Strapless @ 50spm

[NavigationHazard]

Carl, quite a few rowers rated higher than 36 in the singles and doubles at the recent FISA Worlds. In the Men's 1x final, for example:

SLO 38.1
NOR 35.8
GBR 36.8
NZL 35.1
CZE 35.5
CHN 37.4

These averages (from FISA GPS data) mask a considerable amount of variation in rating. Most of these rowers took high-rated starts and then dropped the rating in the middle of the race, for example, finishing with a sprint. However Drysdale (NZL) evidently was all over the place: he started out rating like everyone else, was down to 28 spm at the 550m mark, was back up to 40+ going through the 1000m mark, tailed back down to 32 spm, raised it to 35-36, fell back to 32, and then finished the last 250 at 37-38 spm.

See http://80.83.47.230/gps/000000433_0146_20101106.CP.PDF for the raw numbers.

[Bob S.]

Is the ability to achieve a certain rate important or is it the ability to achieve a certain speed? The former is only indirectly of importance and never determines quality of performance on its own.
reduction to the absurd (I have kept the same logical structure but only substituted one hand for no straps):
If I could rate 50 spm with one hand and have no intention to go near that rate in a trial, why should I still use two hands?
The answer to this question seems obvious to me.

In order to achieve the speed desired in the short pieces, specifically the 2k, 1k, and 500m, it is necessary to do a fair amount of training at rates from 30 to 40. So far this season, I have just been doing the long stuff and have done almost no high rate rowing. Since my current goal is do a decent time trial for each of those, I need to get in some high rate practice. The fact that some of it happened to have been done strapless was not intended. Call it a pump-head moment or a case of senility or whatever, it doesn't matter. I did it in the 6k trail, since I had already observed that I could get by with it. As far as your one hand analogy is concerned, I know that I would have a slower pace with one hand. There was no indication to me that going strapless would slow down my pace.

Bob S.

[Montanaandy]

I have rowed strapless & barefoot for a number of years and normally average around 32 spm. I can get up to around 37 spm when I do a faster 1 minute interval burst but that is as high as I can go while maintaining correct form. I do row on a stationary erg - would really like to have the slides but don't have the room at the present time. Montanaandy

[Tinus]

It doesn't create speed... Only the drive creates speed.

And shorter recovery times allow more drive?

[Tinus]

I know that I would have a slower pace with one hand. There was no indication to me that going strapless would slow down my pace.

The reason why I changed the statement is because it is obvious with one hand. This makes the logic of the sentence clear*. The truth value of the sentence may be false even though the premisses are true (rowing with one hand still allows high stroke rate = true; it is good to row with one hand = false).

It may not be obvious with straps but that does not mean something unobvious is not present.



*of course there is also a risk of being a fallacy because essential circumstances may simultaneously change.

[jliddil]

I know that I would have a slower pace with one hand. There was no indication to me that going strapless would slow down my pace.

The reason why I changed the statement is because it is obvious with one hand. This makes the logic of the sentence clear*. The truth value of the sentence may be false even though the premisses are true (rowing with one hand still allows high stroke rate = true; it is good to row with one hand = false).

It may not be obvious with straps but that does not mean something unobvious is not present.



*of course there is also a risk of being a fallacy because essential circumstances may simultaneously change.

I can't resist

Sir Bedevere: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us.
Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches?
Peasant 1: Burn them.
Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches?
Peasant 1: More witches.
Peasant 2: Wood.
Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn?
Peasant 3: ...because they're made of... wood?
Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood?
Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her.
Sir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone?
Peasant 1: Oh yeah.
Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water?
Peasant 1: No, no, it floats!... It floats! Throw her into the pond!
Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?
Peasant 1: Bread.
Peasant 2: Apples.
Peasant 3: Very small rocks.
Peasant 1: Cider.
Peasant 2: Gravy.
Peasant 3: Cherries.
Peasant 1: Mud.
Peasant 2: Churches.
Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck.
Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically...
Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
Sir Bedevere: And therefore...
Peasant 2: ...A witch!

[mikvan52]

It doesn't create speed... Only the drive creates speed.

