Recovery is often an overlooked part of training and using key methods you can promote faster muscle and joint recovery and allow you to execute each training session to a higher level. As an often overlooked part of training, a refined recovery promoting routine will help you push your training further.

Warm Up: The Warm Up should consist of three sections in order to get your body fully ready for the exercise and limit the risk of injury as much as possible.

Step 1: Start gently and warm muscles up (5-10 minutes) – The intention of this is to get your body moving and loosen your muscles ready for a dynamic stretch. This will slowly bring up your hear rate and get blood pumping to your muscles, but you should avoid steep heart rate raises which will cause fatigue. Good exercises include a short erg, a short steady run or a quick cycle. These all engage muscles used for rowing and generally get the body moving.

Step 2: Mobilise Those Joints (5-10) – This is done for the warmup as a dynamic stretch in order to loosen up your body and reduce the risk of injury. This should take about 5-10 minutes and focus on the joints and muscles used most during that exercise form. For Rowing movements the muscles you need to target are your hip flexors, glutes, lower back and hamstrings, your pelvis and core shouldn’t be forgotten. The aim is to get your muscles, joints and tendons working in their full range of motion and reduce the risk of injury. 15-20 reps per stretch is ideal.

Step 3: Build Heart rate to workout level (5-10 minutes) – This is typically done closest to the exercise so that you can raise your heart rate in preparation for the workout. Exercise is most effective at the target heart rate and rather than bringing your heart rate up at the start of it, this way you can begin the workout at this optimum intensity and make the most out of your time. This is aiming to raise your heartrate without causing fatigue, ways to do this include intervals or bursts. Feel your body and know the intensity you are wanting to achieve this is to get the bet from your workout so descover what feels best.

One thing to consider for your warmup is to aim to keep as much warmth in your muscles between your warmup and session so layering up and keeping active is key. The ideal separation between your warmup through to your exercise is the minimum amount of time at which the warmup will not impact negatively on your session due to tiredness. Now you are ready to get those miles done and make some substantial progress in your rowing.

Cool Down: The cool down consists of 2 phases and dynamic cool down in which the intensity of the exercise is reduced and the muscles are slowly disengaged to stop them seizing up as much and then there is the mobility phase in which static stretching is used to increase flexibility and promote recovery. This unlike the warmup is to sustain high volumes of training through a week and allow you the hit the next session just as hard as the previous.

Dynamic Cool Down: This is a progressive reduction in intensity following training to give your muscles time to relax and loosen as you blood flow and heart rate moves back towards their resting levels. The 4 key reasons we cool down are: It gives the body time to let the blood flow get back to ‘normal’ reducing the risk of fainting etc., Helps to clear lactic acid from the muscles, A good opportunity to increase flexibility and improve technique, It gives you time to assess the effectiveness of the training session completed. This is key to prevent injury moving forwards and allow the static stretches to affect your mobility and flexibility long term.

Static Stretches: These stretches should last around 10 minutes and each stretch should be held for 30-45 seconds at a mild discomfort (NOT PAIN!!). This is a really useful part of the training routine because it increases your flexibility which overall flexibility in a crew can lead to around a 2 second difference in split due to the hamstrings and joint flexibility engaging the back. Hitting the positions in a boat correctly does require a certain level of flexibility that if is lacking within certain members of a crew can affect the flow of the boat. These all then allow allow you to push your body to the max for the next session or race and is key after tough races to let your joints and muscles recover loosely and not restrict mobility.

Static Stretching – performed to increase flexibility and mobility. A static stretch should be a slow and constant movement with the end position held at the point of mild discomfort – not pain, for approximately 30 seconds.

Dynamic stretching – most commonly used as part of a warm up but can be used as a cool down as well. These are controlled movements taking you up to (not beyond) the range of motion required for your session.

Further Recovery Methods: The ice bath is a one of the less comfortable methods of recovery but it is really positive and beneficial. The sudden cold temperature causes vasoconstriction (blood vessels contracting) and this changes the way in which the blood flows and then the warming back up causes vasodilation (blood vessels relaxing) which increases the blood flow through muscles and this process helps to remove the lactic acid which has built up due to anaerobic respiration and it promotes muscles recovery. I have found this brilliant at making me feel much less sore the next day following tough sessions and long tests.

Recovery is an often overlooked part of training despite it being so crucial. correct recovery methods can prevent burnout, injury and promote development which will all allow you to progress more quickly from your active training. To really take your rowing to the next level a refined routine to promote recovery is key. Whether you are starting out and want to build flexibility or whether you are aiming to push your level of training and want to prevent injury and promote faster recovery these methods will help you do so making you an overall better rower.

