Continued – Client Success John Gilbert

Body Balance Process creates alternative path to eliminate chronic training related back pain

-“The thoroughness of the evaluation protocol inspired confidence and lent significant credibility to the prescribed corrective actions”

– John Gilbert 48, Columbus OH

 

After several years of mounting frustration with recurring lower back problems, I began to search for an alternative path to the failed promises of x-rays, chiropractic care and traditional physical and exercise therapies. Even when I was not physically injured, the fear of re-injury was a real limitation to my training. I avoided sprint work on the water and erg work was definitely not an option. I also found that training with weights presented some real challenges. As my training options dwindled, my performance on the water continued to suffer.  It was abundantly clear that I needed to find an alternative path if I was going to continue to row.

I read a few of your articles and found my way to your web site. The materials looked compelling. After a 15-minute telephone conversation, we set a time for me to go through your Body Balance Evaluation Process (BBEP) evaluation process last July. I was thoroughly impressed with your detail orientation and professionalism. The thoroughness of the evaluation protocol inspired confidence and lent significant credibility to the corrective actions that you recommended. The corrective program you prescribed is the perfect combination of strength and flexibility exercises which were tailored to fit my specific needs. The corrective exercises are completely portable and easily adapted to almost any location. I travel extensively for my job, and I have done my “Kaehlers” from Shang Hai to Santiago.

I have been injury free since I began the program. Four weeks after initiating the corrective exercise program, I completed my first century bike ride, and I competed in two regional head races last fall. My training partners were surprised when I was able to handle sprint work on the erg. My confidence continues to build and I am preparing to embark on a much more ambitious training program this summer. It has been a great experience.

Continued – Squats for Endurance Athletes

Squats for Endurance Athletes

Partial vs Deep — which one’s right for you?

 

By Coach Kaehler

 

Rowing is one of the few sports that significantly benefits from strengthening the hip and knee joints through a full range of motion.  One of the most effective training movements that offers this range of motion is the squat.  For a rower, the squat can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Conditions that may impair your ability to perform squats include osteoarthritis or previous meniscus damage.  Without these physiological concerns, and if performed correctly, this simple yet highly effective movement can significantly improve the strength and power of your rowing stroke.

 

To improve hip and knee extension strength and power, few exercises rival the pay-off of the traditional squat.  An established favorite among trainers across a wide range of sports, squatting has nonetheless suffered its share of misconceptions.  Two of the most debated and questioned elements of the squat include squatting depth (i.e. how far the hips should be relative to knee joints), and intensity.

 

Research from the late 1960’s found that squatting below 90 degrees created increased joint instability (ligament weakening) and shearing forces.  While some of these results have since been disproved, the lasting effect of those findings has been the lingering belief that deep squatting (hip joint at or below the horizontal plane of the knee joint) is not safe.  More recent research however has shown otherwise.  Performed with good technique, deep squatting can actually improve ligament stability around the knee, making it more stable.  Studies also indicate that ACL / PCL forces decrease as the hip joints drop below the knee when performing a deep squat.  In contrast, the same research also found that patello-femoral (knee-cap on knee joint) forces increase with squat depths.  The key take-away point here: deep squatting is not more harmful or dangerous than partial squatting.

 

Other studies indicate other physiological differences between deep squats (squatting below 90 degrees) and partial (90 degrees or less).  Researchers have found that the deeper the squat, the greater the workload on the glutes maximus (butt) and hamstring muscle groups.  Personally, I like to take a balanced approached to conditioning.  When it comes to effective training for rowing, I encourage my athletes to mix things up and use both types of squats to yield the best results.  Also, consider using lighter weights for deep squats, and moderate to heavier weights for partial squats.  Keep in mind though that rowing requires a large range of motion at the hips, and that the best overall strength and power development will come from incorporating deep squats into your training regimen.

 

For rowers, squatting is an effective and sport-specific tool for strengthening the hip and knee joints through a full range of motion.  When you compare the ‘catch’ position of the rowing stroke to the ‘hole’ position (the bottom position of a deep squat), the range of motion at the hips and knees are essentially the same.  The main difference is that the forces inside the knee are greater in the ‘hole’ position than the same forces in the ‘catch’ (without external loading or outside pressure).

