The Physical Demands

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/rowing/demands.htm
Hereusedtobeastrongbeliefinrowingthatyouhadtobeabig,powerful,anaerobicbeasttodowell.
Thiswasfuelledbythefactthatmostsuccessfulrowerswere,indeed,ofabiggerbuildwithhulklike
musculature.Suchathletestrainedextremelyhardbutnotnecessarilyaccordingtothedemandsoftheir
sport.Giventhattheracedistanceis2000meters,whichtypicallytakesabout6to7minutestocomplete,
dependingoncrewsize,genderand,ofcourse,ability,itismoreaccuratetothinkofrowingasapower
endurancesportratherthanastrengthsport.

Demands of the sport

Obviouslygreatstrengthisneededtogeneratelargeforceandpropeltheboatathighspeed.Yet,themore
pertinentfactorforyoutoconsider,asacoachorathlete,isthelengthoftimetakentocompete.Ithasbeen
shownphysiologicallythatatleast70%oftheenergyrequirementcomesfromaerobicmetabolism.The
remaindercomesfromanaerobicsources,asmallportionofwhichisalacticinnature.Justbylookingat
thisphysiologicalbreakdownitiseasytoseethattheremustbeplentyofworkdonetoconditionthe
aerobic,orcardiorespiratorysystembecausehoweverlargeandpowerfularowerorcrew,iftheylack
sufficientendurance,theywillremaininfullviewoftheoppositionintheclosingstagesofarace.

Phases of training
Muchofyour"conditioning"workwillbedoneinthewintermonthswhenyouwillberowingheavy
mileages.Itisnormalforalargepartofthisworktobedoneonarowingergometerratherthanthewater,
becauseoflightandwaterconditions.Theintensityofthisworkhastobelow,becauseifyourvolumeof
trainingishighitisimpossibletodoitatahardlevel.ThetrendinBritishrowinghasfollowedGerman
examples,whereextremelyhighvolumesoftrainingareusedatlowintensities.Itisthistypeofworkthat
issaidtoincreasetheoxidativecapacityofthemusclecells.Thislongduration,lowintensityworkwill
alsoenhanceyourabilitytoburnfat,soifyourowinthelightweightcategoryitwillgiveanadded
advantage.Germanphysiologistsquotepercentagesinexcessof90%forthistypeoftrainingintheearly
wintermonths,andsincetheGermansuccessrateisgood,Britishcoacheshavefollowedsuitandchanged
theemphasistolong,slowtraining.Percentages,however,canbealittledeceptive,becausealthoughit
maylookasifverylittlequalityworkisperformedinthewintermonths,theactualamountoftimeof
fasterworkintermsofminutesmaynothemuchdifferentfromthesummer.Thereasonissimplythatthe
overallvolumeoftrainingisfarhigherinwinterthantowardsthecompetitionperiod.
Anysuccessfultrainingregimenwillhaveworkofavarietyofintensitiesthroughoutthewholeyear.Itis
justthechangeinemphasisoftheselevelsthatalters.Thresholdworkshouldbeperformedthroughoutthe
yearuntilacoupleofweeksbeforecompetitiontime.Thisgivesthecardiovascularsystemanexcellent
workout.Similarly,youshouldbeperforminghighintensityrepetitionsthroughouttheyeartoboostyour
V02max.Aswithallsports,thevolumeofworkmusttaperdowntowardsthecompetitionperiod,bywhen
allthehardworkmusthavebeendone.Maintenanceworkisstillessentialduringthecompetitionperiod,
sotheoddlongpaddleisneededtoworkontheaerobiccapacityofyourmuscles,whilequalitywork,used
sparingly,canhelpmaintainpeakcondition.

The training week

Therehastobeagoodmixtureoftrainingsessionsthroughouttheweekandtheexactstructurewilldepend
onthetimeofyear.Thelongpaddleswillformthebulkofyourmileage,butqualityworkcanbe
structuredinavarietyofways.Longerpiecesatahigherlevel(ideallycontrolledbyheartrates)canform
thresholdwork.Thepacewillbeslightlyslowerthanracepacebutthedurationlonger,20to25minutes.
Thiscanalsobesplitintorepetitionssuchas4x5to6minutes,3x8minutesor2x10minutes.
Progressioncanbeachievedbyincreasingthepaceatwhichyoutravel,aslongasyoustayinyourset
heartraterange.

Shorter,moreintensetrainingcanbeusedtoworkontheanaerobicaspectofperformance,aswellas
technique.Suchsessionsaremorefrequentinsummerbutshouldnotbeneglectedduringwintermonths.
Strengthtrainingisanotherimportantareathatneedsyearroundattention.Naturallythemusclesusedin
rowingneedtobestrong,butthemusclesofposture,whichmaynotgetwelltrainedintherowingaction,
alsoneedtoningtoavoidimbalances.Manyrowersperformstrengthtrainingincircuitfashionbutthe
valueofsuchworkhastobequestioned.First,ifincreaseinstrengthisthegoal,theloadshouldbehigh,
therepslowandtherecoverysufficientlylong.Thisisrarelythecaseinrowingtraining,wherelotsofreps
fromoneexercisetothenext,withlittleornorecovery,isfarmoreusual.Somemightarguethatthis
worksonstrengthendurance,butamorepertinentcounterargumentisthatthemostspecificwaytowork
onstrengthenduranceisonthewater.
Ithastoberememberedwhythesetraditionalcircuittrainingsessionswerefirstintroducedacoupleof
decadesago.Whenrowingwaslostduetobadlightorweather,circuittrainingwasthenextbest
alternativebecauseitgaveagoodaerobicworkoutbykeepingthepulseraisedforasustainedperiod.
However,nowadaysergometersareavailableforrowingsothecustomarycircuitsessionhaslessvalue.It
isalsofairtosaythattheergometermaywellreplacerunningandcycling,twoformsofcrosstrainingthat
haveremainedpopularfrompreergometerdays.
Afterall,thetrainingthatismostlikelytoimproveyourrowingperformanceismorerowing!

1. 70% of the energy required is aerobic sources and the resr is

anaerobic.
2. A large part of training is done on the ergometer rather than
water because of light and water conditions.
3. The over all volume of training is done far higher in winter than
towards the competition period.
4. The volume of work must taper down towards the competition
period.
5. There has to be a good mixture of training sessions throughout
the week and the exact structure will depend on the time of year.
6. Strength training needs year round attention.
The main point of this article is to explain and show the physical
demands of crew. In other words, it explains the demands of the
sport, phases of training, and The training week. It states that 70%
of the energy requirement comes from aerobic metabolism. The
remainder comes from anaerobic sources. Aerobic metabolisms a
physiological process that requires oxygen to be available in order
to use carbohydrate, fat or protein for energy. When oxygen is not
available only carbohydrate can be used for energy, this is
anaerobic metabolism.
Logic:
The main purpose of the article is to inform the people of the
physical demands that crew takes. The key question the author is
addressing is what are the physical demands of crew. The most

important information in this article is to understand the physical

and health demands.
Evaluation:
1. Yes, the author clearly states their meaning
2. Yes, the author is very accurate.
3. Yes, there is suffiently precise information about crew.
4. No the author does not give irrelevant info.
5. Yes
6. No.
7. Yes, the text stays on topic.
8. Yes.
9. The author is very fair.