I’ve been seeing great results from the Nordic hamstring curl (NHC) and glute-ham raise (GHR) with all the Craftsbury Green Racing Project teams in pelvic control and reduced low back pain. Rowers and skiers alike comment on feeling more “planted” and stable in sport training and that doing NHC and GHR often helps their low back feel better than coming into the session. I wrote about these in the spring with my new GHR demo video and want to come back to it with the progression I’ve used with all of our U23 and high-performance athletes since.

Continue reading → Nordic Hamstring Curl and Glute-Ham Raise Progression

This is Part 3 of my ongoing velocity based training for rowing series. I’ll write about how we moved from a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) strength training program to a velocity based strength training program. I have some additional considerations for those using a percent-1RM system.

In Part 1 we covered velocity based training for rowing research and resources, how VBT works to guide strength training, and pros and cons of using VBT in your strength training. In Part 2, we went deeper into the pros and cons to discuss unintended consequences of surveillance technology, initial athlete reactions, and how I try to minimize or mitigate these problems. (Note: A lightly updated version of this series exists all in one place in the “5-Year Update” addendum PDF to my book, “Rowing Stronger.” Download that for free here.)

Continue reading → Transitioning to Velocity Based Training: VBT Part 3

I post this with some trepidation that people will think that making a video means I’m claiming this drill as my own. Rowing-in-place, or the “push-pull drill” as I’ve also heard it called, is one of the first drills that I learned when I started coaching at Craftsbury in 2019, and it quickly became one of my favorites for my own sculling and coaching. I’ve been unable to find a good, publicly available demo video to share this with people more broadly, so I did one. Video and notes below on how I use it in coaching.

Continue reading → My Favorite Rowing Drill: Rowing-in-Place (Video and More)

I wrote about this study in my recent “Strength Coach Thoughts on ‘The Drive’” post. We’ll come back to it for some more takeaways. In this 2015 study (“Don’t Think About Your Movements: Effects of Attentional Instructions on Rowing Performance”) on 18 experienced college-aged female and male rowers, researchers found that an internal cue of “pay attention to the leg push” delivered audibly every 30 seconds resulted in worse efficiency when erging than an external cue of watching a video of the stern and a control condition of no cue at all.

Continue reading → Study Spotlight: Internal vs. External Cues for Rowing Performance

This is Part 2 of the velocity based strength training for rowing series. In Part 1, we covered some VBT rowing research and resources, how the technology works to guide strength training, and a few pros and cons of using VBT. I left off with the final downside of surveillance technology leading to some downsides and problematic unintended consequences. In this post, I’ve written some descriptive athlete examples to show what I mean and discuss how I tried (and try) to minimize and mitigate these problems.

(Note: A lightly updated version of this series exists all in one place in the “5-Year Update” addendum PDF to my book, “Rowing Stronger.” Download that for free here.)

Continue reading → Velocity Based Training Series: Unintended Consequences

I’m back at Craftsbury camp now and thinking more about sculling technique. I’m in my “Camp Coordinator” role this week, helping manage equipment and logistics, but I coached one camp late last season. During that camp, I gave the dock talk on what happens when the blades are in the water, aka “the drive.” I’ll sum it up in this post.

Continue reading → Strength Coach Thoughts on “The Drive”

Another good camp workshop question got me thinking about the main mistakes I often help rowers correct when I start coaching them. Here are five things you might be able to improve in your own strength training for rowing.

Continue reading → Common Rowing Strength Training Mistakes

This is Part 1 of an ongoing series on velocity based strength training (VBT) for rowing. I’ll update with a new post every month or two with my process of research, implementation, and improvements using VBT with the Craftsbury GRP teams. I intend for these to be useful for any coach or rower with access to a VBT system, not just elite or high-performance.

(Note: A lightly updated version of this series exists all in one place in the “5-Year Update” addendum PDF to my book, “Rowing Stronger.” Download that for free here.)

Continue reading → Velocity Based Strength Training for Rowing: About VBT

I’m gradually working on redoing most/all of my older demo videos. Visual quality is a main reason, with having the more professional surroundings of the Craftsbury gym. I’ll leave up the older demos that one rower favorably (?) described as “grungy,” through different eras of garage gyms from Washington to Vermont. I’m also writing “Move of the Month” features over on the Craftsbury blog, which is a trove of useful information from other Center coaches and athletes. Another reason is quality of demonstration, thanks to athlete feedback and getting a better idea of what rowers need to know and see. I’m adding variations and modifications to many of the older videos, too, not just short snapshots. This post is all about my starting point for overhead pressing, the half-kneeling overhead press.

Continue reading → New Video: Half-Kneeling Overhead Press

A rower asked a question at my recent Craftsbury camp strength training classroom session: What are the biggest areas of technical improvement I see with rowers from strength training?

Continue reading → Three Biggest Areas of Physical Improvement for Rowers