How to Own Your Rowing Development

#1 Show Up Early and Stay Late
One of the best times to develop your skills is before and after practice. Too many times, though, individuals waste this opportunity because they want to hang out and goof around with their teammates. Don’t let this be you. Instead, show up with a game plan to get 20 minutes of skills work in, 200 reps of an area you want to improve, or ask your coach what you could be working on.

If you are consistently taking advantage of the time before and after practice, you are going to see your skills will continue to progress during the season. Also, showing up early will allow you to have better practices, which will lead to more training time. And you better believe that coaches know the athletes who come in early and stay late.

#2 Learn from the Experts

Technology today offers so many advantages that people didn’t have in the past. One of the biggest is access to so much information pretty much 24/7. It is only worth something, though, if you take advantage of it. So rather than scrolling endlessly on social media, take advantage of all of the excellent websites and resources out there. Use your smartphone and computer for something beneficial and learn from expert coaches and trainers. There is no reason why you, as an athlete, can’t further your rowing knowledge the same way a coach would. It is up to you to take advantage of these resources, though.

#3 Watch and Learn from Other Athletes

Another great way to learn as a player is by watching other high-level athletes. By observing and studying other athletes’ techniques, you will be able to add their skills to your race better. You will be able to study the details of their movements and then, hopefully, be able to replicate them yourself.

When you watch, though, you need to make a conscious effort to study and learn. And then after you have studied the move, practice it on your own. It may take going back and forth a couple of times, but this is a great way to learn new skills.

It is important to note a couple of things, though. When you are learning a new skill, don’t try to use it in training until you have mastered it. The last thing you want is to try skills, lose connection, and synchronization of the rowing movement. Take the time to master a skill before using it in a race.

#4 Find a Crew

One of the best ways to improve, at anything in life, is to have someone join you on the journey. They will be able to encourage you, challenge you, and hold you accountable. So grab a friend or a teammate, come up with a training strategy, and start getting better together. There are loads of drills that you can do without a partner, but having someone to watch you, record you on your phone, etc. opens up the door to a lot more drills.

#5 Be Specific With Your Training

Just being in the gym is not enough. You must have a game plan for what you are trying to accomplish. Ask any of the guys I coach with Dark Horse, I am always stressing this with my clients. It is about quality time, not just quantity of time.

If you are unsure of what you should be doing, get online, and look up a workout that you can do on your own or ask a coach for some drills. You want to do your absolute best to maximize your rowing time. Dark Horse not only offers online rowing workouts and training but also a drill library and virtual coaching too!

As mentioned before, you want to work towards mastery on different moves. So be specific with your training in what you want to work on. Whatever you decide to work on, be specific with it, and lock in on the details of it.

#6 Always Be Improving

If you look at James Cracknell as a prime example of this, the guy is always improving, despite being double Olympic champion he still finds challenges each and every year both physically and mentally and is always improving. This is what the best players in the world do, and their drive and determination to do so should be infectious to all those around them.

There you have it! 6 ways in which you can raise your rowing skills and look to improve at every level.

Yours in fitness education and developing your skills.
Coach John.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash