Is my coach's Training Plan too cruel?

[alison2ks]

There's been a growing concern on my team with my coach's training plan, which reached a head this week. To preface, we are not a high-performing team at the competitive level, having only 28 rowers, and often place close to last at regattas. However, we are at our fastest in three years with this year's semester's training plan.

In our Fall off-season (if you can call 6k season the offseason), we generally take it light and practice only 5 times a week from September-December. We race 4 times. We average out at 15 hours a week of training.

In our Spring 2k season, which ranges from February-May, we practice 6 days a week with two practices on Monday and Friday. We hit 20 hours of training time almost every week not including the injury prevention exercises prescribed by our athletic trainer. There are 6 races in the spring semester and a one-week training trip over spring break. Sometimes we get one practice off following a travel weekend, but we often return between 1-2 a.m. and are obviously still expected to attend our 8 a.m. classes on those rest days.

Yesterday was one of those late returns, so we had practice off. Today, we showed up to practice to do 2x10 minutes of steady state followed by 8x500m (75 seconds rest) on the erg at our new coach-set 2k Goal for the upcoming 2k test in three weeks. The entire team was destroyed by the end and two needed medical attention after going unconscious. All but four rowers did worse on this 8x500m than the one 4 weeks ago. We are also seat-racing again this week despite being told we were done seat-racing in March.

This incident has fueled the growing concern from our athletic trainer and strength training coaches. Between the late travel, 8-20 hour bus rides, weekly 8x500s, 3-6 race plan 2ks a week, high-effort power-per-stroke "steady state," back-to-back racing weekends, and minimal tapers before races, my team has felt completely burnt out. We've had two waves of illness (mono, colds, the flu, among others) pass through us this semester with time off being discouraged. Two teammates have gotten surgery for injuries and more of us than ever are doing rehabilitation exercises for pain.

I've said plenty on the criticism of our training plan, but it's also worthy to acknowledge my team's attitude issue. Most of us are walk-ons from other sports and don't make rowing their priority.

Is there an issue in the training plan that is causing such severe burnout and illness, or is there a team attitude issue at play? Feel free to humble me if this is to be expected in this sport; I have only two years of experience.

I'd appreciate any input and even anyone else's training experience in NCAA rowing.

[Dangerscouse]

I'm reluctant to criticise the training plan as I'm not a coach, nor do I understand all of the facts, but a training plan has to be fluid enough to adapt to obvious defects in the theory.

From what you've told us, I'd also be critical, and I'd be wondering if your coach is doubling down on their theories due to not being able to accept that they're wrong? The adage, you can only train as hard as you can rest sounds very appropriate in this instance.

Progress has to be the benchmark, albeit this can be subtle so it has to be considered in the round, but injuries and illness are significant red flags imo & ime.

[jamesg]

issue in the training plan that is causing such severe burnout and illness

What could it be if not overtraining?

https://news.cam.ac.uk/c/AQiRkhIQ6r9mGN ... EDf8AZ4xP4

[JaapvanE]

I've said plenty on the criticism of our training plan, but it's also worthy to acknowledge my team's attitude issue. Most of us are walk-ons from other sports and don't make rowing their priority.

There is a substantial difference between a team not having a specific ambition, and having a bad attitude.

A bad team attitude is having the ambition to win races, but not put the effort in.

It is perfectly fine to get into a sport, just for the fun of it, without having to compete at the highest levels. Some people simply prioritize social life and study above a sporting achievement. And that should be fine if people are honest about it. And if a rowing club can fill a boat of like-minded people that should be OK: when everybody in the boat agrees that the goal isn't winning any races, there is no need to keep pushing people to their breaking point. Many sports clubs have recreational teams for this specific reason.

But it could be that the coaches have an ambition that isn't shared by the team. Talking to the coaches about their ambitions and the team's ambitions might help here.

[JaapvanE]

weekly 8x500s, 3-6 race plan 2ks a week, high-effort power-per-stroke "steady state," back-to-back racing weekends, and minimal tapers before races, my team has felt completely burnt out. We've had two waves of illness (mono, colds, the flu, among others) pass through us this semester with time off being discouraged. Two teammates have gotten surgery for injuries and more of us than ever are doing rehabilitation exercises for pain.

Are you doing 3 to 6 race pace 2K (i.e. near max heart rate) sessions a week, spread over the week?

