Winter Training Reflection and Realization

Winter training for crew is a time for personal gain and development. This contrasts with the Spring and Fall seasons where team growth (or boat) is stressed the most. Winter is a time to improve your technique and power, in that order. Over the past 10 weeks or so of winter training my technique did not improve much. In some instances it may have gotten worse.

After starting a workout and becoming fatigued very quickly I was told it was due to my sloppy technique. In the beginning, my technique was hard to change. At first I felt like I did not have the power to hold the aggressive splits I had aspired to do. After becoming frustrated, I was approached by my coach and told that the right technique holds significantly more potential then wrong technique. For me it was maintaining forward body angle and opening up with the arms before the legs.

My error was that I was losing so much potential power on my drive. After 30 minutes of aggressive 75% pressure erging with proper technique I was able to apply my learned technique to my stroke efficiently. The next day I was scheduled to erg a mock 2k in preparation for the upcoming Crash-B erg competition. I was told to row at a set split while using the technique learned the previous day. As it turns out, the technique, although uncomfortable at first helped tremendously in the long shot. I finished the piece at a 1:42.9 average split and a PR.

This was amazing for me. I was only lightly fatigued, so I think I could have rowed seconds faster. I cannot stress the importance of proper technique to other rowers who lack it, or feel that technique is limiting their potential. You need to start at square one when you change. Try not to get frustrated and just ignore the screen. Power will come with time and repetition. After a while it will just feel natural and be smooth enough for you to increase the speed and power without breaking technique. My change in technique helped me tremendously and made me realize my true potential if it is kept.

Courtesy of Eli