SBTC Fall Workout of the Week: #2
Workout Type: Interval training with moderate rest. This workout is suitable for the erg or on-water training.Purpose: Establish a race pace for 6 kilometer racing either on the water or erg by doing portions of the total race distance with short rest intervals between them.Frequency: 1-2 times every 10 workouts.Warm up: Technique rowing for 8-10 minutes. Two emphases in this warmup:
- Catching where you reach in your shell
- Engaging the handle with the legs and back before the arms
Following the 8-10 minutes of focused technique work, row for 15 minutes of steady state with 5 -10 stroke bursts at race rate every 3 minutesWorkout: Six repetitions of 1000m with a 1 minute paddle between each repetition. Stroke rate should be identical to your race rating, but your pace should be +/- one second/500m off your 6k pace. If you’re uncertain about your 6k pace, add 5-7 seconds/500 your 2k pace. In this workout, you’re striving for perfect repeatability with the sustained effort.Structure: In order to learn how to handle variations in the wind, vary the direction you are rowing from piece to piece. Complete two pieces with a tail wind, then two with a head wind, then one in a tail and the last back into the wind. Try to keep the rate close in both directions. If necessary, use CLAMS into the headwind to more easily maintain your rating pushing into the heavier conditions. During the 1-minute rest be sure to keep paddling to keep the system going in preparation of the next interval.Example1. Set time and location for start of first piece.2. Complete standard pre-race land and water warm up – 8-10 minutes of technique drills, followed by 15 minutes of steady state with 5-10 race rate strokes every three minutes (see above for details).3. On the erg – set the ergometer for 1000m work distance with 1 minute rest periods.On the water – row 1000m based on your Speedcoach or other rowing datalogger. If your shell isn’t equipped with such products, row for 3:45 each work interval.4. Rowers ready? Remember, you want to make all of these intervals as close to identical as possible. Start off the paddle, run your race rating, holding your pace at +/- one second/500m off your 6k pace.5. One minute on the paddle.6. Repeat this sequence 5 more times for a total of 6 intervals.Cool Down: Light rowing until the heart rate returns to near pre-row levels.Next Workout: 2-3 sets of 10 x 1:40/: 20.