The Town Bumps is an annual race in which Cambridge clubs compete over a week to determine who will receive a wooden spoon, who will receive blades and who will take home the headship. Crews line up, spaced between baits bite lock and fen Ditton corner in starting order (determined by a time trial or the previous years placement) and as a cannon goes off the crews begin. The crews aim is to ‘Bump’ the crew in front of them without being ‘Bumped’ by the crew behind them. A ‘Bump’ is the action of a crew catching up to another crew and either physically making contact with that boat or the bow-ball going in front of the caught crew’s cox at which pint this crew concedes. If a crew makes a ‘Bump’ this is the end of their race and both crews pull into the bank to allow other crews to pass and in the following night of racing their position in the starting order swap. The crews who get ‘Bumped’ four nights in a row recieve a wooden spoon and the crews which bump on every night of racing, moving up four places in the starting order receive Blades with their crew’s names, cox and coach in their club colours. A crews aim is to reach the highest position in the order by the end of the weeks racing, with the leader of division 1 winning the ‘Headship’.

Bumps is a unique race because there is no definitive distance for the rowers so the length if time they may be rowing greatly varies. Rowers may row for 30 strokes or they may row for the full 2km-2.5km course depending on how quickly they are able to catch the crew ahead of them and make the bump. For this reason, the widely agreed upon tactics is that you need to go out hard and try to catch the crew ahead as quickly as possible rather than expecting to row for the 2kms. This is also because you need to catch the crew ahead before they catch the crew in front of them because then they cannot be caught. this tactic is ideal for lighter crews because they are able to get up to speed far faster than the heavy weight crews, this means that a light crew can actually be faster over the possibly shorter distance despite having less power. Hills Road Boys were a key example of this, in the 2019 bumps they finished 4th in Division one despite being considerably smaller than most of the men’s crews around them, This was due to technical, light rowing getting them up to speed very quickly making up the distance between their competitors and making the bump. Many other heavier crews rely on a longer distance in which they can build to a higher top speed and then close the distance. This guarantees exciting racing at high rates and rapid speeds right from the canon as crews compete to achieve supremacy against their rival clubs and crews

The packed banks of passionate locals, buckets upon buckets of Pimm’s at the plough and prosecco corks popping left and right. The Town bumps brings the biggest crowds of any cam race and the atmosphere is brilliant. It really is a pleasant evening of watching some top class rowing battling out some interclub rivalry’s. The feeling of rowing past the plough pub having made your fourth bump of the week, securing you blades, Im sure a feeling like no other and it really is a brilliant accomplishment which all spectators can appreciate and celebrate.

Bumps is one of my favourite race, the high rates, exciting chases and the crowds of invested locals and fellow rower. It might not be as prestigious or civilised as H.R.R. or as competitive as Nat. Schools Regatta, but the brilliant atmosphere and competitive interclub spirit makes this unique race a truly amazing race to spectate or be a part of. I know all Cambridge rowers preparing to take part in 2020 were devastated when it got cancelled due to Covid 19, but I know that everyone will just hit bumps 2021 harder than ever and I cant wait to see some truly intense and inspiring rowing (I also hope that Cantabs can win back the Men’s Headship and join the women as rightful heads of the cam)

Strength Training – Building Explosive Power

Explosive power is very key at all levels of training in order to succeed competitively and have the strength and endurance to drive the boat 2,000m faster than your competitors. Strength training is a useful tool in order to boost development and maximise performance. Rowing uses over 85% of the muscles in your body and in order to maximise their power output on and off the water, weight training can be used. Strength training, done improperly can increase the risk of injury and contribute to long term difficulties which hinder development and can even lead to an inability to row. Due to this, comprehensive stretching and muscle protection is necessary to maintain mobility and flexibility as well as maximising recovery.

Weight training for rowing has two main purposes: to increase muscle strength for key movements in the boat, and to reduce the risk of injury by improving muscular balance and the development of vulnerable areas engaged during training. This post will go into the basics of weight training and how to maximise it’s success as well as some suggested workouts/exercises which will target the key movements in rowing and the muscles which contribute to success.

The basic structure to rowing weight training through the year is key as it builds the foundations for the work you do on the water and allows you to make maximum progress. This structure consists of four blocks for training which should reflect the racing seasons and how best to prepare for them. This is an annual rotation of four blocks with a 2-4 week recovery period following summer regatta season.

Block 1: General Preparation Primary focus: Muscular balance and body composition / Secondary focus: Strength The purpose of this block is prepare your body for the more intense strength and explosive power work that comes in during winter training. It intends to build strength and endurance with little risk of injury. This is the foundation of all future weight training.

Block 2: Specific Preparation Primary focus: Strength / Secondary focus: Muscular balance and body composition The purpose of this stage is to build strength and endurance in order to progress physically for overall development on the water.

Block 3: Pre-Competitive Primary Focus: Power / Secondary Focus: Strength This block intends to develop the strength previously built and translate that into boat speed. Explosive Power is the focus of this phase and should be worked in lower reps to maximise progress.

