An Introduction to Rowing (9 page)

As the recovery phase completes, the rower squares the blades just as the hands are over the ankles. The wrists rotated forward to normal position to square the blades in readiness for the catch.

Rowing is a sport of intense physical activity and this chapter gives some background on how the body functions to deliver the effort required. For a physical activity such as rowing the body should be trained for two levels of fitness, energy fitness and muscle fitness. Energy fitness relates to the delivery of energy to the muscles, and muscle fitness is the strength, flexibility and endurance of the muscles.

The energy that the body needs for rowing activity comes from the conversion of glucose in the form of glycogen within the cell into energy by a process called respiration. There two types of respiration: aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration.

Aerobic Respiration

 

Aerobic respiration is firstly the transport of oxygen from outside the body to the cells within tissues of the body, and secondly it is the metabolic process by which oxygen reacts with glycogen in the cells to produce energy, water and carbon dioxide.

The transportation of oxygen involves three systems, the respiratory system, the circulatory system and the muscular system. The respiratory system involves the intake of oxygen into the lungs and then the diffusion of oxygen from the air through the walls of the tiny air sacs of the lungs into the blood. During exercise the lungs of a normal person can take in 120 to 180 liters of air per minute, while an elite rowing athlete can have an intake of over 200 liters of air per minute.

The circulatory system, consisting of the heart and the vascular system which carries the blood, saturated with oxygen, from the lungs to the heart where it is pumped through the arteries to the muscles of the body. Hemoglobin in the red blood cells actually carries the oxygen within the blood. Trained athletes generally have more total blood volume and a greater number of red blood cells than untrained persons. In the muscular system, oxygen diffuses through the walls of the capillaries into the muscle cells where it is used for the metabolic reaction with glucose in the form of glycogen to produce energy.

Rowers should strive to improve their level of conditioning by doing regular aerobic exercise.

The body can also produce energy by anaerobic respiration and this occurs when the level of exertion is such that there is insufficient oxygen present for aerobic respiration to occur. This is called the anaerobic threshold and is the point at which anaerobic respiration starts to occur and glycogen is converted to energy and lactic acid without the use of oxygen. The presence of lactic acid causes muscle stiffness and cramping. Anaerobic respiration is much less efficient than aerobic respiration and produces only about 10% of the energy produced by aerobic respiration. Once the level of effort decreases such there is sufficient oxygen for the activity then any excess oxygen will recombine with lactic acid to reproduce the glycogen.

The body normally uses aerobic respiration for its energy needs, but when the body is engaged in intense physical activity the oxygen delivery to the cells may be insufficient for aerobic respiration to occur, so anaerobic respiration takes place. Anaerobic respiration occurs at the start of a sprint race as the rower's perform the initial set of power strokes and also during the final sprint at the end of the race, while aerobic respiration occurs during the distance phase of the race.

Regular training can make the body more efficient at aerobic respiration and prolong the onset of the anaerobic threshold.

In short sprint races about 70-80% of the energy used by a rower comes from aerobic respiration and 20-30% from anaerobic respiration. However, during longer head races approximately 90-95% of the energy will come from the aerobic system and 5-10% from the anaerobic system. Because of the high aerobic demand of head racing a good aerobic training is essential.

Breathing correctly is vitally important while rowing because of the large amount of oxygen needed to generate energy for the muscles. A rower should have a regular breathing pattern during the stroke. There are two approaches to breathing for rowing: one has the lungs empty at the catch and the other has the lungs full of breath at the catch. For each of these approaches there are a couple of breathing patterns that can be used at different rowing speeds. For the full lung approach, the rower can use these breathing patterns:

1. One breath per stroke, exhaling on the drive and inhaling on the recovery. This is typically used for lower speeds.
   
2. Two breathes per stroke, exhaling on the drive, inhaling at the release and then exhaling during the recovery and inhaling at the catch. This would be used at higher speeds.
   

For the empty lung approach, the rower can use these breathing patterns:

1. One breath per stroke, inhaling on the drive and exhaling on the recovery. This is typically used for lower speeds.
   
2. Two breathes per stroke, inhaling on the drive, exhaling at the release and then inhaling during the recovery and exhaling at the catch. This would be used at higher speeds.
   

Taking shallow breaths makes it easier to control a rower's breathing. A novice rower should take guidance from their coach on which approach to use.

Muscles are composed of muscle fibers which are cylindrical cells about 50-100 nanometers (nanometer is one billionth of a meter) in diameter and several centimeters long. The strength of an individual muscle fiber increases with its diameter, the greater its diameter the stronger the fiber is. These fibers arranged in parallel bundles along the length of the muscle. Individuals have the same number of muscle fibers within a particular muscle, and it is the diameter of the muscle fibers in their muscles that determines their strength.

Muscles contract when an electrical pulse is received from a nerve cell called a motor neuron attached to the muscle fiber. The muscle fiber responds to this electrical pulse by contracting momentarily. This short contraction and relaxation of the muscle fiber, called a twitch, lasts for 10-100 milliseconds. A single motor neuron and the fibers it stimulates are called a motor unit. One motor neuron may control from 2-2,000 muscle fibers.

For a stronger contraction another pulse must be received from the attached nerve cell before the first twitch subsides. For a sustained contraction a rapid series of pulses must be received by the muscle fiber. As a muscle fiber contracts it is constantly contracting and relaxing in response to a steady flow of electrical impulses from the nerve cell. A typical skeletal muscle has several hundred muscle fibers each with an attached nerve cell.

Most muscles contain a combination of two types of fibers:

• Slow-twitch (Type I) muscle fibers which respond more slowly and produce weaker contractions, but over a longer duration, and also have high aerobic capacity as they have a larger number of capillaries surrounding them.
  
