days of rowing. Although mostly US-focused anyone interested in rowing history can find something intriguing.

Where we have been just might give us an idea of where we are going.

Worth a look.

A Sunday special post

photo by luismi1985

Coming back from a race yesterday, I got worried—really worried.

It wasn’t about the team or the race results.

Instead it was about something haunting. The future. Specifically, money for the future.

During the regatta, as I watched one of our races go by I struck up a conversation with a parent of one of my rowers. The theme of the conversation was how bleak the economy looks right now, and how discretionary money in people’s budgets are drying up.

We both wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Why is no one talking about this at our level? Continue Reading »

I usually get several questions about rowing terms, what means what, and the like. So I thought that I would put up a rowing terminology page. It has 87 terms so far.

I wanted to post it first to give anyone a chance to add words (especially non-US terms), change definitions, or suggest improvements. If you have any please leave a comment. I hope to have the page up in a week.

1. Adjustment: moving the dimensions on rowing equipment to best suit the needs of the rower(s)
2. Aft: towards the stern or the back of a boat
3. Back stop: small blocks on the fore part of the slide that prevent seat as-sembly from rolling off the slide
4. Beam: width at the widest part of a boat, usually measured from inside of gunwales Continue Reading »

Rowing wise man Allen Rosenberg chimed in the other day when asked by someone how to improve an erg score. These steps were taken from that discussion. Although not length, their might be insight in here for you.

1)    Get into the mood: have no hesitancy or recriminations about working the erg. Shed the workaday stuff during the time well before the sitting down.

2)    Fuel up: don’t skip breakfast on the days you workout

3)    Fuel up again: snack 3-4 hours before work time with nuts, fruits whole grains and above all strong tea about 30 minutes before.

4)    Use high-test fuel: make sure your diet is rich in carbohydrates and proteins which, when combined, will release glucose and tyrosine for energy.

5)    Stress free: pay attention to being stress-free immediately before the work by checking  heart rate and staying close to normal resting.

6)    Control your surroundings: make your surrounding clean, pleasant smelling and not too cool or too warm, and make use of moving air using a fan for circulation, make use of pleasant sights and sounds with audio and/ or video tapes.

7)    Be special: treat yourself as someone special. Wear  fresh, clean workout gear.

8)    Get wet: hydrate all day well before the workout. Hydrate after the cool down.

9)    Plan: thoroughly plan workout well ahead so that you can (and  will subliminally think through the workout )

Allen Rosenberg is one of the best known rowing coaches in the world. I hope that he will continue to share his wisdom here. To read more about Allen click here.

Care to share your suggestions about improving an erg score . . . please use the comment box below.

It is crazy out there now—on the economic front. Buyouts, bailouts, crashes. Wham!

If I had to give one piece of advice about buying rowing equipment now it would be to give value.

A new boat is a huge purchase. More and more we are going to see institutions of higher education not be able to afford those purchases through budgets. It will boil down to donations. It may seem like a bad time for donations, but not necessarily so. I remember the director of our school’s development office telling a bunch of nervous coaches that over the years donations keep on track, regardless of the ups and downs of the economy.

What does makes a difference is what the donor gets.

A letter, name on a boat, and a plaque are fine. But what else of value can you attach to the donation? What would you want in turn if you were making the donation?

Just a thought.