UltraFit Portal > Features > From indoor rowing novice to 200m racer in 8 weeks

Friday, 3 September 2010

Home
Story of the week
Features
       From indoor rowing novice to 200m racer in 8 weeks
       Australian Rowing Grand Prix
       No-nonsense maximum muscle growth workout
Home Fitness
Humanrace
Shop
       Store Checkout
Blog
Contact Us
LINKS

Store Cart

Product	Qty	Price	Qty Ctrl
Totals:	0	$0.00

View Cart Details and Check Out

From Indoor Rowing Novice to 2000M Racer in 8 Weeks - Part 2

By now you should be well into the flow of things, you will have spent the last 4 weeks or longer working on your endurance base, 80% of the energy requirements of the 2000m-erg race. The next 4 weeks are the fun part, the bit I always loved when I was rowing: the speed work and the taper.

In this second part of the training program we will look at the various stages that will get you on the start and ready to go. You will need to develop your stroke rate with power, start getting used to tolerating lactate, find your race split and write a race plan.

What you get out of each session is more specific now so it will be important to start writing scores down in a notebook and to set your drag factor. With the black box turned on press the REST and READY buttons together until the words DRAG FACTOR appear in the bottom right hand box on the display. Take 4 or 5 strokes and let the number stabilize, this should be between 125-130, adjust the number by moving the lever on the side of the fan up to increase and down to decrease. Between each adjustment you will need to row 4 or 5 strokes.

Remember to listen to your body, stop if you are worried and talk to a specialist. If you plan to do 5 sessions a week add the extra sessions in by doing 20-40 minute steady rows in the days between the set sessions.

In is important to set the date for your race, if you haven entered yourself in for a competition yet you need to do so before entries close. Can you enter a lightweight category (check the competition rules)?

Text/HTML

Week Five - Power Week

Aim: To increase power and rate

Session One (30 minutes) POWER LADDERS

This session is about translating the power of the low rate into the higher rate. Each time you take the rate up two pips there should be an increase in your split. This work out is all about power so make sure you pull as hard as you can for every stroke.
• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE.
• Ladder 32: 6 x 20 strokes with 10 strokes rest. Start with the first 20 strokes at 22spm raise rate two pips each time so you will be at 34spm on the last twenty.
• Ladder 34: 6x20 strokes with 10 strokes rest. Same as before but start at 24spm finish at 34spm.
• 2 x 20strokes max rate max power (record your lowest score and rate)

Session Two (30 minutes) THRESHOLD/LACTATE PRODUCING

This work is aimed at getting you to have the confidence to pull harder for longer. Remember the golden rule as the rate goes up the split should get better.
• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE.
• 1000m @ 22spm; 750m @ 24spm; 500m @ 26spm; 250 @28spm with 1 minute rest between each.
• 5 minutes recovery rowing.
• 750m @ 26spm; 500m @ 28spm; 250 @30spm with 1 minute rest between each.

Session Three (45 minutes) THRESHOLD/LACTATE PRODUCING

This is the big session of the week. Record your scores and try and beat the first 2000m score with the last 2000m score. If you beat it by a huge margin you didn’t pull hard enough in the first 2000m. This session is about learning to pace yourself, it is all about getting onto the line and staying there. This is a good session to start thinking about how you are going to break your race down in to bite size pieces and eventually into your race plan.
• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE.
• 3 x 2000m 5 minutes rest between. 1st @ 26spm; 2nd @ 24spm; 3rd @ 26spm.

Text/HTML

Week Six Lactate Tolerance Week

Aim: To get you’re body producing lactate and then tolerating it. This week will make your legs feel like jelly and arms like lead.

Session One (30 minutes) LACTATE TOLERANCE
The idea of this session is to set your body washing with lactate and then giving you a short rest and then going again, and then again. It is by far one of the toughest sessions I do. Don’t worry if you blow, but make sure you keep trying right to the end.
• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE
• 5 minutes specific warm-up for session.
• 3 x 750m at 30spm max effort 60seconds rest.
• 5 minutes recovery rowing.

Session Two (35 minutes) LACTATE TOLERANCE
This will send you into lactate orbit, but being just 250m it will be achievable. Once your scores start to plummet it is time to stop, as you won’t be getting the right training benefit. If you can, write down each score. See if you can stop the fade through the session. This is maximum effort.
• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE
• 5 minutes specific warm-up for session.
• 4 x 250m max 1 minute recovery. Repeat after 5 minutes.
• 5 minutes recovery rowing.

Session Three (50 minutes) Threshold/Lactate Producing
Repeat the third session of last week (week 6) but do it two pips higher. You will be fatigued from the other sessions in the week but you will be surprised that it is not too bad. Just get through it and have a rest before the beginning of next week.
It is time to decide on your race plan. On a sheet of paper break the race into eight 250m sections and write down what you want to do in each of the eight phases of the race.
• A really good simple starter race plan would be: -
• 250m Go off hard but settle in to pace after 20 strokes.
•250-1500m hold the score on your race split.
• 1500-1750m 25 strokes harder lowering the split.
• 1750-2000m go-for-home every 100 meters lowering the split each time.

Develop your own race plan and mentally practice it during the next two weeks.

• 5 minutes warm-up working on HANDS BODY SLIDE
• 3 x 2000m 5 minutes rest between. 1st @ 28spm; 2nd @ 26spm; 3rd @ 28spm.
• 5 minutes recovery rowing.

Guin Batten

Guin Batten Olympic medallist and former exercise physiologist to the British Olympic rowing team guides you through the nuts and bolts of indoor rowing training in a quest to get you out and racing. In her 10-year international rowing career Guin has gathered training sessions from some of the best coaches in the world, and using her experience as an exercise physiologist she has written a program that will guide you from novice indoor rower to racer in 8 weeks.