Why rowing is one of the hardest sports to endure…
With
the passing of Henley Women's and Henley Royal Regatta, many of the
public enjoyed speculating the prestigious rowing event period, but
perhaps not all appreciate the logistics behind the 6-8 minute
challenge that is the 2000m race.
Ranked
number 8 of the 10 most physically demanding sports according to
AskMen last year, and described by the Urban Dictionary as “one of
the hardest sports in existence”, rowing is painful, demanding and
draining. It requires remarkable commitment and motivation - from the
tiresome 5:00am alarms to the gruelling 6-day-week intensive
training programme (not to mention vastly expensive membership
costs).
Demands
on the body
There are two main physical elements needed to become a good rower:
There are two main physical elements needed to become a good rower:
Muscular
Strength & Power- Cardiovascular Endurance
This combination of strength and power, coupled with exhaustive levels of cardiovascular endurance, challenges the physical and mental toughness of rowing athletes. Strong leg drive and excellent core and upper back strength carry a good rower, alongside precise technique and raw power in the rowing stroke.
It requires an entire body workout, exercising a multitude of muscles and resulting in lactic acid build up from head-to-toe that lasts days after training. When your muscles are on the road to recovery, the next training session is just around the corner - from circuit training to cross training to spinning to strengthening and conditioning to water sessions...
In
a recent Telegraph interview, Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell
shed light on the untold elements of taking up the sport. Here are
some of the points that resounded with me and my rowing experiences:
- Blisters: These usually appear when the blade is being held too tightly, and until you master it (which can take a while), you are bound to experience blisters. If they get bad enough, they can stop you training. After a while calluses appear - not very feminine perhaps, but you are glad of the roughness that prevents those pesky blisters.
- Short distance doesn't exist: 2000m is standard race length and the shortest distance you will train at!
- Food is fuel: A time when you really can afford to eat all and any calories!
- Carrying the boat is half the struggle: Something most don't even consider before joining a rowing club is carrying the boat. It is quite challenging holding a heavy 8-seater boat for half an hour before rolling the boat over onto the water.
- Training in all weather: Despite the wet and cold, rain is your friend as a rower, as it keeps the water flat. Wind is your biggest enemy. depending on its severity, it can affect the current and become dangerous to row on, thus preventing training.
- Your sock collection triples in size: Only socks are worn in the boat before placing your feet into the shoes on the foot plates. When you get out however, you can't guarantee your wellies are waiting for you at the other end... resulting in many pairs of soggy and destroyed socks, so the more the better.
There's no I in team: This quote perfectly describes the mentality for rowers in squads of 8, 4 or 2. Everyone works together in synchronisation with the rest of the crew. No matter how hard you think you are trying individually, your boat won't win unless your crew gels perfectly together throughout the whole stroke.
Bournemouth University, Women's Head of the River Race - Months of training for minutes of racing: Months of hardcore training all for around 4-10 races a year with each only lasting around 6-8 minutes... but when you are in a boat with your crew, the last thing you want to do let them down and your hard work go to waste.
'Pain
is gain'
So why do
rowers keep at it? Success.
Rowers strive for success and endure the pain necessary to
achieve that success. This addictive sport boils down to its
competitive nature, and in the process its members build strong ties
with other club members for support, usually creating a family-feel
club culture, where individuals help each other through the toughest
training times.
The repetitive motions of the sport, thrill of being on the water and pushing the body to its limits, all contribute to the strange joys of this demanding hobby, giving reasons to sacrifice weekend lie-ins and evenings in watching reality TV. A rower's life seems to rotate around the intense training schedule, and best friends become the people who share the bad and good times with you. Although it may seem hard to believe for the non-rowers out there, everything becomes worth it in that winning race moment or when your boat overtakes an opponent.
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| Bournemouth University Women's Crew, Soustons Training Camp |
The repetitive motions of the sport, thrill of being on the water and pushing the body to its limits, all contribute to the strange joys of this demanding hobby, giving reasons to sacrifice weekend lie-ins and evenings in watching reality TV. A rower's life seems to rotate around the intense training schedule, and best friends become the people who share the bad and good times with you. Although it may seem hard to believe for the non-rowers out there, everything becomes worth it in that winning race moment or when your boat overtakes an opponent.
How
do rowers cope with the pain?
To be a good rower, you need a competitive mind. If you don't have the right state of mind to focus and fight through (or block out) the pain, it is unlikely you will be any good at rowing, no matter how technically good you become. At the end of the day, you will experience pain and if you give up easily, you will never win a race.
Some
very serious rowers have even claimed to have lost their senses at
the end of a race due to the physical exertion of the sport. Olympic
legend, Matthew Pinsett commented:
To be a good rower, you need a competitive mind. If you don't have the right state of mind to focus and fight through (or block out) the pain, it is unlikely you will be any good at rowing, no matter how technically good you become. At the end of the day, you will experience pain and if you give up easily, you will never win a race.
Some
very serious rowers have even claimed to have lost their senses at
the end of a race due to the physical exertion of the sport. Olympic
legend, Matthew Pinsett commented:
"Your senses are
not in control anymore and they start to leave you. The hearing will
go, the vision goes out of synch, there isn't much left. Your body
starts to close down anything it doesn't need at that moment. It
prioritizes to the parts of the body that are in trouble, like your
muscles suffering the agony of the row."
What
the sport forgets
Your cox helps you win! The cox of the boat steers, supports and most importantly motivates the crew. Without a good cox, chances of winning reduce dramatically, because when every rower in the boat feel like giving up, it is the cox's job to keep them striving for gold... and at the award ceremony, the cox is equally appreciated with their own medal.
Your cox helps you win! The cox of the boat steers, supports and most importantly motivates the crew. Without a good cox, chances of winning reduce dramatically, because when every rower in the boat feel like giving up, it is the cox's job to keep them striving for gold... and at the award ceremony, the cox is equally appreciated with their own medal.
Finally...
If
you are thinking of taking up the sport, remember these: you need to
be committed, focused and competitive, it is a team sport and in the
process you will gain amazing friendships, and finally you can eat
mountains of calories and become incredibly
fit in the process!
 |
| Bournemouth University Women's Crew, Soustons Training Camp |
Sources:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--the-brutal-side-effects-of-rowing-s-torturous-test.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/10953438/10-things-no-one-tells-you-before-you-take-up-rowing.html
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