Training it is the technical, physical and mental preparation to complete a task. In these sections we will concentrate on the physical requirements of competitive rowing. The tools you have to carry out training are a combination of duration and intensity of practicing the various elements to complete the task.

So now we have the tools we need to identify the needs of the athlete and put the two together. The athletes need's will either be further development of skill, physical condition or both.

The type of training will largely depend on the stretch of water available. Clubs located on long navigable stretches of water do long distance workouts. Clubs located on short stretches of water did short high intensity workouts.

There have been huge advances in sports science where, not only the physical demands of the sport are identified, but the way to train the body to meet these demands. Training courses are now available to coaches so that they can develop an understanding of different training methods. Most of the research that has been carried out has concentrated on high level performance and it is not always apparent how this applies to athletes at club, school and college level. As a result some coaches come back from a course and attempt to implement a regime, which although perfectly ok if for the national team, is inappropriate for clubs and colleges.

An example of this occurred when a college boat club captain was speaking to a member of the national team. He asked how much distance they rowed in an average week and the reply was about 150 kilometres. With this figure in mind the boat club captain returned to his college to implement this regime. The problem was the college crew were only able to row at weekends, and so the result was a total disaster. The aims and structures of national teams are diametrically opposed to those of a club. A national team is an exclusive group with the sole aim to identify the best and eliminate the rest. A club is an inclusive organisation with the aim to treat all its members equally, regardless of ability.

You cannot copy someone else's programme, especially if that programme was written for a group of athletes whose abilities bear no relation to the group you are responsible for. When written, a programme is just a plan of action that the coach will write to bring about improvements amongst his charges. As time goes on this programme will be modified either because it is not delivering what the coach expected or through circumstances beyond his control, such as illness or injuries to the athletes. What is actually done can vary from the original programme by 25-30% and so in itself it is of little use.

Although it would make more sense to see the training diary of the athlete which, will tell you what the athlete actually did, this information is of little use either as there is no guarantee that this regime would work for anyone else. There are several fundamental principles of training and the first and most important is that the training has to meet the needs of the individual. Therefore the first and most important job of the coach is to identify what those needs are.

Training Bands

UT2-Strength Endurance Training

The training aim of UT2 is to develop a sound aerobic base by continuous exercise for the prescribed time or distance.

The biomechanical aim is to drive as hard as possible resting on the recovery so that you remain within the metabolic limit.

UT2 can be carried out throughout the year and is compatible with all other types of training. It can also be used as active recovery, either from a very heavy training period or recovery from illness or injury.

UT2 also offers the opportunity to develop technique.

Each UT2 session should conclude with a flat out piece of up to 2mins from a standing start.

UT1-Endurance training

UT1 training and biomechanical aims are the same as UT2. The training is carried out at a higher intensity and therefore is carried out in long intervals such as 2x20 minutes. The rest between the intervals should be long enough for the heart rate to drop to twice resting rate. UT1 can be carried out all year round as it is compatible with most other types of training however should not be mixed with high intensity training.

AT-Endurance training

AT is the highest sustainable training intensity before the onset of the debilitating effects of lactate accumulation. The session is broken up into medium length intervals such as 8-10 minutes pieces. The rest period should allow the heart rate to fall to twice rest. The biomechanical aim is to ensure that boat speed is proportional to the higher effort.

Major benefits during the pre and competition periods but can be included in a limited form all year round.

TR-Development of the oxygen transport system

TR is the transition point between the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Work at this intensity causes lactate to accumulate in the working muscles reducing their efficiency. Training in this band helps to develop a tolerance to high lactate levels and to increase enzyme activity, which acts as a buffer by metabolising some of the lactate in the working muscle.

The biomechanical objective is to increase boat speed in proportion to the greater effort and to establish a good rhythm with a strong drive and relaxation on the recovery.

TR is most effective in pre competition and competition periods and should be interspersed with UT2.

AN-Anaerobic work, maximum physiological response.

Training in the AN band means that all energy systems are working flat out causing high levels of lactate accumulation. The biomechanical aim is to get the boats speed above race pace in proportion to maximum effort. Ensure you have completed a good warm up prior to commencement of AN work. AN work should be carried out with sessions of UT2 and is most effect during the competition period.

AL-Anaerobic Alactate

AL training is carried out in very short bursts so that there is no lactate accumulation using the Creatine Phosphate stored energy.

Continue to ensure that boat speed is proportional to effort maintaining a strong drive and relaxed recovery. Can be carried out twice a week throughout the year by adding to the end of UT1 and UT2 sessions.