 

As always, before building either type of squatting into your training program, I recommend you consult an orthopedic surgeon or sports medicine specialist, if you have any underlying pathological concerns (i.e. osteoarthritis, meniscus damage, or PCL repair).  Otherwise, if you have no underlying pathology, but are still apprehensive about positioning in squatting (i.e. the position of the hips relative to the knees), I suggest you start by holding onto a solid object.  This will help you balance, as well as reduce the stress on your knees.

 

Squatting is one of the most widely used, yet least understood movements in athletic training.  In the end, how deep you squat, or how much resistance you use is a personal decision.  Your decisions should reflect your personal pathology as well as your training goals.  Though both deep and partial squats yield exceptional training benefits, rowers will most benefit from the greater range of motion demanded from deeper squatting.  As always, I encourage athletes to take a balanced approach to training.  Mix things up. Use both types of squats and vary resistance — lighter weights for deep, and heavier for partial squats.  Bottom-line: train smart, be balanced and enjoy your rowing.

Does Strength Training Help Improve Your Flexibility?

By Coach Kaehler

Recent research has look at this question with interesting results.   Most often people use passive stretching as the main method to try and increase flexibility in particular muscle groups.  Passive stretching has been shown to improve flexibility if consistently done over a long period of time.  The question is can you combine your flexibility training into a strength program?  And if so what movements improve flexibility?

An article posted in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in May of 2008 titled “Influence of Strength Training on Adult Women’s Flexibility” (Monteiro, Simao, et.al) looked at how 10 weeks of strength training influenced flexibility in sedentary middle-aged women.  The exercises used in the study included bench press(free-weight), Smith squat machine, anterior wide grip lat pull-down, 45-degree leg press, 30-degree inclined bench press, hack squat machine, and abdominal crunches. The average age of the women in the study was 37 years + 1.7 years.   This particular study demonstrated that after training for 10 weeks and going through three (3) circuits of 8 to 12 repetitions of the seven (7) exercises listed above, that  significant improvements in range of motion occurred with the following movements;  hip flexion and extension, trunk flexion and extension and shoulder horizontal adduction.  The areas that did not improve range of motion where elbow and knee flexion.   While this study did show that strength training can improve flexibility in sedentary women, the next question is are there strength exercise movements that can improve flexibility in rowers?   To my knowledge there are no studies that have looked at rowers and how strength training would influence flexibility.  The above study did demonstrate increased hip flexion, which is critical in rowing, and so the use of the squat machines did increase hip flexion range of motion.  What the above study did not look at is how hamstring mobility was affected by the above strength training program.  This would have a lot of relevance to an effective rowing stroke.

From my own coaching experience I believe that there are several key lifting movements that will certainly increase flexibility in rowers in a positive way, if they are done properly.  These strength movements include the “overhead squat” and “straight-leg dead lift”.  Both of these lifts require a higher level of body control and awareness and people who attempt these positions should try and get a professional to look to make sure proper technique is being used.  In general these open movements are better than strength training machines used in the above study.  This is because the neural input needed from the athlete is greater with open movements, and the carry-over is probably better as well.

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“Other research on flexibility training has focused on developing effective strategies to increase the range of motion and identifying the factors that limit flexibility.  There has been some disagreement over whether one’s limitation’s in flexibility is really from the inability to completely relax the involved muscles.  Studies have shown that range of motion is much greater when a person is completely anesthetized, Walsh (1992) suggested that the inability to relax is a major limitation in the range of motion about a joint.” (Enoka, 2002).

Often we hear our coaches tell us how important it is to relax in the boat of no the erg which will help to produce a long and powerful stroke.  Relaxation allows for a more complete range of motion through all the joint movement in the rowing stroke.  Training movements repeatedly help to improve relaxation of a motion.  There are few sports that require as much flexibility as rowing (Olympic lifting and Gymnastics), so flexibility is a critical component to effective and powerful stroke rowing strokes.

 

Secrets on How To Improve Your Hamstring Flexibility ($3.99)  Click Here to Purchase

**When strength training it is advised that you are under the supervision of a trained professional to assist with proper technique to reduce injury risk.

Have a Great Training Day!

Coach Kaehler

References;

Enoka, Roger M. Neuromechanics of Human Movement. New York: Human Kinetics, 2001.

“Influence of Strength Training on Adult Womens flexibility.”  Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22 (3), 2008: 672-77.