• Fast-twitch (Type II) muscle fibers which respond more quickly with stronger contractions, but with a shorter duration, and also have high anaerobic capacity. These fibers are larger the slow-twitch muscles giving them the capability of stronger contractions.
  

Fast-twitch fibers tend to tire more quickly than slow-twitch fibers. Fast-twitch fibers are used to produce bursts of intense effort, while slow-twitch fibers are used for endurance. Fast-twitch fibers are mainly used for intense anaerobic activity, while slow-twitch fibers are used for aerobic activity. This means that to exercise fast-twitch fibers, high intensity training is required. Slow-twitch fibers are darker in color than fast-twitch fibers.

The average person has a roughly the same number of slow-twitch fibers and fast-twitch fibers. However, some individuals have either higher percentage of slow-twitch fibers or a higher percentage of fast-twitch fibers. Competitive rowers often have a higher percentage (70-85%) of slow-twitch fibers. Persons with a higher percentage of fast-twitch fibers tend to do better at sports such as sprinting that need short bursts of energy.

Bio-mechanics refers to the muscles used during rowing. Rowing is a sport that uses all the major muscle groups of the body and also exercises multiple joints through a large range of motion in a non impact manner.

During the initial part of the drive the powerful quadriceps extend the knee. As the legs finish their extension, the hip is also extended by using the gluteus and hamstring muscles. The pivot of the back is done by the contraction of the erector spinae of the back.

As the arms start to pull the oar towards the chest, the biceps and brachialis in the upper arm and the brachioradialis in the forearm are engaged, as well as the upper body muscles including the latissimus dorsi, the rhomboid, the pectoralis major and the trapezius muscles. The posterior deltoid and teres minor muscles of the shoulder are also employed.

During the recovery, the triceps brachii and the anterior deltoids flex for the arms away position. The wrist extensors are used for the feathering action. The abdominals are used for the forward pivot of the torso. The gastrocnemius of the lower legs is engaged as the knee flexes for the forward movement of the seat.

A good training program is needed for competitive rowing. The training should focus on improvement of rowing technique, cohesion of the crew, and the conditioning, strength and flexibility of the body. A training program will have these components:

• Type of training. This would include on the water rowing, on rowing machines, running, cycling, etc. The type of training also has the categories of slow, long distance training,
  
• Duration. This is the time spent on the whole workout, or part of a workout.
  
• Frequency of workouts. This is how often the workout is performed.
  
• Intensity of the workouts.
  

This book does not cover the schedules and details of a complete training program for rowing.

Drills are used to improve rowing technique and cohesion of the crew. There is a wide variety of drills to practice individual elements of the stroke and a few are described here. The same drill may be known by different names. The coach or the cox gives instructions and calls out the commands during the drill.

Square Blade Rowing

The strokes are done with the blade perpendicular to the water without feathering. This may be done in groups of rowers: pairs, fours, etc. The goal is to focus on blade placement at the catch and release.

Shoulder Pick

Start with arms only with the rower's backs in the finish position. Start to row with arms only. Do 20 of these arms only strokes.

Forward Pick

This is a standard warm-up drill for many crews. The goal is to exercise the different parts of the stroke. Start with arms only with the rower's backs in the finish position. Start to row with arms only as for the Shoulder Pick drill. After about 20 strokes, add the back motion. After a further 20 strokes, add leg motion to half slide. Finally after another 20 strokes, go to full slide motion.

Reverse Pick

The goal is to exercise the different parts of the stroke. Start with legs only with the rower's backs in the catch position and arms extended forward. After 20 strokes, add the back motion. After a further 20 strokes, add arm motion and row normally.

Quarter and Half Slide

The goal is to exercise quick catches for racing starts. Row quarter and half slide strokes at high power.

Cut the Cake

The goal is to improve balance. On the drive keep the oar out of the water and feathered and then continue as usual. Do this every third stroke.

Pause Drill

The goal is to improve balance. Pause for several seconds at the catch and then resume the stroke. This can also be done at the release. The cox will typically call "pause" and "row" to resume.

Acceleration

This is also known as the pair add-in drill. The goal is to feel the acceleration and the contribution from each pair in a boat. A selected pair starts to row at full slide. After 20 strokes the next pair adds in. This continues until all pairs are rowing. When the bow pair starts to row first, add in the other pairs in this order: stern pair, 3&4, 5&6. When 3&4 start to row first, add-in: bow pair, 5&6, stern pair. When 5&6 start to row first add in: 3&4, bow pair, stern pair.

The coxswain is an important member of the crew. The coxswain is the leader of the crew on the water and has the following responsibilities:

• Safety and Management of the crew and boat in and out of the water.
  
• Steering the boat.
  
• Motivating the crew during the race.
  
• Make tactical decisions during the race.
  
• Organization and direction of the crew.
  
• Leading the crew through training drills.
  

A coxswain should also learn how to row. With this ability the coxswain will be able to offer feedback on any problems on stroke technique to other members of the crew.

The coxswain directs the crew using commands so that each member of the crew understands what is to be done, so that the same operation is executed by each crew member at the same time.

The safety and care of the crew and boat are of vital importance. Shells are fragile and dents and scratches are costly to repair. The coxswain should manage and direct the crew at all times to ensure that this is achieved. The coxswain should be aware of the conduct of the crew and control their activities from the time the boat is carried from the boathouse until it is returned to the boathouse.

Position

 

In eights the coxswain is always in the stern, while in coxed fours the coxswain may either be in the stern or the bow depending on whether shell is a stern-loader or a bow-loader. The coxswain should sit braced in the cockpit with feet on the foot boards and back on the back rest to avoid being slammed against the seat with each stroke. In a bow-loader the coxswain will be lying down in the bow cockpit of the boat.