The Two Types of Training

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:26 pm

This whole affair of learning how to row has come full circle and has had an interesting and, I think, unexpected, conclusion for me.

The conclusion is this, I think:

Sure, if you want to be good at rowing, you have to learn to row well.

And this is an enormously hard enterprise that takes quite a while.

It took me seven years.

But once you learn to row well, there is no reason to go back and learn again.

Once you know how to row well, you know, and therefore you do it every time you pull a handle or slide a seat.

It's like riding a bicycle, or, well, you know what I mean.

Once you know how to row well, there is no reason to go back to trudging.

That's just learning to row.

Once you know how to row well, if you have a high aerobic capacity and other kinds of talent for the sport (strength, length, etc.), rate up and have fun with it, every time out.

Rate 32 spm.

This is what I did when I first took up the sport, even for a FM, but I didn't know how to row, and therefore rowed badly.

That's all in the past now, though.

I now row well.

And even so, I am rating 32 spm again.

If you get excited and really want to let off some steam, rate 36 spm, or heck, 40 spm, or 44 spm.

But sheesh, no reason to go back and rate 16 spm, or whatever.

That's for people who don't yet know how to row and therefore can't have any fun with it yet.

They still have things to learn if they want to do well.

If you're still a drudge, trudge.

Otherwise, just dip your oars

and take off

--like the wind,

rating 32 spm.

Dip, lift, lift, Dip, lift, lift, Dip, lift, lift, Dip.

It's been a long journey.

I can't believe it, really, but after 50 milliion meters of trudging, I am back to paddling, which is what I like best.

When you paddle a canoe on a canoe trip, or whatever, you paddle all day, day after day, week after week.

At what rate?

About 32 spm.

Dip, lift, lift, Dip, lift, lift, Dip, lift, lift, Dip.

Or should I say, "Boom diddy-ya-da, Boom diddy-ya-da, Boom diddy-ya-da, Boom"?

http://movies.apunkachoice.com/names/mi ... along.html

ranger

detlefchef · Post by **detlefchef** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:36 pm

ranger wrote:This whole affair of learning how to row has come full circle and has had an interesting and, I think, unexpected, conclusion for me.

The conclusion is this, I think:

Sure, if you want to be good at rowing, you have to learn to row well.

And this is an enormously hard enterprise that takes quite a while.

It took me seven years.

But once you learn to row well, there is no reason to go back and learn again.

Once you know how to row well, you know, and therefore you do it every time you pull a handle or slide a seat.

It's like riding a bicycle, or, well, you know what I mean.

Once you know how to row well, there is no reason to go back to trudging.

That's just learning to row.

Once you know how to row well, if you have a high aerobic capacity and other kinds of talent for the sport (strength, length, etc.), rate up and have fun with it, every time out.

Rate 32 spm.

This is what I did when I first took up the sport, even for a FM, but I didn't know how to row, and therefore rowed badly.

That's all in the past now, though.

I now row well.

And even so, I am rating 32 spm again.

If you get excited and really want to let off some steam, rate 36 spm, or heck, 40 spm, or 44 spm.

But sheesh, no reason to go back and rate 16 spm, or whatever.

That's for people who don't yet know how to row and therefore can't have any fun with it yet.

They still have things to learn if they want to do well.

ranger

So, in other words, rowing is the only sport in the world where it doesn't make sense to continue to work on your form once you're good at it? Is there some study to support this?

After all, I'm sure Roger Federer still does drills and, last I checked, I think his shots are pretty sound.

I've been cycling my entire life and, yes, I know how to ride a bike. For the rest of my life, if you put me on a bike, I'll be able to manage. However, that doesn't mean I'm incapable of developing bad habits that could either lead to injuries or, at very least reduce my efficiency. So, like other cyclists, I do drills.

snowleopard · Post by **snowleopard** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:43 pm

ranger wrote:This whole affair of learning how to row has come full circle

Yes, you're back where you started but about 12 seconds slower

Byron Drachman · Post by **Byron Drachman** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:47 pm

Ranger wrote:It's like riding a bicycle

Since you always ride in the highest gear, you have not learned how to ride a bike yet. The serious cyclists will understand what I just said.