Lower-Mid Back Strength Conditioning for Rowing Performance

Effects of Strength Training on Endurance Performance

Column Editor- Bob Kaehler, MSPT, CSCS

By Robert Blaisdell, BS, CSCS

The notion of endurance athletes training for their sport while utilizing non-sport specific resistance training has long been in dispute for its supposed adverse physiological changes and the interference with peak performance in endurance sport endeavors. This school of thought governed the training principles of endurance sport athletes despite developments in periodization and knowledge of specific training applications for endurance sport for quite some time.

The highly trained marathon runner is hardly the ideal “poster-person” for the promotion of body-building in the traditional sense of lifting huge amounts of mass in a sweaty gym, nor is the highly trained body-builder the ideal “poster-person” for the next big regatta’s marketing campaign. Seasoned athletes in each of their respective sport areas know better and would scoff at either of the aforementioned sights. But what a few, and growing number of these seasoned athletes know is that some beneficial cross-over adaptations taking place when one implements training strategies that utilize some formerly “taboo” methods. Both strength and endurance training methods can be valuable to one’s health and fitness levels when implemented safely and scientifically, but a combination of the two can be quite advantageous for an athlete, especially the endurance sport athlete. Keep in mind that there are specific training protocols which should be followed for optimal results and such aspects will be discussed later in this article. It is the intent of this article to promote the use of strength training as a practical and advisable means to utilize in the training for endurance sport. With that being said, this paper will attempt to discuss and explain the benefits of strength training for endurance performance through describing the physiological adaptations to strength and endurance training programs, the effects of strength training on endurance performance in several endurance sports, and how to effectively implement a strength training protocol in an individual’s endurance sport training program.

Training specificity does play a key role in the individual physiological training adaptations of a strength training and endurance training program. The characteristic adaptations of a resistive strength training program defined by high loads and low rep ranges are an increase in muscle hypertrophy, which in turn translates to an increase in muscle cross-sectional area. This increase in cross-sectional area is representative of the internal physiology of increases in muscular protein content, fiber size, and possibly fiber number [1]. The increased muscle fiber size elicits an increase in muscle force production, which is characterized by increases in muscle strength, power- peak and short-term, as well as increased time to exhaustion at higher intensity sub-maximal levels. Resistive strength training adaptations elicit little to no change in activities of phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative enzymes [1]. Resistive strength training will, at best, maintain capillary density, which translates to the rate of O₂ diffusion/ delivery remaining the same as the level it was prior to the resistive strength training program. Resistive strength training produces increases in trained muscle of glycogen content. Finally, resistive strength training programs have shown to increase an individuals VO₂ max ~ 3% [1], but this increase is only representative of untrained individuals and not representative of normal results, which show no increase in VO₂ max. Most research also suggests that resistive strength training program adaptations are similar between genders [2].

The characteristic adaptations of an endurance training program defined by low loads and high repetition ranges are an altering of size and ratio of type IIb muscle fibers, and an inherent decrease in muscle cross-sectional area. The decrease of type IIb fibers is characterized by a shift to type IIa. Endurance training, unlike resistive strength training, shows a decrease in the activity of glycolytic enzymes. Endurance training programs also show an increase in intramuscular substrate stores and oxidative enzyme activity [1]. An increase in capillary and mitochondrial density is representative of endurance training and is a good description of the “aerobic” aspect of endurance training. With endurance training there is a marked decrease in myofiber contractile properties which translates to a decrease in force generation capacity of type I and IIa fibers [1], but this decreased force production, especially of the type IIa fibers could elicit the increase in fiber efficiency that endurance athletes are so fond of. The aforementioned decrease in muscle cross-sectional area also has its advantages. This decrease in cross-sectional area translates to a decreased distance that O₂ diffuses, therefore decreasing O₂ delivery time. The collective adaptations of endurance training programs are increase in VO₂ max, lactate threshold, and endurance capacity [1].

To summarize the physiological adaptations of resistive strength training and endurance training, one could conclude that both induce one common muscular adaptation; they both transform type IIb fibers into IIa fibers [1]. The resultant transformation has opposite changes in fiber size and contractile properties [1]. Each of these changes was brought about by a specifically designed training program, periodizationally designed to elicit the most results in ones training for each respective sport.

While there are numerous research studies outlining the positive effects of a resistive strength training program on endurance performance, this article will take a closer look at a few select studies and highlight their respective findings. The endurance performances that were examined in the respective research articles were running performance, cycling performance, rowing performance, and finally swimming performance.

