Bored With Your Rowing? Five Ways To Get Your Zing Back

Does this ever happen to you: you get in the shell, shove off the dock, and then you hear yourself ask:

“Why am I doing this?”

Ahhh . . . a sign that you may be getting bored with rowing.

Yes, it does happen. Quite often. What can you do? My suggestion to get the zing back in your rowing is to try a variation of a theme. Instead of break dancing, try the foxtrot. Instead of email, hand write a letter. Instead of your normal rowing try . . .

1. Go to the dark side
If you are a port—go to starboard. You a starboard—go to port. Why? To live on the wild side. Spice things up. Get a different view.

We have a small team so I have our rowers be bisweepual, they switch sides each year. It helps with body development. It helps with brain engagement. It helps keep folks smiling. A lot of new experiences go on when you switch sides.

2. Add an Oar. Subtract an Oar
Face it, whatever version of our sport you do—sculling or sweep—it is better than the other. If you sweep, scullers need twice the oar and twice the humans to do what you do. If you scull, sweepers are losers and cannot handle the pressure of another oar.

If that is the case, try it. Go on. Add an oar. Lose an oar. See what happens, how it feels. Give it 5 rows, then I bet you will love getting back to your old rig.

3. Take A Break
Go ahead—stop for a bit. Stop until you cannot stop anymore. Stop until you find yourself drooling to get back. Stop until your heart breaks whenever you see flat water.

And if none of those things happen. Then just stop.

4. Go Neoteny
Neoteny is the art of thinking as a child, when you are much older. In this case holding on to the characteristics of a novice.

Remember those days when you just starting rowing? What was cool? What made you go “WOW?” Was it Spandex or the sunset? Erg pieces or rowing at a 20?

Try this, make a list of a few of those WOWs, those reasons you rowed. Then try to find them again. Watch a sunset. Have a laugh. Find the enjoyment that dragged you into this sport in the first place.

5. Go Global
Sometimes getting a view of rowing, a big picture view, helps me with my perspective. This is a sport that has been around one long time. When I’m hitting a bumpy stretch it often helps me find the fun when I think back to all those strokes taken before.

For a new source of strokes taken try either Friends of Rowing History, or Google Image Life Photo archrive and search “Rowing.”

Got any suggestions on how you get your zing back? Let us know, leave a comment.

And if you would like to get more out of rowing, and of life—try my ebook, Rowing Slow. It is free.

Photograph: Charles E. Steinheimer