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:49 pm

detlefchef wrote:So, in other words, rowing is the only sport in the world where it doesn't make sense to continue to work on your form once you're good at it? Is there some study to support this?

After all, I'm sure Roger Federer still does drills and, last I checked, I think his shots are pretty sound.

I've been cycling my entire life and, yes, I know how to ride a bike. For the rest of my life, if you put me on a bike, I'll be able to manage. However, that doesn't mean I'm incapable of developing bad habits that could either lead to injuries or, at very least reduce my efficiency. So, like other cyclists, I do drills.

No, drills are fine, if you want to keep polishing your skills.

But that's entirely different from saying that you should spend 75% of your time on drills, as something like the Wolverine Plan claims.

That's just trudging because you still haven't figured out how to row well.

I suppose it's appropriate and has wide application.

Why?

Because almost no one rows well.

But still, once you know how to row well, it's dispensable, for most purposes.

No reason to rate 16 spm, like some sort of besotted barge.

Rate 32 spm.

Fly--like the wind.

ranger

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:54 pm

A decade or so back, someone told me that they did a workout with Eskild once.

What was it like?

Eskild just took off at 1:40, effortlessly, like the wind.

And that was that.

For the next hour or so.

ranger

snowleopard · Post by **snowleopard** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:55 pm

ranger wrote:besotted barge

Er, prof, what do you understand by the word 'besotted'?

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:55 pm

snowleopard wrote:
ranger wrote:besotted barge
Er, prof, what do you understand by the word 'besotted'?

No, but you do.

ranger

snowleopard · Post by **snowleopard** » March 2nd, 2010, 4:58 pm

ranger wrote:
snowleopard wrote:
ranger wrote:besotted barge
Er, prof, what do you understand by the word 'besotted'?
No, but you do.

Er, prof, what is your understanding of the word 'besotted'?

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:05 pm

A big piece of my heart is here, in the Canadian wilds, where I spent 20 summers in my youth.

http://www.taylorstattencamps.com/paren ... ranger

whp4 · Post by **whp4** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:08 pm

ranger wrote:
No, drills are fine, if you want to keep polishing your skills.

But that's entirely different from saying that you should spend 75% of your time on drills, as something like the Wolverine Plan claims.

That's just trudging because you still haven't figured out how to row well.

I suppose it's appropriate and has wide application.

Why?

Because almost no one rows well.

But still, once you know how to row well, it's dispensable, for most purposes.

No reason to rate 16 spm, like some sort of besotted barge.

Rate 32 spm.

Fly--like the wind.

ranger

The interesting thing here is that the guy who developed the Wolverine Plan set his WR years ago, and it still stands. The guy who developed your plan talks a lot about the WR he is going to set "next weekend" or "in the fall", but despite much blathering about how the WR for his age/weight class is soft, hasn't managed to come within a few boat lengths of it. Naturally, he expects us to believe that despite his endless predictions that he's going to lower that record over and over each time he races, he isn't actually preparing to do so, and so no negative conclusions may be drawn from his repeated failures.

DUThomas · Post by **DUThomas** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:09 pm

ranger wrote:A big piece of my heart is here, in the Canadian wilds, where I spent 20 summers in my youth.

Shouldn't the rest of you join it?

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:12 pm

Here's a few more, joining in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9U ... ature=fvwp

ranger

whp4 · Post by **whp4** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:22 pm

ranger wrote:A big piece of my heart is here, in the Canadian wilds, where I spent 20 summers in my youth.

http://www.taylorstattencamps.com/paren ... ranger

I'm sure their Alumni News page would love to hear about your string of recent new WRs, not to mention the exciting news about your planned victory at the HOTC!

ranger · Post by **ranger** » March 2nd, 2010, 5:30 pm

The reason you work on low rate rowing is to improve your technique and stroking power.

But if you row so well that you pull 13 SPI @ 35 spm (1:31) as a 60s lightweight, why in the world would you ever need to work any more on technique and stroking power?

Just rate up--and be done with it!

ranger