Tips for Rowers

KEEP A TRAINING LOG

Many competitive paddlers have a detailed training log which records their training activities: on-water, weight training, pool etc. Usually a little booklet showing the date, work-out (ex: 3 sets x 1.5 km paddling @ 60%, 2 min rest between), how they felt about it.

Body weight and basal or morning heart rate is also sometimes included. Training logs will help you in the long term. If you have a bad racing year, you can look back at previous years logs and find out how hard you trained and felt in previous years. Good paddling years are usually a result of how well you have trained.

Coaches should also keep a log the team training from year to year. You can draw from this data base of work-outs each year and adjust accordingly. As a former paddler as well as a coach, I know how hard I can push the training by looking at my previous training logs. If I have done the work-outs myself I know other people can also do the work-out. The amount of training a team does will determine how well a team will perform in races. Remember, practice makes perfect.

OVERTRAINING

Overtraining can result in sudden loss in body weight and increase in morning heart rate. Training becomes flat. Body becomes susceptible to injury and illness. Good habit of getting into is checking your heart rate before getting out of bed in the morning. If the heart rate suddenly goes up more than six beats over the usual rate, overtraining has probably taken place.

The body has been overloaded and the heart is working extra hard to compensate. Reduction in overall activities and more recovery time may be necessary.

*Article from http://www.stratforddragonboat.com/training.htm#TIPS