Block 4: Competitive Primary Focus: Health and Recovery / Secondary focus: Maintain strength, muscle mass, mobility. The intention of this phase is to preserve strength and mobility while preparing your body physically for races.

This is an explanation of some of the key weight exercises to build strength, endurance and muscle mass in order to increase power on the water. These exercises either replicate movements in the boat (clean – drive in the legs, open back, draw through the arms) or they target specific key muscles for rowing (rows – back). The most common structures to weight training include separating exercise into push/pull or by body group which are then performed in separate weight sessions. Each of these weighted exercise, performed correctly will increase strength and muscular endurance as well as reduce the risk of injury on the water. Rowing uses over 85% of the muscles in you body and this plan will target the key muscle groups which will drastically increase performance on the water.

In order to maximise the effectiveness of weight training, targeted training can be used to engage an area of development more, e.g. strength or endurance, and this can be done by varying the number or reps and subsequent weight percentages of max. The general rule is that to build explosive strength, a reduced number of reps and increased weight will target this and for muscular endurance, reducing the weight and increasing the number of reps will be more successful (examples of targeted amounts are shown in the table.)

Weight training is a key part of maximising progress and development which will hugely improve your splits on the water. It can also reduce the risk of injury through conditioning and done correctly will improve your ability as a rower to compete at a top level. This is only an overview of the key benefits of weight training and suggested plans with guidance, but please consult further guidance if you are planning on starting weight training because done incorrectly it can cause muscle imbalance and increase the risk of injury. Weight training is such a good addition to your training plan and will improve your performance on and of the water. It will develop muscular endurance and explosive power which will drastically develop you as a rower at any level.

Lightweight rowing came to light when it was added to the world championships in 1974 for men and 1985 for women. It is a category whereby limits are places on the maximum weight of competitors and according to the International Rowing Federation (FISA) this weight category was introduced, “to encourage more universality in the sport especially among nations with less statuesque people”. Lightweight rowing (abbreviated to Ltw or Lt) was then introduced to the Olympics in 1996 and is largest in America at a university level. The current regulations are:

• Men: Crew average 70 kg (154.3 lb / 11 st 0.3 lb) – no rower over 72.5 kg (159.8 lb / 11 st 5.8 lb)
• Women: Crew average 57 kg (125.6 lb / 8 st 13 lb) – no rower over 59 kg (130.0 lb / 9 st 4 lb)

Light weight rowing doesn’t have equal opportunities for racing, for example in England, races such as Henley Women’s does have a large number of Lightweight boat classes but Henley Royal doesn’t contain any ability to compete in such classes, so overall it does vary hugely between events. In recent years lightweight rowing has been raised as a debate as to whether their is risk involved with some open/heavy weight rowers drastically cutting body mass before races; this is why British Rowing does not allow any light weight competitions at a junior level. Despite this, lightweight rowing is still a massive part of rowing around the world and is an exciting and unique boat class which can produce some of the most elite rowing on all global stages.

The Oxford Cambridge Lightweight Boat Race has been at the forefront of lightweight rowing and in recent years, moved from the Henley-on-Thames course to the tideway (Putney to Mortlake) increasing it’s exposure and bringing it equal to the Open Weight Boat Race. This addition to the historic and prestigious varsity rivalry has built on the more recent expansion of light weight rowing globally and has given more opportunities to these top athletes. The competition between these two boat clubs (Oxford and Cambridge) has been established since 1829 with the first boat race although the light weight boat race was only founded in 1975 by Richard Bates (Jesus college, Cambridge). Freya Sutcliff, a lightweight rower who rowed for Cambridge on the 15th March 2020 said, “It was very, very special. It felt like a real step on for lightweight rowing.” Light weight rowing is unique in that both crews weigh, for men 70kg and for women 59kg which intern makes them very balanced competitors and increases the focus on technicality within the crews and can lead to invigoratingly close races. Top lightweight crew teams can go faster than heavyweight teams. For example, at the 2010 Head of the Charles Regatta, the winner of the lightweight men’s eights race (Princeton University) would have placed fifth in the Championship Eights men’s race, ahead of Deutscher Ruder Verband (U-23 German team). This impressively shows the importance of a cohesive crew and precise technicality, this has huge importance building the foundation, of which you can apply power in order to hit high boat speeds.

The unique nature and prestige of lightweight rowing never fails to deliver exciting and competitive racing at all levels and is an integral part of rowing globally. This distinctive weight restricted boat class requires elite technicality and efficient application of power and can prove threatening even against top level open weight crews. This is an incredibly special area of the sport and in my opinion should be preserved and even expanded while still considering the athletes but I wholly agree that at a junior level light weight rowing shouldn’t be integrated. Weight restricted rowing is guaranteed to deliver elite rowing and thrilling racing at all levels and is a key part the sport which should be celebrated.