The research presently available that evaluates running performance after a resistive strength training program protocol does so for untrained and moderately trained populations. The increases an individual would acquire from a resistive strength training program would translate to increased strength and therefore anaerobic power, which could help a running performance during increases in speed, hills, and sprint finishes. According to the reports and those evaluated by other reports, higher anaerobic power can be a key determinant when comparing cross-country runners with a similar VO₂ max. Studies that have utilized untrained as well as moderately trained runners, report increases in leg strength following a resistive strength training program on average 25% to 40% greater than the values recorded pre-study, and a 10% to 13% increase in short term treadmill performance, although the protocol for either testing procedure was not reported. Both of these improvements in performance came about with no reported increase in VO₂ max. According to Tanaka and Swenson, these increases in performance may be from increases in fiber size which allows individuals to exercise longer at each respective sub-maximal intensity by reducing force contribution required from each active myofiber and thus using less of them to sustain a similar work load prior to the resistive strength training program. A stronger type I fiber may allow resistance trained individuals to delay recruitment of less efficient type II fibers for running performance [1]. In summary of the research available for resistive strength training programs on running performance, it can be noted that resistive strength training programs added to an endurance running program may decrease the degree of activation per motor unit and muscle fiber, therefore decreasing the number of motor units and muscle fibers needed for running performance [1].

The research that applies a resistive strength training program to the sport of cycling is quite numerous and this paper will discuss a few different studies that utilize various training methods of resistive strength training. Similar to the demands of running, cycling performance is enhanced by the ability of utilizing anaerobic and short term power for attacks, climbing, and sprinting throughout competitive cycling races. The results of resistive strength training programs administered for the sole purpose of improved cycling performance have supported the hypothesis that these resistive strength programs do elicit favorable gains in cycling performance. The overall impact of resistive strength training on cycling performance shows that resistive strength training programs increase Wingate anaerobic power outputs from 6% to 17%, leg muscular strength from 3% to 35%, and short term performance by ~29% in the untrained individual [1]. The time to exhaustion increased 20% at a workload intensity of 80% VO₂ max in trained individuals, and 33% at a workload intensity of 75% in untrained individuals [1]. The latter corresponds to a 12% increase in blood lactate threshold level, a key determinant in endurance performance. These improvements in cycling performance are due in part to the same physiological adaptations found in the aforementioned running performance research which states that increases in performance may be from increases fiber size which allows individuals to exercise longer at each respective sub-maximal intensity by reducing force contribution required from each active myofiber and thus using less of them to sustain a similar work load prior to the resistive strength training program. A stronger type I fiber may allow resistance trained individuals to delay recruitment of less efficient type II fibers for running performance [1].

A study which examined the gains in sprint and endurance cycling performance through explosive resistive and high intensity training programs during a competitive cycling phase in highly trained cyclists concluded that the well trained cyclists in the study had significantly major gains in cycling performance through improved exercise efficiency and increased anaerobic threshold levels [3].  The conclusion of this study recommends that replacing a portion of the competitive training phase with high intensity-explosive resistive strength training protocols will elicit major gains in sprint and endurance performance. The reasoning behind this recommendation is that the neural activation adaptations possibly contributed to the increase in sprint performance, and that the explosive type of resistive strength training led to an increase in the firing frequency of motor units which then increased muscle peak force and rate of force development [3].

The common theme among the studies is that the resistive strength training programs were beneficial to improvements in cycling performance and are further evidenced by a similar study by Izquierdo et al., which examined the effects of strength training on sub-maximal and maximal endurance performance in middle-aged and older men. This study reported significant improvement in both areas in the first 8 weeks of the 16 program. There were no decreases in performance following the initial 8 weeks, but the subjects did reach a plateau in improvement. This initial improvement was reportedly linked to an increase in blood lactate threshold [6].

The research utilized for this article evaluates rowing performance after a resistive strength training program in trained and untrained female collegiate rowers. The study conducted by Ebben et al., specifically looked at the effects of high-load versus high-repetition resistive strength training programs on endurance performance of female rowers. The nature of successful rowing performance requires a high level of aerobic capacity as well as muscular strength [2]. A varsity and freshman women’s crew teams were both involved in the study and both groups were reported to have improved their rowing performances following the study. The difference in the modalities of the resistive strength training is where the variation lies for each respective group. The more highly trained varsity rowers showed that the high load resistive strength training program is what elicited improvements in rowing performance as compared to the less trained freshman rowers, who responded more favorably with the high-repetition resistive strength training program. The findings are consistent with a pre-existing hypothesis that pre-training status dictates the amount of potential adaptation [2]. The research concludes that “regardless of whether or not VO₂ max changed with training, peak VO₂ did increase with the concurrent training protocol” [2]. This improvement of peak VO₂ can be associated with the rowing performance.