If so, please look at this rowing coach explaining his approach https://youtu.be/1GYZW1bjfcA sounds like your coach has taken an opposite approach here...

[iain]

I can't add much to the above, except that the other sports also need considering. If the crew is doing serious training / competition in other sports, then their rowing training has to adjust for this. I agree that the program looks tough, but add a few extra hard sessions in other sports and it will definitely be unachievable. Rowing coach might not like it, but people need to be honest with them as to what else they need to do. They can then choose whether to adapt the training or insist that people choose to focus solely on rowing.

[alison2ks]

There is a substantial difference between a team not having a specific ambition, and having a bad attitude.

A bad team attitude is having the ambition to win races, but not put the effort in.

Yes, and this is exactly how the team tends to operate. We collectively want to push to perform well at competition, but when we are given a hard workout, we complain. Sometimes I feel this is warranted, like when we feel as burnt out as we do lately, but other times it seems to be laziness and an individual unwillingness to take care of soreness and weakness with the athletic trainer.

We are not a club team, but an NCAA D1 women's team. Someone mentioned what I said about walk-ons from other sports, but those walk-ons quit those sports to row full-time, so all of us on the rowing team currently are only doing this rowing training plan. I agree that we SHOULD be doing hard work. But are we doing inefficient hard work? Should our 6k season be more strenuous than our busier 2k season? Should we have hard weeks and light weeks rather than 3 hard workouts a week?

Another question was about the race plan 2ks - we usually do two 2k races per race weekend, then a 100% effort 3x2k or 2x2k workout in one practice later in the week. If we don't have a race weekend, we 2k test.

[p_b82]

I'm certainly no coach and no experience at a competitive level - but what your saying suggests you're being pushed a bit too hard a little too frequently. The injury/illness factors + the demotivation if nothing else.

Has the coach explained the reason behind their approach - are they just trying to trim you into shape for a very short time period aka beasting you - or is the belief that the only work worth doing is hard work + lots of it?

As Stu mentioned, it probably makes sense to have a talk to the coach to understand their approach, and potentially see if they're willing to have a discussion about adjusting things or helping you all understand the purpose behind the frequency of the sessions.

3-4 hard sessions a week could be suitable, as long as the other 2-3 are essentially recovery sessions - but in your quiet "off season" you're still doing average of 3hrs of training per session; and in the 2k season it's nearly 4 hours.

When I did 3 hours in a day (rowing a marathon) I needed at least 3 days to recover - but I know I'm not in great shape and don't play any sports competitively.

[iain]

As for others I have never rowed at your level and am no professional coach, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. In addition, I am not familar with US College rowing. In UK the winter season builds to the "Head" season of much longer races so I am confused that you are doing regular 2ks.

Firstly I would say your question might better be stated as "Is the training Plan appropriate"? I would assume that any coach should be aiming to get the best results possible given the time and oarswomen available to them.

My understanding is that 6k season is designed to build a fitness base, finalise crew selection and get the crews working well together. The research I have seen suggests that the most effective plans involve more steady state rowing to achieve this. I don't know whether you are typical or maybe just haven't done an all out 6k in your best shape, but I would say that your 6k looks relatively weak when compared to your 2k. This suggests to me that the training is too much focussed on race pace and not enough on building fitness and many studies have shown that this does not require more than a small number of sessions to be all out. 15hrs a week doesn't seem unreasonable if your study leaves the space for it, but I would expect more slower sessions. That said, many find the grind of long lower intensity sessions frustration and so it is possible that experience has shown that to maintain concentration and commitment these need to be replaced.

Another factor is the importance of your current races. If the results are necessary to qualify for later target races, maybe the coach doesn't feel that they have the luxury for base building and so is trying to get the short term boost of higher paced work to achieve a necessary boost now as if they worked on future speed, the crew might be more demoralised from the losses and not able to use the increased later speed to good effect as they would be against slower crews and too late to race in the races you are capable of competing in. Finally, the number of questions on this forum from people trying to improve prior to the season, the coach might be assuming a significant amount of base building was done before you were on the water and so assuming he is later in your fitness program than perhaps you are.

Anyway I agree with the others that you need to talk to your coach (or get one of his subsidiary coaches to talk to them for you) to understand their approach.