The Two Types of Training

[bloomp]

Rich, he would utterly destroy you on the water. You are conceited beyond belief if you think you have any chance. You frankly, suck at rowing on the water. I've seen high school novice row better than you. In fact, most high school rowers with 1-2 years of experience have better technique than you do. Now imagine that time twenty for Mike.

My choice words of today Rich: buffoon, idiot, bumbling. You are clumsy on the water, as you are on the erg.

[ranger]

Rich, he would utterly destroy you on the water. You are conceited beyond belief if you think you have any chance. You frankly, suck at rowing on the water. I've seen high school novice row better than you. In fact, most high school rowers with 1-2 years of experience have better technique than you do. Now imagine that time twenty for Mike.

My choice words of today Rich: buffoon, idiot, bumbling. You are clumsy on the water, as you are on the erg.

I am indeed a novice OTW, and one that is sixty years old, not eighteen, although you haven't seen me row lately, so you don't know what you are talking about here.

So it goes.

Blah, blah, blah.

ranger

[bloomp]

Rich, he would utterly destroy you on the water. You are conceited beyond belief if you think you have any chance. You frankly, suck at rowing on the water. I've seen high school novice row better than you. In fact, most high school rowers with 1-2 years of experience have better technique than you do. Now imagine that time twenty for Mike.

My choice words of today Rich: buffoon, idiot, bumbling. You are clumsy on the water, as you are on the erg.

I am indeed a novice OTW, and one that is sixty years old, not eighteen, although you haven't seen me row lately, so you don't know what you are talking about here.

So it goes.

Blah, blah, blah.

ranger

Wrong, sir.

You posted that yourself. Hands are slow out of the finish, running over the knees and then dropping back down for a catch. Your back is opening far too early. Try rowing like that on the water and you will never be able to set the boat (handle height issues) and will easily hurt yourself by throwing your back out. Why don't you get some coaching? My collegiate coach was wonderful last week when I went out in my single - but then again I'm quite natural at the motions of sculling. The intricate problems that an experienced rower can find in your stroke are amazing! This chap raced at Henley against Marcel Hacker, if that's any indication of his knowledge and skill level, and learned from Rick Ricci at Connecticut College.

Then we look at this video - only a year old.


Where to begin with the problems! Even from the grainy distant footage I can tell you a few things. You are missing water at the catch - a direct result of not having a set boat. Coming from uneven handle height on the drive and recovery. Notice how your ergometer technique is carrying through to the water. You drag your blades to set the boat and have to sky at the end of the stroke to square enough to drop in - and because you are not used to rowing without the blades on the water you must drop in well before your body is in the true catch position. Your lean at the finish of the stroke is reminiscent of a sweep rowers lean back. You cannot lean that far in a single, the motion of hauling your body all the way forward negatively affects the set, and the forces of the drive are difficult to support via only your back.

I cannot see your hands in the video, but I would assume you are rowing one hand over the other. Big mistake. All the experts row with a staggered positioning. Finally, you get zero reach at the catch. The most difficult part of sculling, especially if you learn in a single, is to be able to let your arms 'fly' out at the catch. You must be able to maximize the reach from your arms, not by leaning forward more.

A year ago, you rowed like garbage. Two months ago you still erged like garbage. You still row like garbage.

[ranger]

Craftsbury and Black Fly

Yes, I'll sign up for this.

Sounds like fun.

Could you post the relevant information again?

I would also be delighted to get some instruction from Buzz.

Can I sign up for his class?

Could you post the relevant information again about how I can do this?

I have inherited quite a bit of money from my mother, so I am now able to do these things with no problem financially.

I am not teaching this summer, so I have all the time in the world.

ranger

[ranger]

A year ago, you rowed like garbage. Two months ago you still erged like garbage. You still row like garbage.

Yea, I know.

So, first I want to best all of Freed's distance times on the erg.

Then I'll learn to row.