The last endurance sport this paper will discuss is swimming. The results of recent studies examining the effectiveness of strength training programs on swim performance show contradictory results of those of the aforementioned running, cycling, and rowing studies. The swim studies conducted utilized both untrained and trained swimmers but despite increases in upper body muscular strength of ~30% through combined swim and resistive strength training programs, there were no related increases in swim performance by way of faster times or decreases in blood lactate threshold levels during those specific splits. This contradiction in endurance improvements is due to the highly technical stroke mechanics of swim performances and their related dynamic strength requirements [1]. What did invoke improvements in swim performance was a combination of endurance swim training and in-water, swim-movement specific resistance training programs. These in-water, swim-movement specific resistance protocols consisted of swimming flumes, biokinetic swimming bench training, and in-water resistance devices [1].

When applying a strength training program to elicit positive changes in endurance performance one must carefully perform a needs analysis, biomechanical analysis, as well as examine the periodization of the yearly training program. All of these variables will help to decide which is the proper resistive strength training program protocol to utilize. The nature of endurance sports, like most other sports, is to have an in-season and an off-season. The goal of each respective phase is very different, as training during these phases should be as well. During the off-season, the endurance competitor is engaging in fairly low intensity for long durations, whereas during the in-season, the competitor engages in races of varying importance and trains at higher intensities for shorter durations [5]. The resistive strength training program should follow suit, and consist of lower intensity, high volume training protocol during the off-season and consist of higher intensity, low volume training during the in-season phase of the periodized year [5]. Utilizing specific resistive strength training exercises with movement patterns to coincide with the movement patterns of your endurance sport can be beneficial to the overall improvement and effectiveness of a resistive strength training program. Using these movement specific exercises can also aide in reduction of muscle imbalances which could plague the high repetition endurance athlete.

It was the intent of this article to promote the use of strength training as a practical and advisable means to utilize in the training for endurance sport. This article discussed and explained the physiological adaptations of both resistive strength and endurance training programs, the effects and subsequent benefits that these physiological adaptations had in specific endurance sports and described how to effectively implement a strength training protocol in an individual’s endurance sport training program, which should be followed for optimal results. As this article has shown the evidence to support the argument that resistive strength training is a valuable and worthwhile training method for endurance sport performance, this type of concurrent training will not only produce increases in performance but also decreased risk of injury due to muscle imbalance and overuse syndromes.

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References

1. Tanaka, H., Swenson, T. (1998). Impact of resistance training on endurance performance: a new form of cross-training? Sports Med, 25 (3): 191-200.

2. Ebben, W. P., Kindler, A.G., Chirdon, K. A., Jenkins, N. C., Polichnowski, A. J., Ng, A. V. (2004). The effect of high-load vs. high-repition training on endurance performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18 (3): 513-517.

3. Paton, C. D., Hopkins, W. G. (2005). Combining explosive and high-resistance training improves performance in competitive cyclists. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19 (4): 826-830.

4. Bastiaans, J. J., van Diemen, A.B.J.P., Veneberg, T., Jeukendrup, A.E. (2001). The effects of replacing a portion of endurance training by explosive strength training on performance in trained cyclists. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 86: 79-84.

5. Erickson, T. M. (2005). The benefits of strength training for endurance athletes. NSCA’s Performance Training Journal, 4 (2): 13- 17.

6. Izquierdo, M., Hakkinen, K., Ibanez, J., Anton, A., Garrues, M., Ruesta, M., Gorostiaga E. M. (2003). Effects of strength training on submaximal and maximal endurance performance capacity in middle-aged and older men. Journal of Strength and  Conditioning Research, 17 (1): 129-139.

Water Guidelines for Training Recovery

-Fluid replacement in and around meals:

By Coach Kaehler

Proper hydration is an important element of recovery from training.  Male endurance athletes can lose up to 10 liters of fluid per day, while women lose slightly less.  Daily individual losses vary depending on the training climate, as well as the length and intensity of training.  Water levels can be balanced through the water you drink, as well as the food you eat.  To optimize your recovery, you must consider when to replace your fluids, as well as how the fluids are delivered to your digestive system.  Here are some basic guidelines for fluid replacement in and around your meals.

