Rowing Workout

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Rowing is tough. Period. Being a water polo player, I typically spend my time in the water. So I’ve gone to some expert sprint and endurance rowers and just listening to their early morning workouts got my heartbeat up. After watching the video above on The Atlantic Rowing Race, I had to think of a rowing challenge to get a glimpse into the toll it takes on the body. The race takes 50 days, spanning from The Canary Islands nearly 3,000 miles to The West Indies. As a beginner rower, I’ll have to limit that to a couple of hours in the gym, taking on the rowing machine.

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Challenge: This is not meant to be a daily workout but a way to challenge yourself to see progress. I like to do them on the weekends, when I have a few hours to focus on preparation, execution, and of course, celebration. You should feel accomplished afterwards. Keep in mind, these workouts lose value if proper technique isn’t followed. Part of your preparation should be focused on learning the proper technique and educating yourself on the relevant exercises. Performing the following series of 5 workouts will prepare you to do a ‘benchmark’ or ‘test’ piece of 30 minutes that you will be able to come back to and repeat periodically to test your fitness.

Workout 1

Start with a row of 3–5 minutes. Then take a break to stretch and walk around. If you feel good, do up to four of these short intervals of rowing.

Workout 2

Begin experimenting with stroke rate and power output. On the Performance Monitor, stroke rate is displayed in the upper right corner; power output appears in the center of the monitor and can be displayed in watts, calories or pace (time per 500m). Here are the workout details:

• 3 minutes at 20 strokes per minute (spm), comfortable effort; 1 minute rest.

• 3 minutes at 22 spm, harder effort; 1 minute rest.

• 3 minutes at 24 spm, comfortable effort; 1 minute rest.

• 3 minutes at 24 spm, harder effort; 1 minute rest.

• 10 minutes steady state rowing at your choice of power and stroke rate. Make note of what pace you settle on, because you will use it in your next workout.

Workout 3

This workout introduces longer rowing with stroke rate variation. Here are the details:

• Do four 5 minute pieces, varying the stroke rate as noted below. Try to row at a pace that is a few seconds faster than your 10 minute pace from Workout 2.

  • 20 spm for the first 2 minutes

  • 22 spm for the next 2 minutes

  • 24 spm for the last minute

  • Rest: row very easily for 2 minutes before starting the next 5 minute piece

Workout 4

This workout focuses on longer, steady rowing.

• Do two 10 minute pieces with 3 minutes rest in between. Aim for a pace that’s between the paces you rowed in Workouts 2 and 3. Your stroke rate should be between 20 and 24.

Workout 5

This workout features short intervals for variety. This is the workout to see how fast a pace you can do.

• Row 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy for a total of 20 minutes. Watch the central display for your pace. Aim for a stroke rate of 20–24. Record your pace after the workout using the recall/memory function on the Performance Monitor.

Benchmark/Test Piece 

Once you complete Workout 5, do a benchmark piece of 30 minutes nonstop. Record your total meters, and repeat this workout every month to see how you are progressing. Congratulations!  You’ve completed your first training cycle!

Weightlifting and Strength Training: After each workout on the rowing machine, be sure to add some core and strength training – weights are a good supplement to the (mostly) aerobic work you’ll be doing on the rowing machine and core work is crucial for injury prevention.  Here is a guideline for you based on how ambitious you are.

Beginner	Intermediate	Hard
25 Dead Lifts	50 Dead Lifts	100 Dead Lifts
25 Squats	50 Squats	100 Squats
25 Push-Ups	50 Push-Ups	100 Push-Ups
50 Sit-ups	100 Sit-ups	200 Sit-ups

Music: Like swimming, rowing is repetitive and requires a level of focus on technique. Unlike swimming, there are decent options for training outside of the water. Throw some music on and row away! Match the beat to certain movements to keep up pace and technique. My Pandora station of choice for a steady beat? The ‘House Radio’ is an interesting workout station that gets the job done just fine.

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Nutrition: Rowing will bring the hunger, so prepare yourself. It’s ok to get a good dosage of carbs before a long endurance test. The safe rule is, “If you can burn the fuel, then eat the fuel!” I’ve had some good eating with these recommendations.

Fruits and vegetables	Eat at least 3 – 5 servings of colorful vegetables and 2 or more servings of fruit each day.
Grains	Aim for 8 or more servings of whole grain products each day.
Fiber	20 – 35 grams of dietary fiber recommended daily, although a low-fiber diet is preferred during some operations.
Dairy	Aim to have 3 cups of low-fat dairy products, including milk, yogurt and cheese, each day.
Meat/beans	Eat 10 ounces of meat or beans (legumes) each day, with lean or low-fat choices that are heavy on fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.

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Meal: If you haven’t made some quinoa and then thrown in a whole bunch of delicious but also healthy additions such as garbanzo beans, avocado, and lemon…please do it now.

Lemon Quinoa Chickpea Avocado Salad

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Reward: Yes, you did it. Time to rage on some Mudslide Cookies. Ummm yeah…

Mudslide Cookies

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Give Back: Want to figure out how you can get involved in the Atlantic Challenge? It’s run by Atlantic Campaigns so give them a call! If on second thought that seems a little much, just contact your local rowing club or community. Depending on where you are, US Rowing is a good place to start.

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Prep Work:

Concept2.com has great recommendations on technique and focus while training for rowing. This is especially important to get the most out of the rowing machine.

Ergrowing.com offers some general tips on how to excel during your training.

Globalrowingservice.com offers some workout recommendations for lifting, using a rowing machine, or rowing on the water.

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About The One Day Challenge: The one day challenge sets a goal for aspiring athletes and competitors to test their level of fitness against the world’s best. The information and workouts above are based on qualitative and quantitative research which range from  personal experience, relevant literature, and interviews.

Sources:

All links refer back to original source.

“Specialized Strength Training for Rowing.” Specialized Strength Training for Rowing. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.

“Top 10 Toughest Athletic Challenges.” Toptenz.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.

Related Articles:

• Top Ten Toughest Athletic Challenges (toptenz.net)
• Using a Rowing Machine for Weight Loss (weightloss.answers.com)
• Is Rowing A Sport? (rowperfect.co.uk)
• Row, Row, Row Your Butt Off (crazysweatymommy.com)