Pre-season rowing workout?

Question

high school girl. i need a workout plan for now until the ice melts enough to row. i go to a gym that has several ergs/weightlifting stuff/cardio stuff. ideas for a plan?

5'7'' medium/strong build for a girl

Answer 1

Personally, I do a combined cardio core workout During the winter months.

Usually I do some sort of erg workout-varying from 30 minutes at a steady pace to 4x3 minutes at 28rate with 3 minutes paddle in the middle-and run, and then do a core workout to keep strong.

I hope that helps sort of... :)

Answer 2

It's really important to develop a solid routine during the winter and stick with it. A lot of rowers tend to slack off (especially in January, the middle of the indoor season) because they feel like it will be ages until they get back on the water. You should set a goal of a certain number of kilometres per week to erg. Depending on how competitive you are, I would say anywhere between 8000 and 25,000. You don't want to over do it either because there is always the chance of injury. It IS important that you incorporate long distance pieces such as 6k and 10k, but you should do at least one 2k erg per week to keep tabs on your time. So I would recommend one 2k test per week as well as a 6k or 10k test.

Also, do some "pyramid" exercises on the erg where you change your stroke rate about every minute or so. Start low at about twenty to twenty-two strokes per minute and then gradually increase your stroke rate. Once you get to your highest rate (maybe 34?? Depends how high you're willing to go), start decreasing your stroke rate until you get back to your original rate. The slower rates should have longer periods of time. This is what a pyramid is like:

row at 22 strokes per minute for about 5 minutes

then increase your stroke rate to 24 spm for 4 minutes

then increase to 26 spm for 3 min

28 spm for 2 min

30 spm for 1 min

28 spm for 2 min

26 spm for 3min

24 spm for 4 min

22 spm for 5 min

This is a 29 minute pyramid. You can adjust your stroke rate and time according to the type of workout you want. Pyramids are really great exercises to help you keep your split times down at different rates. I hate doing them, but they are necessary if you want to kick ***.

Besides erging, you should incorporate jogging and weight training into your daily routine. Get a gym membership. It's worth it. You probably already have one though. I hope. Anyway, do a long-distance jog in the morning and/or evening and try to increase your distance gradually. Your weight training should be based on the target areas that you think you need to build muscle in. DON'T FORGET TO DO CORE. Core exercises are so important. Especially for a rower!!!

Anyway, all I have left to say is eat right and don't slack off! ;) You should be fine otherwise. And you'll be kicking butt when you get on the water in the spring!!! Good luck!!

Answer 3

Lots of long cardio, plus a day with a variety of intervals rowing on the erg.

Do multiple sets of squats, and bench rows to build power, sets of 8-10.  You might build up on the weight as you warm-up.  We did 10 sets of 10, and the last two sets were really tough.  After a two months of that, the boat realy picked up speed, and we were always fresher in the boat.

Go to www.concept2.com, or the concept2 forums, where they have a weight training guide in a PDF you can download.

Try to get other girls on the team to go with you, so you all improve together. Keep a notebook, and write down every set, and all workout details.

Always warmup a good 10 minutes before doing any lifting, and even before doing a hard interval on the ergometer.

Answer 4

I would suggest a combination of exercises. A day at the erg, a day of cycling or running and a day of weights. one day of rest. erg also can swiched between long runs and sprints every alternate time. Combining erging, cycling , running and weights makes it more enjoyable to be fit :)