Timing

Recovery from training is optimized when the body can devote most of its energy into rebuilding itself.  Avoid drinking liquids with meals as it requires the body to secrete additional digestive enzymes which slows digestion and reduces its efficiency.

When recovering from training, avoid drinking water 30 minutes prior to eating, and for about 2 hours after a carbohydrate meal, and up to 3 hours after a heavy protein meal.

How to rehydrate

When eating protein meals, include plenty of raw vegetables (salads) as they are made mostly of water.  With carbohydrate meals, include plenty of raw fruit as they too are mainly made of water.  The water in fruit and vegetables does not dilute digestive enzymes, so it is the most efficient delivery of water back into the body when eating.

One method of fluid replacement that I prefer is eating fresh melons as a snack in between meals.  Melons digest very quickly (about 30 minutes) and they are about 90% water.  The digestion of the melons slows the delivery of water into the bloodstream, which is easier on the kidneys.

Overall, ensure you drink enough water between meals, and increase your consumption of raw fruit and vegetables.

Proper and balanced hydration is a critical factor in optimizing your training and racing.

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Continued – Proper Body Positioning

– Where your head/vision goes, so goes the body.

Written by Coach Kaehler:

Are you stuck on the ergometer now that winter has set in?  For those of you who must train indoors this winter, now is a great time to work on proper body posture while cranking out the meters on the erg.  Rowing with proper body posture, or biomechanics, through the winter training season can help to reinforce good habits now, and better prepare you for a solid on- the-water season once the ice melts.  One big advantage of using an ergometer is that it allows you to get instant feedback on your body posture and technique during the rowing stroke.    An easy way to quickly assess your posture and rowing technique is to place mirrors in front and alongside the rowing machine, or by using a video camera to record your rowing stroke.  Either method allows you to get quick feedback and make the necessary adjustments to improve your rowing posture and technique.    Although ideal rowing posture varies among coaches, most would agree on keeping your  spine in an extended, upright position (Figure 1, yellow line) rather than in a C- shape (Figure 2, yellow line), at  the catch, during the drive, and on the recovery of the rowing stroke.  Your spine connects the power from your legs through the arms onto the handle, much like a transmission in an automobile. The spine, when remaining stable, acts as a harness to transmit all of the force from the legs during the first half of the drive.  During the second half of the drive, the spine begins to generate its own force along with the arms to help complete  a powerful stroke.  A solid rowing posture improves your ability to maintain effective body suspension on the drive, leading to a smoother and more rhythmic recovery.  Improving your rowing posture requires specific attention to several areas, including proper head position, hamstring flexibility and solid trunk strength.

Head and neck position are important because their position helps dictate what the rest of the spine will do.  At the catch, it is ideal for your head to be looking forward or slightly up (Figure 2, blue line) putting your neck in an extended position, helping to promote a straight spine as described above.  When your head is looking down towards the foot stretchers or your legs your neck tends to be in a flexed position (Figure 2, head position) which may lead to a C shapes spine. (Figure 2, yellow line)

In addition to proper head and neck alignment, your hamstring flexibility is an important factor in helping promote effective rowing posture.  Lack of mobility in the hamstrings often leads to more rounding in the low back on the recovery and at the catch.  Your aim is to get your body over on the recovery with your low and mid spine in the straightest position possible.   Hamstring mobility can be improved right on the erg by pivoting the body over  at the recovery with the low and mid spine kept in a firm  extended position (Figure 3, yellow line), until tension is felt in the back of the knees (Figure 3, red marker).

While flexibility and head posture are both important so is good trunk strength which is necessary to be able to maintain this solid spine posture.  One easy method for developing better trunk strength while maintaining  a straight back position is to do one or both  of the following drills “legs only” and “legs and arms only ”.   Keeping the trunk stable requires good strength especially when these two drills are done with moderate power.   Again, using mirrors here makes it easy for you to assess your trunk position quickly to ensure you are doing these strength drills correctly.

As the ice begins to melt and you are getting back in the boat, your new rowing posture will not only improve your power and performance, it will make all those meters on the erg even more valuable when you finally get your blade in the water.  Looking forward to that spring thaw!

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Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Continued – How is your Training Intensity?

-There are two ways to monitor how hard you’re working, and neither tells the whole story.

