Continued – Pushing Your Comfort Zone
May 8, 2012
By Coach Kaehler
A little planning goes a long way in injury prevention
Rowing has its share of overuse injuries. Factors that increase your risk of injury include: changing training volume or intensity too quickly, and allowing too little recovery time during and between during training sessions. Other contributing factors include improper technique, poor flexibility and strength, and inadequate nutrition. Careful planning and learning to listen to your body’s signals are essential to minimizing the impact of overuse injuries.
Training outside of your comfort zone
Experiencing pain is a necessary evil of endurance training, especially when you’re training outside of your comfort zone — your usual training approach that doesn’t exceed or challenge your physiological limitations. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is critical for developing your physical and mental capacity, as well as improving your lactate buffering capacity or VO2 max. Often, when pain does show up, the brain goes into survival mode and tells you to keep going — that the pain will go away. While some athletes will immediately stop their activities and get themselves checked out, others will train through the initial signs of pain and enter an uncomfortable zone. However, when pain is long-lasting, we have to use it as a “coach” that is telling you something is wrong. When we ignore the initial symptoms and train into an uncomfortable zone, we place ourselves at risk of sustaining injuries of greater magnitude.
Training volume and injury risk
Numerous studies conducted on running athletes have examined the relationship between mileage and injury rate. Once running mileage exceeds about 20-25 miles per week, studies indicate that the rate of injury increases significantly. While I’m not aware of any studies focused specifically on the relationship between rowing volume and training-related injuries, I have made similar observations based on my own coaching and conditioning experience. Masters and junior-level rowers who exceed about four to five hours of rowing per week seem to sustain a noticeable jump in their rate of injuries. Collegiate and high-level club rowers seem to be able to handle about twice that amount (eight-to-10 hours per week) of training before sustaining a similar increase in training-related injuries. Large changes in training volume in short periods of time also trigger increases in injury. This often explains why coaches notice increases in injury rates when high school rowers begin their collegiate careers, or when college rowers start training with the National Team.
Training transitions: Understand expectations and be prepared
When you’re transitioning to the next level of your endurance sport, understand what will be expected of you and plan ahead. What will be your new normal weekly training volume and intensity? This information will help you determine how to increase your conditioning in a controlled and safe manner. Preparing your body to accept new training loads and training volume is a critical component to reducing your risk of training-related injuries. The general consensus for increasing exercise volume and intensity (I also use this guideline in my coaching and conditioning) is to increase training volume by no more than 10% per week. In my practice I do not increase training intensity by more than 10% per week, and often times it is less than 10%. In rowing, training volume is easy to measure, and intensity can be measured by using watts on the ergometer, or by measuring speed in the boat. The same guidelines apply to increases in rating — no more than a 10% increase per week. Similarly, for running and cycling, we can use speed as the best measurement to control intensity, and mileage for volume. For cycling, we can use wattage and speed.
Technique can also break down from fatigue when program volume and intensity change too quickly, or when deficits in strength and flexibility do not allow the athlete to get into proper sport specific positions for their sport. Both of these issues can lead to overuse training injuries. Building yourself up carefully and gradually, with consistent and small increases in training volume and intensity is the safest and most effective way to accept new loads and stresses on the body, and minimize your risk of injury.
Muscle and flexibility imbalances
Musculoskeletal pain is a common byproduct of endurance training, especially as intensity increases or if strength training is used. Flexibility and strength requirements vary amongst endurance sports and when not properly addressed, can be a recipe for disaster when training volume and intensity increase, and can lead to training-related pain. Imbalances in flexibility and strength can actually get worse as an athlete shifts from a low volume and low intensity training program (less than five hours/per week), to a higher volume and higher intensity training program. Paying attention to these imbalances is important for all levels, but is often neglected when there are no signs. When musculoskeletal training pain does arise and doesn’t go away quickly (two or three days) or gets worse, stop your program and get checked out by a sports medicine professional. This is a clear example of when not to train out of your comfort zone, as it often leads to a more significant injury with a longer recovery time.
Many endurance athletes do not realize how close they are to sustaining training-related injuries and continue to train in their comfort zone. When you have no training-related pain, it is easy to skip the detail work — proper stretching and strengthening – and just keep doing what you’re doing. Manipulating training volume and intensity must be done slowly and carefully at all levels of experience with a carefully laid-out plan. In addition, both coaches and athletes need to be aware of individual flexibility and strength-related issues that can impact their specific endurance sports. Working together with a carefully laid-out plan will not only help the athlete improve their performance, but also reduce the odds of getting training-related injuries.
Continued – Training Hard? Breathe Easy.
May 8, 2012
CONTINUED
Yoga-based techniques to help improve your athletic performance
By Yasemin Watkins for Coach Kaehler
What’s one way you can improve your athletic performance using Pranayama –yoga-based breathing techniques?