And shorter recovery times allow more drive?

Do you mean to point out: "Rushing the recovery by means of pulling one's self back up the slide with the feet is a way to go faster because the next stroke comes quicker."

For an erger: perhaps; for a rower: most definitely not as the boat will "check" (stop gliding over the water).

Quick recovery can be done without resorting to shin-yanking anyway. It good to have it for a resource but not as a primary resource.

Let me say again: People's objectives on the erg vary. Each of us can do as we please expending necessary and unnecessary energy.

The video of the French 2- at Sydney (after 1k) shows short sliding and short drives too compared to the silver bronze and 4th place crews. This is what i was thinking about when I said:
"high rate can often go hand-in-hand with "short-sliding" the stroke... with great effect." = they pulled away at a higher rate with a shorter stroke.

I do not think that the French pair were pulling themselves back up the slide by exerting more pressure on the laces of their shoes. (More than the other crews)...

[Tinus]

It doesn't create speed... Only the drive creates speed.

And shorter recovery times allow more drive?

Do you mean to point out: "Rushing the recovery by means of pulling one's self back up the slide with the feet is a way to go faster because the next stroke comes quicker."

For an erger: perhaps; for a rower: most definitely not as the boat will "check" (stop gliding over the water).

I mean to say that rushing the recovery is good until negative effects become larger then positive effects.
Depending on the circumstances some people may have the negative effects become dominant already at lower recovery speeds. For the boat I wouldn't regard check (when seen as an isolated phenomena) as a problem. Up to a rate between 30-40 (depending on boat type and rower mass) the effect of 'decrease in boat speed variation due to shorter stroke period' is stronger than the effect of 'increase in boat speed variation due to higher internal boat-rower motion'. So, up to a rate between 30-40 increased check may be an indicator of good rowing.
This is only looking at a single aspect, there may be kinematic negative effects when check increases above an optimal point but these may be counter balanced by positive physiological effects. The body works more efficient at low recovery:drive ratios. You don't see low values in races for nothing. These values are mechanically not the most efficient but they allow higher output of the rower.
Of course the degree in which the positive effects are eminent may change from person to person. Someone working at maximal force output may benefit more from faster recovery than someone who is more like working at maximal power output. The latter may only benefit slightly due to efficiency changes (if present) which increase maximal power output.

But, in any case there is a range in which the positive effects are larger and everyone should rush to some extend.

I personally take as guideline that the effect of rowing with straps is to increase body efficiency (not necessarily a faster recovery speed). In this way using the straps intentionally, if it would make recovery faster, is less harmful or not harmful in the sense of such things as boat check.
- The straps allows higher increase of recovery speed at the start and more even speed over the total recovery. So besides a faster recovery the straps may also help to get a better recovery.
- The straps make use of the hip flexors at the beginning of the recovery more easy. The hip flexors pull the trunk and legs towards each other like a hinge motion this is aided by some downwards force on the feet (which the straps are able to supply) but is made difficult if the rower needs to push the heels down on the foot plate to remain a firm grip on the stretcher.
- The drive period coincides with a backwards movement (rower relative to boat/erg). For the drive you'd like a backwards movement but this is not true for the end of the drive where you like the smoothest transition to the recovery as possible. In rowing you can do this easily by having the body slow down while the arms finish the work. The degree in which some parts of the body recover already during the drive period (when the arms finish the drive) may very a lot. Straps allow to push high force on the foot stretcher for a longer time (meaning body deceleration at a later time but more muscle efficiency) because you can put the amount of needed momentum change in a shorter piece of time thanks to the straps.
The 2010 WC LW1x final shows the difference nicely. Milani has a very quick transition between drive and recovery but may give in some extra motion of the hipangle which would have allowed more muscle used and also muscle used at a slower (stronger) speed. Karlsson and Beltrame have less deceleration during the final part of the drive, the blade extraction may still look as fast but the deceleration of the trunk is set in at a later time and it is this which also determines time costs of release (and catch/turnpoints). Draeger looks like she has the perfect combination/transition between drive and recovery.