Should I try out for my high school crew/rowing team?

Question

I'm 5'8 and 150 lbs.

I have no problem strength-wise (I think)

I normally bench up to 120 lbs, and i can go up to 130 lbs in the Seated Row machine in the school gym.

I don't have good cardio. The longest run I have probably ever done is 2.5 miles which i did circa 20 minutes (and got totally exhausted) I'm better on the bike though, I can do a 16-18 kms endurance cycle in around 25 minutes.

I've never tried crew before but my High School is one of the few in the city (NYC) that has a crew team so I don't know if I shoudl try out and most importantly what are my chances.

Answer 1

Almost anyone can do crew, but you do need serious dedication and discipline.  Get on the erg (rowing machine) and start practicing.  Endurance isn't as important as sprinting; I don't know about high school but in college you normally row 2k (2000 meters), so set that as your standard and try to get the fastest time possible.  Your coach should be able to help you.  Probably there are minimums that you will need to meet to make the team.  If it's hard at first, then you'll need to stick with it; very few people are intuitively good at crew, it takes work and practice.

Part of what makes rowing difficult is learning the technique (which is different on the machine than it is on the water), so make sure to get someone who knows how to row to help you out.  Your stroke should be concentrated mostly in the legs, with the back and arms playing a much lesser role.  The legs are the strongest muscles in your body, so this makes sense from a logical standpoint but is somewhat counterintuitive for the stroke.

Rowing is one of the greatest sports for learning how to overcome obstacles and become stronger in all of your sports.  I recommend it highly.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Its endurance with strength.  A race has upwards of 200 strokes, and takes 6-8 minutes at pace of about 25-35 strokes a minute.

Your balanced bench press, seated row is good.  You'll need to work more on squats and leg press, along with seated row. Good bike time.

Rowing uses a rolling seat.  You get about 50-60% power from your legs, the remainder from legs and back.

Its the only sport where you can try to be a beast without hurting someone.  You make the boat move.  But you need to have great timing to row in sync with the others in a boat.

Its a sport where heart is really the name of the game.  Guess where the term "pulling your weight" comes from ?  If a boat is faster with you in it, that's a very good thing.

Answer 3

if you dont mind getting yelled at by a coxson...  i like to call them drill sergeants.

Answer 4

U should totally join the crew. You will get bufed gain alot of stamina,build stengh and u will get buffed. I joined 10 months ago dropped my BMI from 36 to 17 right now before i was all fat but now im an atlhete it is the bes unrecognised sport ever. It really challenges you. oh even if you can becnh press 120 does not matter u need stamina to last in the machine also called the erg.