According to Ed Harold, co-owner of Comfort Zone Yoga Center for Whole Self Healing, focus on your diaphragm – the dome-like muscle which separates your thoracic cavity from your abdomen and assists in your breathing.
“Learn to ‘thicken’ your diaphragm muscle,” says Harold. “The stronger the muscle, the greater your ability to lift and expand your chest cage.”
Harold, otherwise known as the “athletic yogi,” has been a lifetime competitor in everything from football to water sports, but confesses that his “greatest love of all is rowing.”
After sustaining a series of low-back and knee-related injuries, Harold turned to yoga for relief, recovery and eventually an entirely new approach to athletic training.
Through his studies to become a certified yoga instructor, Harold learned various yoga-based breathing techniques, Pranayama, and started integrating them into his athletic programs.
Here are some of Harold’s suggestions for integrating yogic-based breathing techniques into your own training programs:
Breathe through your nose at least 50% of your workout
Nasal breathing supports good posture in low back.
“Warming up using nasal breathing also activates the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system which sets your body into a fat burning zone rather using vital sugar reserves,” says Harold.
Mouth breathing, on the other hand, “doesn’t move the diaphragm as well and only activates the sympathetic branch hormones which athletes should reserve for racing and intense pieces.”
Harold recommends breathing through your nose, moving your diaphragm up and down at least 50% of your workout.
“Your first awareness of breathing using this approach is an ‘ocean’ sound in
your trachea, not your nasal channels,” offers Harold. “To do this, slightly constrict the upper trachea (epiglottis muscles in your throat). This will help control the length, depth, pace of inspiration and expiration.”
Use a ‘four-part breath’
Working with a four part breath: inhale, hold breath in, exhale, and hold your breath out.
“This technique warms-up your body quickly without wearing out joint tissues and destroying muscle mass,” says Harold. “Use mental or stroke counting to hold the left cortex present and in moment. Hold your breath in to increase the energizing effects of oxygen deeper into the nervous system. Then hold your breath out to remove stale air out of alveoli sac’s in your lungs.”
Observe the length of your inhales and exhales
Learn to manage your heart rates by noticing the length of your exhales and inhales.
“When your exhale shortens to less than your inhale, you are stressing your body and beginning to leave your ‘comfort zone,” says Harold.
Relax facial muscles
Relax low jaw, cheek bones, relax muscles around the eyes and don’t move
crown of head
For more information on these and other yogic-based techniques and programs Harold teaches, visit www.comfortzoneyoga.com.
(We don’t believe that there is any one magic bullet to success – and that hard work, excellent training plans and great coaching lead to success and we try and add value and serving you in your quest for success. Our programs are intended to help you get to the next level and the information above can help you better understand the many facets that should be addressed. As stipulated by law, we cannot and do not make any guarantees about your ability to get results using our ideas, information, tools or strategies , or from third-party information we share with you. We don’t know you and, besides, your results in life are up to you. Agreed? We just want to help by giving great content, direction and strategies that move you forward, faster. Nothing on this page or any of our websites is a promise or guarantee of future training success. “These above techniques / approaches may not necessarily reflect the opinion of Coach Kaehler.” )
CONTINUED – From Back Pain to Back on the Erg
May 8, 2012
High School Athlete PR’s using Coach Kaehler’s Body Balance Program
By Yasemin Watkins
The following is a testimonial from a parent, Mike, and his daughter, Megan, who wanted to share their Body Balance experience with other athletes looking for effective solutions to sports-related injuries. At this time, they wish to keep the personal details (names, etc.) confidential between them and Coach Kaehler.
In rowing terms, Megan’s story is a familiar one. Megan is a varsity rower on a nationally top-five ranked high school team based in Pennsylvania. Megan suffered from severe back pains that greatly limited her ability to participate in key components of her team’s winter training program. Confused yet determined to help his daughter, Megan’s father, Mike, consulted several medical specialists including a pediatric sports doctor and an orthopedic surgeon. Unfortunately, both doctors were unable to relieve Megan’s back pain.
Frustrated, Mike took Megan to one last orthopedic surgeon who then referred them to Coach Kaehler.
“Bob’s reference from an orthopedic surgeon carried a lot of weight,” said Mike. “As a parent, I just wanted to see my daughter be able to continue and progress in a sport she loves.
During our first conversation with Bob, he said that he would need one assessment, and that he was convinced that she would be able to return to rowing in a certain period of time. I was so impressed: he delivered on all his promises.
He did identify the problem; he did it in one meeting; and she did recover in 6 weeks. Best of all, (shortly after) Megan PR’d when she took her 2K erg test.
I felt like he was really looking out for my daughter.”
Regarding the evaluation, Mike commented,
“As Bob walked us through the assessment, he explained the dynamics of the muscles used in rowing and erging – everything made sense.”