High Volume Training Programmes

In recent years great strides in performance in a number of sports have been achieved by huge increases in training volume. Higher training volume needs close control of the intensity of the sessions. You cannot just increase volume by more of the same. If an athlete is training once a day then the training intensity can be high. If an athlete is training three times a day then most of the sessions will need to be low intensity. Low intensity can be considered as training below anaerobic threshold.

The high volume approach has its critics who claim that practicing hours and hours at low intensity produces slow athletes. While there is some evidence to support this view, when subject to closer scrutiny, it is more likely that the programmes are not being carried out correctly rather than an inherent flaw in the principle of high volume.

The advantages of the high volume training system are twofold, it allows sessions to be very specific and also it allows for long continuous sessions of skill development. The risk is that the athlete can become run down especially if the low intensity sessions are carried out at a higher intensity than required. This will have a knock on effect so that when the time has arrived for high intensity work, the athlete lacks the energy to perform at the required level. The result is the worst of both worlds in that, come competition time, the athlete is unable to cope with the pace. This is despite the fact that there has been a significant increase in training volume and that there has been an improvement in aerobic capacity. It is most likely this consequence that fuels the argument against high volume.

Lightweight athletes face the additional problem that they may not be able to take on sufficient calories to balance the energy costs of high volume. Young athletes entering a squad need special attention as wanting to impress and pushing too hard every session can lead to overtraining. It is the responsibility of the coach to impress upon the athletes the risk of leaving your best work on the training ground and staying inside the correct training band.

Full time athletes training with the national team have extensive support systems monitoring their progress and are able to detect when an athlete is at risk of overtraining. In clubs schools and colleges this support system is not available and it is left to the coaches' judgement as to how much training is appropriate. Athletes that are selected to the national team are not only gifted athletes but also have several years of training behind them. This better enables them to cope with high volume and their experience keeps them training in the right band. For beginners, rowers who have only two to three years of training behind them, and club rowers with limited training time, you are better off on a low volume high intensity programme.

The training principles associated with the high volume programme are derived from the race distance of 2000m and the different energy systems supplying the fuel to complete the race as fast as possible. The energy needed to race 2000m is 70-80% aerobic and 20-30% anaerobic. High volume training plans tend to reflect this ratio with about three times more aerobic work than anaerobic. It is also usually organised so that at the beginning of the programme it is almost exclusively aerobic training. The aim is to build a high aerobic base and then overlay this with additional anaerobic power. The bulk of the anaerobic work is done during the pre-competition and competition periods, however some programmes include high intensity sessions all the way through.

In addition to the training on water, there is also the land training sessions and technical work and the total time needed to train is upwards of 20-24 hours per week.

This is unrealistic for most people below top elite level. Furthermore, for a lot of people the race distance is less than 2000m. This means that the energy demand ratio changes and so should the balance of the training.

High Volume Training Programme

The following training programme is for a 10 months period and is suitable for Students and U23's.

It starts in September and the main aim is general endurance and conditioning. The programme includes 9 sessions per week. For first year students, or those who have done little formal training this may not be suitable, if you want to use it in these circumstances then this should be cut to 4 sessions for first year students or those who have done little or no formal exercise. Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun.

Second year students can increase the training up to 6 sessions, Mon-Thurs plus Sat and Sun. Third year students can complete the whole programme.

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

High Intensity Training

High intensity training can be considered as training at or above anaerobic threshold. With the high intensity programme the training aim also changes. In the case of high volume the aim is to first build a sound aerobic base and then build speed through anaerobic power. The high intensity programme differs in that from the outset the aim is to develop speed and then train to maintain this speed over the race distance.

In the section on high volume training I said this method had its critics. Professor Fritz Haggerman is a well respected physiologist from the Ohio State University. In studies he carried out he concluded that:

"Rowers over the years have not shown that aerobic capacity benefits from long, medium to light, steady-state rowing of several kilometers at relatively low stroke ratings and blade pressure. We have accumulated extensive longitudinal oxygen consumption data on rowers at all competitive levels ranging from National and Olympic Team members to Concept 2 ergometer research subjects who were introduced to rowing for the first time as participants in several of our studies conducted over a period of almost 40 years. We can report conclusively that rowing continuously at low work intensities for 60 - 90 minutes has very little effect on maximal aerobic capacity. VO2max seems to improve significantly only if there is a major challenge to both transport and utilization (cardiovascular-respiratory and skeletal muscle) systems. This means working at 80 -90 % of maximal aerobic capacity which translates into a heart rate range of 150 -170 beats per minute if maximal heart rate is 190 beats per minute. It appears that if improvement of aerobic capacity is the training goal, then the training stimulus must significantly load the cardiovascular-respiratory systems".

