Using Sleds for Rowing Strength Training

By Alex Walters, USRowing Level 3


Note from Will: “Using Sleds for Rowing Strength Training” is a guest article by Alex Walters, coach of the Gem City Crew juniors program. Alex and I have corresponded for a few years now via my email list. He wrote me earlier this year to tell me about the kind of strength training he was doing with his junior program. He felt inspired, motivated, and informed by my resources to make strength training a part of the team’s development, but lacked the funding for equipment, the space to store and use that equipment, and the ability to instruct a conventional strength training program or hire a strength training professional to do so. Enter the sleds. Alex described these warhorses of plywood to me and showed me some pictures of the movements he used in their training. I loved it and asked if he’d like to share this with the broader rowing world, and this article is the result of his efforts. I think it’s a great example of a coach figuring out how to work with what they’ve got and being willing to start with SOMETHING and improve from there. I hope you enjoy this creative approach to strength training for rowing.

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kettlebells for rowing

Kettlebells for Rowing Strength Training

Kettlebells can be a useful tool in your strength training for rowing toolbox to develop strength, power, and muscle, if you know what you’re doing with them! In this article, we’ll discuss some of the research on kettlebells in strength training, and methods for using kettlebells for rowing strength training. A fellow strength coach of rowers wrote me earlier this year with how she uses kettlebells for rowing training programs, and we’ll hear from her as well, plus some sample programs.

kettlebells for rowing

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mental skills rowing

3 Steps to Coaching Mental Skills for Rowing

By Madison Keaty, MS


Note from Will: This article is a guest post from Madison Keaty, assistant coach at Gonzaga University women’s rowing. Madison rowed for Gonzaga University before attending Ithaca College to study sport psychology. We met at the Joy of Sculling Conference in February and had a great time talking about how to get more resources on coaching mental skills for rowing into the hands of rowers and coaches. In this article, Madison provides some excellent and accessible advice for incorporating mental skills training for rowing into a daily practice plan.


Is mental toughness necessary to row?

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