By Coach Kaehler

Looking for an effective way to measure proper intensity levels while training?  Coaches use two different methods to keep tabs on their athletes: heart rate monitors and a combination of speed, wattage, and split averages.  Both methods have certain inherent advantages and have been used to great effect by world-class coaches and athletes.  Regardless of the one you use, it is important that you consider additional external and internal factors which could affect actual intensity levels.

Heart-rate monitors are a popular method for tracking intensity levels during a training session.  But knowing your current maximum heart rate is essential if you want to train effectively.  Karvonen’s formula (220- age) is often used to establish maximum heart rate, but can be 15 beats or more per minute above or below your actual maximum heart rate.   A better way to establish  maximum heart rate is through a step test guided by a physiologist’s plan, or by rowing a 2,000-meter test.   After accurately measuring maximum heart rate, you can then set correct heart-rate training zones.  Many coaches and physiologists break training intensity into a minimum of three levels or zones: easy work (65-80 percent of max heart rate), threshold work (88-92 percent of max), and interval work (98-100 percent of max).  Before you begin training with heart-rate monitors and zone targets, however, you’ll need to consider a slew of other factors.

External environmental conditions such as air temperature, humidity, wind, and even the amount of clothes you wear can affect your heart rate.  Internal conditions such as how well hydrated you are before and during your workout can also play a role.  This is why it is so important to remain properly hydrated when training.  Cardiac drift, the natural tendency for one’s heart rate to creep upward as training progresses, must also be considered during training sessions lasting longer than 30 minutes.  The likelihood of cardiac drift occurring in shorter workouts can increase if the external and/or internal conditions are not ideal before or during your training session.  If this happens, you may need to reduce your training intensity to keep the heart rate within the desired zone.

Some athletes and coaches, meanwhile, prefer measuring speed, wattage, and average splits to determine workout intensity.  This method works particularly well when training indoors on rowing machines, where conditions remain consistent.  Power and speed measurements can be taken accurately, free of external factors such as wind speed, water current, and air and water temperatures.   When training outdoors, these external conditions can influence speed and therefore must be taken into proper consideration when assessing the intensity of a particular workout.  Periodic testing, such as a 2,000-meter-or 6000-meter test, is often used to set training speeds and average splits.  Using these benchmarking tools will allow you to find your appropriate pace and can be an effective way to monitor specific intensities for a given training session.

Heart-rate monitors may be a better choice for self-coached athletes versus the speed, wattage, and split average method, which is best conducted under the guidance of a coach who can continuously regulate intensity levels based on the changing conditions and external factors.  Regardless of which method you choose to determine intensity levels for training, pay attention to the conditions within your control by staying properly hydrated, using fans when indoors, and wearing the appropriate workout gear.

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Continued – Are you really recovering from Training?

– The truth about Rest!

By Coach Kaehler

Are you scheduling enough de-training, or rest time, into your current workout?   When designing a balanced workout program you must be sure to consider when and how much rest to integrate into your program both during and at the end of each training cycle.   Long periods of training without proper rest can lead to injury, illness, or poor results.  Too much down time, however, could lead to a loss of fitness or even sub-optimal training progress.

Many athletes are wired to train more, not less.   And unless you’re hurt or sick, taking days off is not is almost never an option.  Injury and illness may be one of Nature’s ways of making you rest, but the lost training time comes with a price.  You can mitigate this with carefully chosen rest periods and scheduled days off during your normal weekly routine.  Not only will they help prevent declines in performance, but the down time will also help reduce your risk of injury and illness.

Training cycles generally run from three to 12 weeks or longer and should be followed with a rest period.  These are in addition to any days you take off in your weekly schedule.  I recommend a rest period after training for a minimum of three weeks, and generally no longer than five weeks.  For each week you train during a cycle, you should schedule in one rest day.   Therefore, after training for three weeks, you would schedule in a three-day rest period.   After a five week training cycle, you would schedule in a rest period lasting anywhere from three to five days.

