by The racing season has ended, the final races rowed, and you’re ready to start down the road of off-season training. The off-season is a crucial time to set yourself up for the rest of the year. In this article, we’ll cover the major goals of off-season rowing strength training, general program guidelines, and example strength training programs for openweight, lightweight, and masters rowers.
This article is Part 1 in my strength training for rowing annual programming series. Read “The Basics of Strength Training for Rowing” for the general overview of the annual strength training plan, and then individual block-by-block articles after this one for Part 2 Specific Prep, Part 3 Pre-Season/Pre-Competitive, and Part 4 In-Season/Race Prep.
Table of Contents:
- Off-Season Rowing Strength Training Goals
- Off-Season Rowing Strength Training Programs
- Training for Openweights
- Training for Lightweights
- Training for Masters Rowers
- Combining Strength and Rowing Training
Off-Season Strength Training Goals
The off-season general preparation block is one of the most productive training times to set up the rest of the training year. The main goals of the general preparation block are:
- Rejuvenate: rest, recover, and heal
- Build a foundation of strength and aerobic fitness
- Correct common rowing imbalances
- Enjoy the off-season and maintain enthusiasm for the sport
Masters Rowers: You may focus on the summer sprint race season as your main competitive events. Your General Prep Block will then begin in the fall or early winter, followed by the Specific Prep Block in February or March, and then the Pre-Competitive Block about 3-4 weeks before your sprint racing season begins. The information in this article remains the same as far as strength training guidance for the General Prep Block, other than the re-alignment of the training schedule and calendar year. If you focus on summer sprint races and want to know how to manage the Competitive Block of strength training during race prep training, read “In-Season Strength Training for Rowing.” For more information about masters strength training planning, including how to manage a training calendar that includes August US Masters Nationals as well as fall head races, read “Strength Training for Masters Rowers: Periodization.”
The rest of this article will assume a standard junior/collegiate training schedule with the General Prep Block representing the 10-16 weeks of summer season and early fall season training, building up to spring sprint racing championships in May.
The first step of off-season strength training for rowing is…not strength training. Seriously, take a break! If you rowed all the way through racing season and in to the championships, you might be on week 16-20 of spring rowing. A break from structured training for 1-3 weeks will benefit the rest of your training year. You will find that your energy rebounds and you’ll be enthusiastic for the next training block, instead of dragging into it and possibly carrying over aches and pains. Enjoy recreational physical activity, spend some more time with a neglected hobby, schedule a vacation for this time, or do something else that isn’t training for a few weeks before moving to the next block.
Once you’re rejuvenated and ready to go, outline a few goals for your off-season. Good off-season goals don’t overlap with your competitive seasons. You shouldn’t be PR’ing your 2k or 6k in off-season unless it “just happens.” Chasing the same goal training cycle after training cycle can mentally burn you out, particularly when it comes to erg training. It also isn’t physiologically possibly to be in peak condition year-round, so if you’re in peak condition in the off-season, it’s likely you’ll have a hard time reaching that mark again late in racing season when it actually counts.
The purpose of off-season strength training for rowing is to lay a foundation for the rest of the year. The general preparation block is a perfect time to do more cross-training, a higher variety of exercise, and build some muscle with higher volume training. This also works out perfectly because these are all different goals than your spring training. Set a new PR in a running, cycling, or swimming distance. Learn to scull if you’re a sweep rower. Enjoy the extra recovery time and aim to gain 5-10 pounds of lean bodyweight. Hit a new 8RM squat or deadlift. Cross-training and high variety in the weight-room is crucial during certain periods of the year to offset imbalances caused by rowing and maintain athletic qualities. This is not to say that you can’t erg at all, just that it should be de-prioritized compared to the highest specificity of spring training. The off-season is also a great time to get in a lot of meters and build a great aerobic and technical base in addition to increased cross-training.
Off-Season Rowing Strength Training Programs
Here are three sample off-season programs, one for openweights, lightweights, and masters. These illustrate how to use more cross-training, more variety, and higher volume strength training to build strength, muscular balance, and muscle mass, to set the rower up for a great fall season or Specific Prep Block and rest of the training year.
The first two programs can use Jim Wendler’s popular 5/3/1 program for the main work. I really like the 5/3/1 system for a few reasons. It is a simple progression, the low volume main work training leaves plenty of room for quality assistance work, and you can make progress through both reps and weight. However, you could use a conventional sets-and-reps system as well, such as a progression from:
- Week 1: 3×5 (three sets of five reps)
- Week 2: 4×6
- Week 3: 5×5
- Week 4: 4×8
This is often what I will do with masters rowers, who usually don’t want the more rigid structure of the 5/3/1 program, or those who are coming to strength training for the first time and don’t have the 1RM estimation for the 5/3/1 program. This progression builds in volume over the month of training. The rower could then take a deload week and repeat the progression, aiming to use more weight than in the prior month. Or, a rower who recovers well could do two cycles back-to-back (eight weeks of training) and then take the deload.