Of their overall experience working with Coach Kaehler, Mike had this to say:
“Bob’s own track record, both as a medical professional and as a world-caliber athlete, made him more credible. Bob instilled in Megan a level of confidence to carry out the exercises and return to competitive rowing.
Bottom line: as a parent, I’m tremendously relieved that my daughter can now return to rowing – both competitive and as an activity that she can enjoy for the rest of her life. Without hesitation, I would highly recommend Coach Kaehler to any rower having (training-related) issues.”
**Coach Kaehler’s Body Balance Process is not medical treatment, and he does not treat pain. Body Balance issues are identified and corrected to allow restoration of powerful and pain-free training. All of his client’s have gone through traditional medicine channels first and have been screened by a medial physician (M.D. or D.O.).
Warner Bonner’s story continued
May 2, 2012
Getting Back in Rowing Shape! – Warner Bonner Henley 2011 – continued
By the fourth month, he had me racing for Penn AC Masters in the Ladies Plate Challenge at the famed Henley Royal Regatta in England. I was racing with some the best US master’s rowers out there (Grant Nichols, Garrett Klugh, Ivan Smilijac, Jack Nunn and Sebastian Bea). We traded blows with the 2010 defending Henley Champions and 2011 IRA silver medalist, Harvard’s Varsity Heavy 8 who took us in the quarterfinal by just 6 seats, not bad for bunch of old guys with only three (3) full practices together.
- Penn AC Ladies Plate Henley 2011
As a bit of background and to really appreciate what Bob did for me in a short 4-month program, you sort of need to look at where I was physically when I started training with Coach Kaehler. I had not truly trained for a rowing race in more than15 years when I prematurely ended my rowing career in pursuit of another athletic goal, sprint kayaking.
In 1997 I switched sports to train with Bob’s former Olympic teammate, Chris Swan on the US Sprint Kayak team for the 2000 Games. During this time I completely changed my ‘rowing body’ into and competitive sprint kayaker’s body. I lost the power in my legs and gained a much larger upper physique. After 2000, I started rowing a bit again, went to the US Trials in 2001 with Brian Klepacki but really was never too competitive again.
- Ladies Plate 2011
Between 2001 and 2010 I did the random master races every year but never really took them too serious. I fell into doing long distance triathlons (half Ironmans and full Ironmans) and REALLY started to loose muscle mass. In 2010, I looked like a rower due to my height but the raw rowing power simply was not in me. Due to all this alternative training, Bob felt it was critically important to get my body “balanced” right away.
In the fall of 2010 my former teammate from the 1995 USA Pre-Elite and Olympic Fest Team, Curt Browder, asked my bud, Sebastian Bea (2000 2- USA Olympic Silver Medalist) and I to row in the Penn AC Men’s Master 8 at the Charles. The last time I trained out Penn AC was in 1995. During that fall race, I sort of fell back in love with the sport, in a major way. Sort of a nostalgic mid life crisis thing that I bet many a Master Rower goes through at some point.
After a solid performance in a few fall races, we started chatting about the idea of Henley after seeing rowing legends Porter Collins, Ben Holbrook and Jamie Koven threw down some solid performances in their Brown Alum line-ups. When I learned of the Brown Alum’s using Bob’s program, I quickly gave him a call and got on board.
- San Diego Crew Classic 2011
I have done all kinds of training; from Crossfit to personal trainers but what was magic about Bob’s program was it was designed for me, on a daily basis and did not take up too much time. From the detailed erg workouts that built up my base to the lactic work, it was the most efficient program I have ever come across. The first thing I noticed was my strength and after a short month of training we took gold in the Master’s event as Penn AC at the San Diego Crew Classic, I
was really starting to feel much more strong, as if the “hands of father time” were starting to turn back.
After the Crew Classic, we started to get serious, as I was only a few months out from Henley. As the intensity of Bob’s workouts increased, the single most important thing for me, from a motivational perspective, was that I knew who Bob is. I was well aware of what a stud he was in sport of rowing. Knowing how long Bob rowed at an international elite level, well into his thirties… motivated me as to what was physically possible at nearly a Master’s C level of 40 years old.
- Ladies Plate – Finish Against Harvard 1V
Coming into the final few weeks, I ventured up to Penn AC for a few weeks to train with their Elites. This was a major wake-up call for me as my first day on the water consisted of us doing race pieces. While it took some time for me to get my timing and technique down… my engine was there. My fitness was never an issue and by the end of my time in Philly, we were trading pieces with Penn AC’s top boats.
The Henley was truly an incredible experience and I recommend it to any Master out there. The Ladies Plate event is very competitive with the likes of Leander, Germany, Ireland, Russia and Imperial in the event.
We posted a time that would have won our event 9 times in the last 20 years. So… once again, THANK YOU BOB! My Henley experience would not have happened without you!