BTW, to best Freed, I will have to row a HM faster than you row a 2K, even though I am approaching 10 years older than Freed was when he set his marks and am forty years (!) older than you.



Wow.

I am 4-6 seconds per 500m better at this distance rowing than I was back in 2003, when I was pretty darn good (1:48/16.7K for 60min).

In fact, for things like a 60min row, it now appears that I am as much as 10 seconds per 500m better than anyone my age and weight has ever been.



It's wonderful that you think I can get even better.

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'll keep working on it.

Think how fast I will be when I actually learn to row?



ranger

[snowleopard]

I have inherited quite a bit of money from my mother, so I am now able to do these things with no problem financially

Good that you have your priorities in order

Why would a tenured professor who advises George Soros on investing need an inheritance to afford a rowing class?

Could you post the relevant information again?

Try Google

[ranger]

Then we look at this video - only a year old.

No, it's not just a year old.

It's almost two years old.

Since this video, I have rowed more meters OTW than I rowed in all of the years combined before I took this video.

Since this video, I have changed all sorts of things.

I am much better.

I used to row in gloves. I have lost the gloves.

I was rigged too low. I am now rigged higher.

I used to row in shoes. I have lost the shoes.

I have changed the entire rhythm of my stroke.

I have learned how to square up at the catch.

Recoveries are infinitely better. I am much faster, both into and out of the finish.

I no longer drag my oars.

And so forth.

As you say, many people can learn to row in a couple of years.

You are watching a video that is a couple of years old.

I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since this video.

ranger

[PaulH]

I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since this video.

No you haven't. You can't have, because that would mean that you weren't a novice. But you've said quite clearly that you *are* a novice. Hence you haven't rowed that distance.

[auerli]

Craftsbury and Black Fly

I have inherited quite a bit of money from my mother, so I am now able to do these things with no problem financially.

ranger

Don´t you think you should bury your Mom first before you tell in a forum, how you are going to spend the inherited money. Tells a lot about you (what we already have known anyway...).

What a pathetic person you are!

Matthias

[Citroen]

I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since this video.

No you haven't. You can't have, because that would mean that you weren't a novice. But you've said quite clearly that you *are* a novice. Hence you haven't rowed that distance.

Does he mean rowed OTW or rowed (badly hauling anchor and stopping every 200m) on the ergo?

[ranger]

Paul--

I now row as fast as you do for 2K just stroking easily at 26 spm.

I can row a FM at 26 spm.

ranger

[ranger]

I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since this video.

No you haven't. You can't have, because that would mean that you weren't a novice. But you've said quite clearly that you *are* a novice. Hence you haven't rowed that distance.

Yes, I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since I took that video.

But I am indeed still a novice--in my definition of a novice.

When I am not a novice, in my definition of a novice, I will outrow Mike VB at the Head of the Charles.

In my definition of a novice, I will no longer be a novice when I am doing interval workouts OTW on a regular basis, when I have raced in a number of sprint regattas and head races, and when I know the times that I tend to pull for both.

Then the _real_ work can begin!

ranger

[Citroen]

Yes, I have rowed a couple of million meters OTW since I took that video.

Prove it! Show us your super special world class new OTW stroke, it must be better now.
But you may want to go and bury your mom first.

[whp4]

I have inherited quite a bit of money from my mother, so I am now able to do these things with no problem financially.

Good. Now you can pay Henry what you owe him. Don't worry, he'll pay his side of the wager if you ever manage to meet the requirements, and probably a lot more promptly than you have done with your side.

Maybe you could put something in your speech thanking your mom for covering the check your body couldn't cash...you know, in between mentions of how your rowing is going...

[ranger]

Why would a tenured professor who advises George Soros on investing need an inheritance to afford a rowing class?

Yes, I have made a good bit of money in the stock market, but I have no access to my retirement funds until I quit my job.

I just put three children through college, two at private schools, which is expensive.

So my cash on hand has been a bit short lately.

No longer.

ranger