Coping strategies

[Dangerscouse]

I have been giving this a lot of thought recently as I'm aware that a lot of us, especially less experienced ergers struggle with the mental aspect of rowing, and consequently will not achieve as much as they are able to.

Improving and beating your PBs can be a big challenge once you get past newbie gains, so anything that helps can be useful and distraction is a much under valued tool when it's getting rough.

1) I like to divide down my session into percentages. So when you get to a certain milestone (metrestone?) you can start telling yourself your x% through and when you get to halfway remind yourself that you have done more than you need to do...it's downhill from here on

2) For longer slower sessions I have recently started to count down the metres left. For example with 4k left in a 16k session and I'm hitting a rough patch, I note the metres remaining at the start of that stroke then for every stroke, at the end of the drive when I catch my breath, I say to myself one of the single numbers e.g 3987m, will be split into 3,9,8 and then 7 and then glance again at the screen and you'll be surprised with how much it's dropped. Then start again e.g. it might be 3960m after another four strokes you'll have taken off another chunk. The key to this is distraction and establishing a bite size chunk of progress: your mind is quite easily distracted but it needs to be constant otherwise it will start to focus on the pain.

3) For shorter sharper sessions I found it really useful, especially in my recent 20 x 300m session, to count up to 15 strokes and down then down from 15 to 0. You might need to count to 16 or 17 but all that matters is that when it gets tough you're counting down the strokes, or you could count down the metres, left to the finish.

4) Mantras. Anything short and repetitive will do. I liked 'I Can, I Will, I Must' when I was doing my ultra distances. Again it's all about distraction and this could be a favourite song lyric, film quote or anything that means something to you as long it is short, repetitive and memorable.

5) Focus on the splits and see where you are at a certain point. Splits are useful at splitting down the session so choose them wisely.

6) Imagine your family and/or friends are stood behind you cheering you on. I vividly recall my wife jokingly saying when I left to go to the gym to do my 100km " and don't you dare come back until you finish the 100km". This bounced around my head when i was struggling and close to quitting after the 15th time of stopping and lying on the floor.

7) Pride. Focus on your pride when you achieve your target and your head is swimming in endorphins. Short term pain for long term pride.

There are probably loads of other coping strategies but hopefully these will give some strength to some of you when all you want to do is HD.

Anyone else got any other nuggets to pass on? Never forget, progress happens too slowly to notice and setbacks happen too quickly to ignore. Don't let the setbacks control your mind.

[mitchel674]

Stu, this is a great post! Thanks for sharing your hard earned wisdom with us newbies.

I've done #1 since I started rowing. Even now I will tell myself that I'm 10% done when I pass the first 1000m of a 10k. I don't know why that helps.

I don't have a mantra, but I do have pride and hate to handle down. Sometimes that's enough to keep me going.

I've been most successful with longer rows. I've found I can almost "zone out" and get lost in the rhythm and monotony of the erg. The key for me is to just accept it.

I've also found a great song list for my 10-15k rows. The first three songs are each 5 minutes. I always get a bit of a boost when that third song ends because I know I've gone at least 3500m and a good chunk of the piece has flown by. Some of the later songs are also good milestones. My favorite one starts at 30 minutes and always keeps me pumping.

[Cyclist2]

6) Imagine your family and/or friends are stood behind you cheering you on.

I was doing a 2K race where my brother (a total non-rower) was my coxwain. I explained what he would see on the monitor and told him what I wanted for splits. He was reminding me, but was pretty quiet for most of the race - I think he was just observing the whole crazy scene, not knowing what was really happening. I was in solid 2nd place, no chance of catching #1 and well ahead of #3. At about 400 meters to go, I shook my head indicating I was done, going to coast home. Then I heard "DON'T SHAKE YOUR HEAD, JUST PULL!!" Whoa! That got my attention back on track and gave me a shot of adrenaline. I finished strong, at my goal pace.

So yes, now when the pain or monotony are creeping into my head, I remember that demanding command and it gives me what I need to keep going.

Great post, Stu. We all use those strategies, and aspiring newbies will appreciate the insight.

[Erik A]

1 and 5 are my main ones.... and music when i remember to take my head phones.

[MartinSH4321]

That's a great post Stu, thank you very much for summarizing so many good coping strategies!

What i use the most is 1) and 3), especially to work towards 50% and then have the "downhill" feeling (I read about the "downhill" feeling in one of your posts when I was very new to rowing, it really helped a lot Stu!)

- What I also use is to count 10 strokes and focus on my technique from time to time

- Audiobooks are great for longer SS sessions, for hard sessions I hear music

4) - Madness? This is Sparta!

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks fellas, it's little pieces of advice that can make a big difference at the right moment.

I also forgot to say I'm also a big advocate of smiling and laughing as it recategorises what you're going through to something more bearable and can alleviate some of the pain.