“A” exercises are main work and should be performed after a warmup with 2-3 minutes of rest after each set. Rowers often want to work faster, but if we cut the rest down too much, fatigue will increase too quickly and we won’t be able to maintain high force output through all sets. The sets will become technically sloppy as fatigue increases, or the rower will have to decrease the weight significantly. This misses the benefits of strength training.
“B” exercises are primary assistance exercises and should be performed with 1-2 minutes of rest between sets. If you see a “B1/B2,” that means to superset the exercises. Perform B1, then B2, then take 1-2 minutes of rest before doing the next set. These are not full-body exercises and we can work a little faster with less fatigue than in the main work “A” exercises. If we are doing two opposite body parts, like an upper body pushing exercise and an upper body pulling exercise, there is minimal fatigue overlap between the two, so we can do them back-to-back.
The final grouping of “C” or “D” exercises are minor assistance exercises and should be performed with about 1 minute of rest between sets. “C1-C3” should be done as a circuit. Do C1, then C2, then C3, then rest 0-1 minute before doing the next circuit set. These are very small exercises with no overlap, so we don’t need much rest here at all. We do core training, shoulder exercises (band pullapart, face-pull, and YWT raise), and lateral/rotational hip exercises here consistently.
Use my Exercise Index for video demonstrations and examples of all the exercises mentioned in these programs.
Openweight Strength Training
Goal #1: Improve Base Strength
Goal #2: Improve Muscular Balance and Size
Anyone who isn’t a lightweight close to the weight limit should be using the off-season strength training to build muscle mass to build a foundation of base strength. To accomplish this, strength training is higher in volume and lifting can increase to 3 days per week during the General Prep period. My favorite way to do this is with an upper/lower/full-body split, shown below.
Day 1: Overhead Press & Upper Body
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Overhead Press: Main Work Progression
- B1. Incline or Dumbbell Press: 4-5 sets of 8-10
- B2. Row or Chin-Up: 4-5 sets of 8-10
- C1. Any Biceps Curl: 2-3 sets of 12-20
- C2. Any Triceps Extension: 2-3 sets of 12-20
- C3. Shoulder: 2-3 sets of 12-20
Day 2: Squat & Lower Body
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Front or Back Squat: Main Work Progression
- B. Single-Leg Squat: 4-5 sets of 8-10
- C. Hinge Movement (pull-through, hip thrust, glute-ham raise): 2-3 sets of 12-15
- D1-2. Core and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Day 3: Deadlift & Upper/Lower Assistance
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Deadlift or Hex Bar Deadlift: Main Work Progression
- B1. Any DB Press/Bench: 4-5 sets of 8-10
- B2. Any Row or Chin: 4-5 sets of 8-10
- C1. Romanian Deadlift: 2-3 sets of 12-20
- C2. Pushup or Parallel Bar Dips: 2-3 sets of 12-20
- D1-3. Core, Shoulder, and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Lightweights Close to Competitive Weight
Goal #1: Maintain Strength and Power
Goal #2: Improve Muscular Balance
Lightweights close to weight limit should keep the volume low in the main work, mostly just aiming to maintain strength, and slightly lower in the assistance work as well, mostly just aiming to maintain muscle mass and balance (left/right and front/back), and then leaving plenty of room for the aerobic training that will power your performance engine. The puzzle of lightweight rowing is how to do enough work to at least maintain performance, if not make small improvements, without increasing caloric needs too much to recover from training. The more we train, the more calories we need to support training. The more calories you eat, the more you’re likely to gain weight. If we want to keep calories lower, we have to keep the training volume lower as well. Lightweights do just two strength training workouts per week, with one focused on the squat and one focused on the deadlift, both with full-body assistance exercises. Strength training is a much smaller part of a lightweight’s training, so there is less variation from season-to-season than for an openweight.