There are no short cuts, if you want to be an elite athlete you have to make the commitment and put in the training. The vast majority of rowers do not aspire to international level but just want to get the best return on a limited amount of time available to train. It is with these people in mind that I have written the high intensity programme.

There are many club athletes who have full time jobs but still train before and after work. This can be both very stressful and of little benefit. In a crew boat at club level every one does not have the same circumstances. Because of the social responsibility to the crew there is great pressure to comply with what is perceived to be in the best interest of the crew. What is in fact best for the crew is what is best for each individual member.

In many cases getting up early for a training session before work and then returning straight after work for another session in the evening disrupts both sleeping and eating patterns. Over time this will have a detrimental effect on the well-being of the athlete that outweighs any training benefits. There are however benefits from training early in the morning. Because the metabolism is running slower, sessions done in the morning are harder and as a result the benefits are greater. The ideal compromise is to do early sessions at weekends when it would be sensible to train twice per day. The athlete would still have time to rest and recover because they do not have to work. If you include two sessions on the weekend then you should allow at least one night off during the week making a maximum of 8 sessions per week for senior club athletes. This should be reduced to 4-5 sessions for the less experienced.

Less weekly sessions means the training has to be more general. The athlete can achieve a high level of fitness but there is less time available for skill development. Because there is less time available and this time is being spent on the physical development of the athlete, then it is even more important that the training is specific to the individual needs of the athlete.

If the Haggerman findings are to be believed then the high intensity programme is ideal for veterans (masters). It is also suitable for rowers with limited availability of training time and is also suitable for clubs who normally race over distances less than 2000m.

The high intensity programme will draw criticism from traditionalists who will quite rightly point out that even when racing over 1K the sport is still predominantly aerobic.

This high intensity programme is based on sprint training principles not endurance principles. My answer is that although it is true that the programme is based on sprint training I have adapted it significantly to produce the best results possible with limited training time available.

Also at this time I would like to dispel some myths. Some time ago a research study showed that exposure to high levels of lactate could cause muscle damage. As a result of this report training schedules were produced that avoided building high levels of lactate.

Lactate is an acid and yes it does cause damage but we have to keep it in context. The total training time where high levels of lactate are present amount to a couple of hours a week and this does not constitute exposure that represents a risk. All training causes muscle damage, and it is in response to the damage caused that adaptation in the muscle takes place so that for any given level of intensity this damage does not occur again. But this damage is microscopic in nature and a natural consequence of training that should not be confused with muscle damage caused as a result of impact or tearing.

Adaptation to long low intensity training damage results in increased enzyme activity while adaptation to high intensity damage results in the laying down of more muscle protein.

The only word of caution I would offer is that this type of training will produce rapid improvement and you may think that to increase the volume with more of the same will lead to even greater improvement - WRONG. This will lead only to burn out. You have to decide which path you take, high intensity low volume or high volume low intensity.

High Intensity Programme

The following training programmes are general guidelines, you may find them useful as they are but most likely will need to adapt them to suit your needs.

The training programme covers a period of 8 months sub-divided into four 8 weeks blocks.

Laid out below is just the water work and if there is more time available for training then additional sessions of land training can be added.
Each block has a specific training aim.

Key to Blocks

UT3
50%MHR
Aim: To improve mechanical efficiency by long continuous paddling. Intensity should not exceed 50% Max Heart rate. Offers little training benefit in itself but can be used with all other training sessions.

Bursts 100% MHR
Aim: Speed work using the Creatine phosphate energy system. 10 stroke Bursts flat out performed in groups of 100's (10x10). i.e. 500 strokes is 5(10x10) rest between Bursts is when heart rate returns rest x 2

Pyramids 100% MHR
Aim: Extended speed work using anaerobic system. Blocks of 100 strokes 15-20-30-20-15 rowed flat out with equal light strokes between. Rest between sets is 4 minutes.

Medium intervals 95-100% MHR
Aim: Development of lactate tolerance and lactate metabolism. Series of intervals from 2-4 minutes duration with equal rest. All at max speed. (TR)

Anaerobic Threshold (AN) 85% MHR
Aim: Develop cardio vascular efficiency. Series of intervals between 5-8 minutes duration AT and sessions lasting 45-60 minutes (tough).

Block 1 weeks 1-8

Block 2 Weeks 9-16

Before AT sessions 20mins warm up and 20mins cool down after sessions. Rest between sets until heart rate drops to twice rest.

Block 3 Weeks 17-24

30mins warm up should be carried out before TR and AN sessions. 20mins cool down on completion of the set. Rest between sets resting heart rate x 2

Block 4 weeks 24-32