If you're perceiving it as something horrible it won't take long for you slip further and further down and possibly HD.

[Tim huges]

Great post with some original ideas. Much better than what i currently do which isnt as creative. I tend to break it down into fractions, so in a 10k i divide up into fiths and a 2k breaks down into quarters. Some distances i break down into odd parts, like 500m becomes a 300m and a 200m...feels easier to get the larger chunk out the way before the smaller 200m. Sometimes i have dedicated a section of the distance for someone in my life. So with a 2k i might do 500m for each of my 2 children or my wife etc.

Music is a big help too, a good dose of motorhead, metallica, black sabbath or slayer gets me through alot. I havent done heaps of 2k tests but i have noticed music doesnt help me much when im testing myself, it may just be me but i get a kind of tunnel vision and im too focused on splits and breathing to find music a motivation. Sometimes when im done i cant recall what i was actually listening too.

When im finding it tough i do like to imagine the sense of self pride once i have finnished and this moment of pain will soon be replaced with accomplishment. I have a saying tattooed on my arm, "no guts no glory" and i try to tell myself that. Another one is say to myself is "i will go on"...any thoughts i have of quitting or self doubt i drown out with either of those. Saying several times if i need to.

I would like to read your thoughts about pre test nerves. Not sure if its because im new but i feel a strong sense of anxiety, maybe that gets less overtime? Its a mix of wanting to perform well, stressing that i wont, the pain i have to come etc. My last 2k i almost didnt test myself, i felt a shakey nervous feeling like butterflies in my stomach. I didnt feel settled...was my bladder empty, were my clothes comfortable, were my shoes on too tight, had i had enough sleep, am i sat on the seat comfortably...i came very very close to aborting. As i said in another post, i have been focused for a while on 60min rows for calories but i have recently started working towards another 2k attempt and im not looking forward to the anxiety before the test! I mean, i was fine once i picked up the handle and committed myself...but...it almost got the better of me.

[Gammmmo]

Good, detailed post Stu....thanks for taking the trouble. Off the top of my head all I can add/concur is I break the effort up into chunks. I don't do that well at holding a very specific pace the whole time and prefer to oscillate around the target pace and generally negative splitting as I go. I tend to hold a pace that feels right and then say to myself 'OK, when the meters to go get down to XYZ, raise your effort for 5-10 strokes, "relax" for a bit, and then aim for the next XYZ point etc". I daresay this is not ideal physiologically but it replicates what seemed to work for me when doing cycle time trials outside...there I had the benefit of external stiumlus such as competitors or focal points on the course I could "aim for".

[hjs]

Its all about mindset, you need two things, the will to suffer and knowing what can.

Pacingwise, you need to get around 70% feeling ok ish, at least you could keep pace give or take 1/2 seconds, from here it gets ugly, if not you went out to slow, if more you started to fast. From here you invested so much time it would be a shame if you could not bring it home. So dig in and do so.

Mantrawise, one thing that does help me, although its still having the right mindset, is. Nomatter what I do not handle down!

Pacingwise, if you start out beyond what you can, you are sabotaging your race. No matter the outcome will be poor. So this is not being tough, its plain stupid!

A strong negative split, also wrong, you did not have guts to go out fast enough. The outcome will be below what you really can.

The infamous HD or handle down. Its not about not finishing the piece, its about, at one point letting go and slowing down. Even if you can pick up again, but its still a HD, you could not handle it.

Newbies get pb s relative easy, early gains make it fun.

Oldtimers much less so, over time, pb s come less and less. And one pb, will be the last you ever pull.
Yes, you can get age group records etc.. but the holy grail is being the best you ever where.

[KeithT]

Music is a big help too, a good dose of motorhead, metallica, black sabbath or slayer gets me through alot. I havent done heaps of 2k tests but i have noticed music doesnt help me much when im testing myself, it may just be me but i get a kind of tunnel vision and im too focused on splits and breathing to find music a motivation. Sometimes when im done i cant recall what i was actually listening too.

Funny, I listen to same sort of music but also have the same issue - every time I do a harder pieces or test I get so focused on what I am doing that I can't tell you what music was on or what someone might have been screaming at me etc.

While this focus can be good I think it can also hurt me in longer pieces which is why a "trick" I use is to look away from the monitor for a specified number of strokes - some times up to 100 at a time on a longer rows - next thing you know your 1k m down and I usually end up keeping the pace I intended or faster. I have used this during shorter rows too - my PB for 1K I did 10 hard pulls for first 100m, then settled 1 second over goal for 300m and then got on exact goal pace and looked away from monitor for 30 strokes - look back and its about 300 to go and time to completely empty tank (ends up being only 1 second below goal pace to equal out) but they idea was I looked away.

Stu, I use a lot of what you listed as well, especially thinking about how happy I will be if I just get thru it. I picture myself laying on the floor in a pool of sweat with endorphins flowing and just being happy.