There are two kinds of rest: active and complete.  Active rest days are very light training days, lasting no longer than approximately one-third of the time of your longest weekly workout (e.g.  If your longest workout is 90 minutes then your active rest session should be no longer than 30 minutes).   Complete rest days are totally off- meaning no weights, Pilates, running, or yoga, etc.  A three-week training cycle would be followed by a three-day rest period with at least one of those days including active rest.  A five-week training period would be followed by up to a five-day rest period.    For those who find it too stressful to take a day off completely from activity, a 30 minute walk at just above your resting heart rate is acceptable.   During the rest periods that follow a training cycle, you should take at least but no more than two complete rest days off in a row, and then mix in active and complete rest as needed.  If you are training less than five days per week there is less of a concern about getting enough rest and so you may not feel the need for the scheduled rest periods.  One advantage of using these frequent scheduled rest periods is that it allows for an effective recovery even after an intense training cycle.  It also gives coaches and elite athletes the option of training seven days per week with multiple daily sessions if needed.

You also need to factor in the number of years of training experience you have when determining the appropriate amount of rest time to factor into your workout cycle.  Recreational athletes with less training experience should regularly schedule active and/or complete rest days into their weekly schedules.  Elite athletes are generally better able to handle training at high workloads for short periods of time (three to five weeks) without weekly rest, while more experienced club level rowers should consider scheduling in at least one day of rest.  Novice rowers who have less than two years of training under their belts need up to three days of rest each week.

Regardless of how experienced you are, rest is an integral part of any training program. Allowing your body to recover properly from training will lead to greater long term results on the water.

 

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Continued – Will Strength Training Lead to Increased Muscle Mass?

-Only if you want it to.

By Coach Kaehler

Is it possible to improve speed and power through strength training without increasing body mass? Many endurance athletes and coaches think not, and tend to shy away from such programs  such programs fearing the extra weight will slow them down.  For gravity-dependent endurance sports like running and cycling a significant increase in body mass can lead to a decrease in training and racing performance. Lightweight rowers face similar effects on their performance if lean muscle mass increases.   Otherwise, however, most of these fears are unfounded.

So where do they come from?  Here in the United States, the fear that lifting weights will bulk you up, a condition known as hypertrophy, has been influenced by the bodybuilding community, whose training methods are designed to maximize weight gain  The bodybuilding community has adopted specific training methods that are designed to maximize weight gain.  These should be avoided if your goals do not include increasing muscle mass.   Good endurance strength training programs tend to focus on increasing sports specific strength and power with minimal changes to body mass.

Bodybuilders want to increase muscle mass and shape without any consideration of functional strength or increasing sports specific power.  Their training programs tend to focus on body-part isolation and employ higher repetitions (12-20 reps) with moderate to heavy weights.   The movements are slow, especially during the negative work phase when the weight is lowered.   Apart from brief warm-ups, there are no aerobic components to these programs.    Body builders also consume supplements designed to rapidly increase muscle mass.  These methods allow bodybuilders to quickly increase the size and shape of their trained muscles, but they may negatively affect your performance by developing muscles you won’t be using on the water.

Weight training programs for endurance sports should focus on increasing sport specific strength and power with little or no changes to overall body mass.    The majority of an athlete’s weekly training time is devoted to aerobic training.  This significantly reduces the chances that strength training will translate into bulk.  In addition, explosive strength training movements like Olympic lifts–  power cleans, snatches and the clean and jerk– as well as plyometric movements like box jumps have not been shown to bulk athlete up.  For both of these methods, the body must recruit large muscle groups to complete the desired movement.

Research has shown that changes in strength and power from Olympic lifts tend to come from improvements in the neural efficiency of the trained muscle groups and that no muscle hypertrophy occurs.  For rowing, the power clean is the most explosive and functional lift and is often referred to as  the vertical rowing stroke.   The power clean and other similar multi-joint exercises are excellent at building an explosive rowing stroke.   For experienced rowers who have not been properly trained or are not interested in using  Olympic lifts in their program, squat presses (thrusters) , front squats, push presses, and box jumps (up only) offer  alternatives  that keep  movements functional  and explosive.  Be  sure to keep the weights light enough so you can perform these movements quickly.  And always make sure to get professional instruction if you have not received training in proper lifting technique.

If you are adding a strength training program or looking to refine your current program and want to avoid bulking up, consider the following:  make sure the majority of your training is aerobic in nature; limit the  number  of different exercises you use in a session to five or so; choose multi-joint exercises such as squats, power cleans, pull-ups, dead lifts over single joint exercises such as bicep curls or knee extensions; try to mimic the rowing motion when possible by setting your body in a similar position; and avoid slow negative work when using heavier weights especially with moderate volume (12-20 reps).  Functional, explosive multi-joint strength training exercises can help increase your strength and power without increasing your body weight.

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