Day 1: Squat Focus
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Front Squat: Main Work Progression
- B1. Chin-Up or Lat Pulldown: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- B2. DB 1-Arm Overhead Press: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- B3. Romanian Deadlift: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- C1-C3. Core, Shoulder, and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Day 2: Deadlift Focus
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Deadlift or Hex Bar Deadlift: Main Work Progression
- B1. DB 1-Arm Row: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- B2. DB Bench Press or Pushup: 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps
- B3. Single-Leg Squat: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- C1-3. Core, Shoulder, and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Masters Rower Off-Season Strength Training
Goal #1: Improve Base Strength
Goal #2: Improve Muscular Balance
I find that masters rowers do better with two weekly strength training sessions rather than three. Three strength training sessions per week tends to take too much time, due to scheduling challenges with the rest of adult life, or too much recovery, cutting into available aerobic training time that we still need to prioritize as rowers. Gaining muscle mass is not necessarily a main goal for masters rowers, due to hormonal changes reducing growth potential, but it is still possible, and we still use off-season strength training to improve left/right and front/back muscle balance. Masters rowers mostly improve strength through neuromuscular coordination, or getting more efficient at sending a force impulse from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system and muscles. The masters rower off-season strength training program is more like the lightweight program, but uses the non-5/3/1 main work progression (see earlier) and slightly higher volume in the assistance work. This approach also lays a good foundation for the rest of the training year to come, for the masters rower who is beginning strength training for the first time or returning to strength training after some time away.
Day 1: Squat Focus
- Full-Body Warmup
- A1. Front Squat: Main Work Progression
- B1. Chin-Up or Lat Pulldown: 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps
- B2. DB 1-Arm Overhead Press: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- B3. Romanian Deadlift: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
- C1-C3. Core, Shoulder, and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Day 2: Deadlift Focus
- Full-Body Warmup
- A. Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, or Hex Bar Deadlift: Main Work Progression
- B1. DB 1-Arm Row: 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps
- B2. DB Bench Press or Pushup: 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps
- B3. Single-Leg Squat: 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps
- C1-3. Core, Shoulder, and Rotational/Lateral Hip Exercises
Combining Strength and Rowing Training
Of course, if you want to be better at rowing, you need to do some rowing training too. This does not mean endless meters on the erg. I much prefer off-season rowers to cross-train for a majority of their aerobic workouts. The aerobic adaptations to the heart, lungs, and capillaries, are general, so you can cycle, swim, run, scull, or do something other than erging and gain the same benefits while also developing different movements, muscles, and avoiding risk of injury from prolonged erging sessions, and avoiding risk of burnout later in the competitive year.
My general recommendation is 3-4 aerobic base sessions of around 45-75 minutes in length, with a preference for cross-training, as well as 1-2 anaerobic interval sessions of 15-30 minutes in total length (including rest), which may be done on the erg. The aerobic base sessions build general fitness and endurance. The interval work maintains anaerobic fitness, and keeps the rower familiar with erg technique without risking injury from prolonged erging sessions. This leaves plenty of energy and recovery for the main goal of off-season training–building the base of strength, muscular balance, and muscle mass that will carry the rower through the rest of the competitive year.
The General Prep Block is usually our longest block of training, at 12-16 weeks. Next up, it’s the Specific Prep Block of training to increase intensity and keep on building strength, muscle, and force potential. Read Part 2: Specific Prep Training.
Last updated January 2023.
What do the groupings mean? For example, should you be doing C1, C2, and C3 all on a single day?
Hi Ian,
Yes, the days are broken up and labeled “day 1” “day 2” or “day 3.” The letters denote the order in which you do the exercises on each day.
“A” exercises are main work and should be performed after a warmup with 2-3 minutes of rest in between sets.
“B” exercises are primary assistance exercises and should be performed with 1-2 minutes of rest between sets. If you see a “B1/B2,” that means to superset the exercises. Perform B1, then B2, then take 1-2 minutes of rest before doing the next set.
“C” exercises are minor assistance exercises and should be performed with about 1 minute of rest between sets. “C1-C3” should be done as a circuit. Do C1, then C2, then C3, then rest 1 minute before doing the next circuit set.
Make sense?
Great, thank you!
Is the rack pull supposed to be heavy weight or low weight?
Hi John,
All weights used should be appropriately challenging given your strength, ability with the exercise, any injury concerns, and set and rep range listed. I tend to use the Romanian Deadlift over the block pull because I find that athletes are more likely to do it correctly and reasonably. Block pulls often turn into resting on the blocks between reps, overly aggressive acceleration or bouncing off of the blocks, and sloppy form as the sets continue, but they are an option for the responsible lifter who can perform the lift correctly. I would have block pulls performed similarly to Romanian Deadlifts, with a soft pause on the box (no bounce), smooth acceleration through the lift (no jerking or rounding), and a tight torso brace and good hip hinge action through the entire set. Keep your focus on the technique and select an appropriately challenging weight around that focus.