[Dangerscouse]

Great post with some original ideas. Much better than what i currently do which isnt as creative. I tend to break it down into fractions, so in a 10k i divide up into fiths and a 2k breaks down into quarters. Some distances i break down into odd parts, like 500m becomes a 300m and a 200m...feels easier to get the larger chunk out the way before the smaller 200m. Sometimes i have dedicated a section of the distance for someone in my life. So with a 2k i might do 500m for each of my 2 children or my wife etc.

Music is a big help too, a good dose of motorhead, metallica, black sabbath or slayer gets me through alot. I havent done heaps of 2k tests but i have noticed music doesnt help me much when im testing myself, it may just be me but i get a kind of tunnel vision and im too focused on splits and breathing to find music a motivation. Sometimes when im done i cant recall what i was actually listening too.

When im finding it tough i do like to imagine the sense of self pride once i have finnished and this moment of pain will soon be replaced with accomplishment. I have a saying tattooed on my arm, "no guts no glory" and i try to tell myself that. Another one is say to myself is "i will go on"...any thoughts i have of quitting or self doubt i drown out with either of those. Saying several times if i need to.

I would like to read your thoughts about pre test nerves. Not sure if its because im new but i feel a strong sense of anxiety, maybe that gets less overtime? Its a mix of wanting to perform well, stressing that i wont, the pain i have to come etc. My last 2k i almost didnt test myself, i felt a shakey nervous feeling like butterflies in my stomach. I didnt feel settled...was my bladder empty, were my clothes comfortable, were my shoes on too tight, had i had enough sleep, am i sat on the seat comfortably...i came very very close to aborting. As i said in another post, i have been focused for a while on 60min rows for calories but i have recently started working towards another 2k attempt and im not looking forward to the anxiety before the test! I mean, i was fine once i picked up the handle and committed myself...but...it almost got the better of me.

Music is essential for me, but I know not everyone has the same opinion. I just can't consider a session without it.

As for the nerves, the issue you have got is regarding perception. You assumed a 2k would be painful, and now you know it is it just reaffirms those fears and doubts. It is then your mind's self defence kicking in and preparing for the challenge and possibly talking you out of it. Living within your comfort zone is a natural tendency and this will change with practice and careful thought.

Over time you will have feel more comfortable with the pain not least as your ability increases and you know it's possible. Adrenaline and fear can be a potent mix and when you learn to harness it for performance rather than destructive behaviour it is a useful part of training.

Recategorization of feelings is an important part of rowing progress. Certain types of pain shouldn't be perceived as something to always avoid nor as a signal to stop but you only really get to do this properly when you have got a good amount of sessions to refer to in your mind that it is possible.

Within reason, the sessions that you subconsciously avoid are the sessions that you should be doing. This is where the real growth in progress can be.

[Tim huges]

@ Kieth
I havent done many long distance TT pieces yet, but the few 10ks i have done tested, i wouldnt be without music...i think its much harder to have the same level of focus for 36/37 odd minutes compared to a 6/7minutes on a 2k (or shorter distances). More time for negative thoughts to creep in perhaps? Music has been a great distraction for longer rows, along with the other ideas on this post im looking forward to trying them. Im still very new and im still finding what works for me...after a dozen more 2k TT's i may be more mentally relaxed and find music more of a motivation. It still gets me into the zone before a 2k, i walk 30min to get to the gym and listen to music on the way and during my warm up.

@ Stu
Makes alot of sense. I suppose its like conditioning a dog...if you were to smack its nose everytime you gave it a steak, it would soon run a mile when it saw one. Perhaps not, but you catch my drift. I'll try and think of some ways i can flip it around in my head, i do know the sense of satisfaction i get once finnished...but once these newbie gains dry up and the end result is not a PB...i would imagine that could be tough to deal with, which is partly the point of this post isnt it? Something to also think about and prepare for. I think accepting and embracing failure will be important, time will tell with how i cope and put it into practise.

[hjs]

Not even once rowed on music. must say something, talking about 32k meters, expect rounding the world around 2022.

[Anth_F]

Not even once rowed on music.

Really?

The music i can take it or leave it whilst rowing. I like to be very focused with the PM in my sessions... i have a bit OCD with some of the numbers being fairly consistent

Sometimes on a 5k, i'll stick Iggy Pop's (New Values) album on, this has some fun songs that helps me forget how hard i'm working.

Nice thread, Stu.

[hjs]

Not even once rowed on music.

Really?

The music i can take it or leave it whilst rowing. I like to be very focused with the PM in my sessions... i have a bit OCD with some of the numbers being fairly consistent

Sometimes on a 5k, i'll stick Iggy Pop's (New Values) album on, this has some fun songs that helps me forget how hard i'm working.

Nice thread, Stu.

Only during races, where they play music. I mostly row outside, looking out over de fields, often cows next to me (from the neighbours) , never use earplugs, want to be able to hear things.