What are the key elements in a good rowing strength training program? In this article, we’ll cover five priorities for each major area of exercise selection, strength training performance, and annual training program design. These priorities are where we see the greatest benefits in rowing strength training and changes that we make when I work with coaches and rowers of all ages, types, and levels.

Key Points: In exercise selection, all rowers should be doing some form of squat, hinge, upper body pull, upper body push, and specific minor exercises for the hip, shoulder, and core. These exercises train for specific performance elements of rowing, and also fill gaps in physical development from only rowing and erging. When strength training, rowers should use good technique, tempo control of the lowering and lifting phases of each rep and exercise, as much range of motion as they can effectively control (with a few exceptions), and achieve the appropriate strain targets for each set and exercise. Only after these four factors is the load (weight) of the exercise important for progression. The rowing strength training program design factors that I’ve found most important are knowing when and how to individualize training, having an off-season building phase for general physical development, planning a transition phase to prepare for in-season training, a maintenance plan for the in-season or race prep, and making time to rejuvenate following the final race.

Table of Contents:

• Priorities for exercise selection
• Priorities for strength training performance
• Priorities for program design
• Program priority summary

Continue reading → Rowing Strength Training Program Priorities

I’ve worked with many coaches and rowers of all ages, types, and levels who are ready to start strength training for rowing, but just don’t know exactly when to start, what to do, and how to progress from there. In this article, we’ll cut through the mass of information and get right to action with a simple system to start strength training for rowing, including free example beginner strength training sessions.

Key Points: When you’re ready to start strength training for rowing, the initial goals are introducing different and possibly new ways of moving the body, practicing the technique of basic strength training exercises, and beginning to build a foundation of coordination and muscular strength. Rowers starting strength training should avoid using high loads or high reps due to technique breakdown, instead focusing efforts on more moderate outputs in the 8-15-rep range with an emphasis on good technique and a controlled lifting tempo. The 30-30-for-30 circuit training system offers a simple way to achieve all of these goals in a 30-minute strength training session appropriate for rowers of all ages, types, and competitive levels starting or restarting strength training.

Table of Contents:

• Who should start strength training for rowing?
• Goals of beginning strength training
• Common mistakes of early strength training
• The 30-30-for-30 system
• Example strength training sessions
• When to start strength training for rowing
• Combining strength training and rowing
• Progressing to the next level

Continue reading → How to Start Strength Training for Rowing

Do you use the bodyweight row in your strength training? In this article, I will detail why the bodyweight row is such a great exercise, and how we can modify and program the bodyweight row for rowers to keep it challenging and engaging for off-season and in-season strength training.

Key Points: The bodyweight row is an effective exercise to strengthen the muscles of the back, shoulders, and arms for improved rowing performance. Unlike other popular horizontal pulling exercises, the bodyweight row reduces injury risk to the low back and ribs. The bodyweight row also requires very little specialized equipment, so just about anyone can do some variation of the bodyweight row in any training environment. Use different variations of handle height, grip, stance, equipment, and set-and-rep schemes to keep the bodyweight row challenging and engaging for rowers of all ages and levels.

Table of Contents:

• Horizontal Pulling Pros and Cons
• Bodyweight Row Exercise Variations
• Programming the Bodyweight Row

Continue reading → Why I Love the Bodyweight Row for Rowers

Rowers and coaches want to know a few things about scheduling strength training with rowing. How do we make different types of training work together to maximize performance and long-term adaptation to training? How do we minimize interference between the two and reduce risk of injury? In this article, we’ll discuss scheduling strength training with rowing at the seasonal, weekly, and daily levels.

Key Points: At the annual or seasonal level, we will use a periodization system to focus on specific elements of training at different times in the training year. At the weekly level, we decide to combine or separate our high intensity stressors using a consolidated or distributed model. At the daily level, for rowers who train twice in a single day, can we separate the sessions by at least six hours? If not, use strategies to minimize interference and fatigue spillover between types of training. If you prefer audio/video, I presented on this topic at the 2020 USRowing Convention, and you can watch the 15-minute clip with similar information to this article at the link below.

Table of Contents:

• Why Scheduling Matters
• Seasonal Periodization
• Weekly Scheduling
• Multiple Sessions in One Day
• USRowing Presentation Replay

Continue reading → Scheduling Strength Training with Rowing

In this article, you’ll learn all about rowing power testing: why power tests offer important information, basic testing principles, rowing power testing protocols, and how to collect, analyze and use this information in your training. We will discuss important physiology knowledge for power testing, best practices for erg testing, the different protocols of counting strokes or seconds, apps that you can use to collect power testing data, and how often to test peak power to inform your training.

Key Points: Rowing power testing tells us if the rower is improving in maximum power output (duh), the effect of strength training on rowing performance, and offers a way to estimate race pace. My favorite power tests are the 7-stroke max or 10-second test to stay within the phosphagen energy system, responsible for producing very high outputs over short durations. Whichever power test you choose, testing protocols need to be standardized and kept consistent in order to accurately reflect results as changes from training. Use full slide, good technique, recorded drag factor, similar motivation and testing environment, and same rest between individual attempts.

Table of Contents

• Why Test Rowing Power?
• Rowing Power Testing Basics
• Testing Protocols
• Data Collection
• Using the Data
• How Often to Test

Continue reading → All About Rowing Power Testing