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Rowing, cigarettes, and the World’s Fair

March 10, 2010 by  
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Friend Chris Partridge, at Rowing For Pleasure, found this great newsreel clip The Rowingest Man in the States.

Rowing 2000 miles, with a cigarette, to get to the World’s Fair.

I cannot get the video to embed, so please visit Chris's site.

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The People of Rowing

March 8, 2010 by  
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Sage Seth Godin just wrote a thoughtful post about Andrew Carnegie’s view of people:

Carnegie apparently said, “Take away my people, but leave my factories and soon grass will grow on the factory floors……Take away my factories, but leave my people and soon we will have a new and better factory.”

As I read it, out jumped the A-ha of how relevant that concept is to our sport. A few word substitutions gives us:

“Take away my rowers, but leave my equipment and soon grass will grow on the boathouse floor……Take away my equipment, but leave my rowers and soon we will have a new and better equipment .”

Rowing is a people sport, but unfortunately it is so easy to forget that—to get distracted by the equipment.

As I write this, my team’s trailer is broken down along the interstate in Georgia. That is a drag.

truck on I95

But all my rowers are safe at the hotel—that is infinitely more important.

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The Critical Note After Talking To C2

February 26, 2010 by  
Filed under Oars, Rigging Concepts, Think Different

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I’ve spent a bunch of time over the years getting to know the folks at Concept II—a great bunch.

Recently I had a long discussion with them about oar blade shapes, and how best to rig them.

Although these notes are scribbled there is one note on the page that is absolutely of critical importance to anyone who rows.

Can you tell which one it is?

Read more

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The Speed of Speed

January 27, 2010 by  
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Most rowers and coaches will have the expectation that their speed will come fast. Thinking that if they are dedicated to finding it the speed will quickly show up. The majority of us are not very patient so expectations are high.

In a theoretical world, without all the human factors that affect us, that would be the case. In such a perfect world a simple graph of your speed over a season would probably look like this:

Rowing Speed graph 1

However our worlds are anything BUT perfect, with illnesses, injuries, economy, weather, and a wealth of other things effecting us. A realistic speed graph for an individual might actually look like this:

Rowing Speed graph 2

That graph is just for one person trying to get fast. Add a partner or team mates and suddenly the variations become much more pronounced:

Rowing Speed graph 3

We would love for our speed to come quick, and to see improvements daily. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen. The road to fast is often full of bumps and takes longer than we think it should.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Chime in below.

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The Final Step: Your Speed Pyramid

January 25, 2010 by  
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The last 9 posts have been about speed—specifically about building your own Personal Speed System. Time now to tie all those bits and pieces together. I would like to introduce you to the Rowing Speed Pyramid.

Pyramids

180px-All_Gizah_Pyramids

Pyramids of Egypt

When the ancients wanted to construct something strong and lasting they built a pyramid. A pyramid is a structure where the outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a point. These were some of the original large buildings, and have proven themselves to be strong, durable, and very stable. And some of them look pretty darn cool.

Closer to home, on the left hand corner of my desk is a book titled: Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. It details the system that John Wooden used to develop his 10 national championship basketball teams at UCLA. As you can see from the image below Coach invested a great deal of time into the development and perfection of his system.

John Wooden's pyramid of success

Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success

Rowing Speed Pyramid

We can look at speed in a similar view, in fact a pyramid is a great metaphor for how our Personal Speed System operates. I’ll let the image below speak for itself but there are a few points that need to be brought out.

First: simple geometry tells us that if you want a tall pyramid (which you do in this case because the taller it is the more speed you can find) then you need a wide base. In our case the base is your fierce mindset. A strong, wide mindset, include critical component such as vision, failure, giving up control, and finding joy will help you build a taller structure.

Second: the foundation of any pyramid is a critical part of how long the pyramid stands, and how high it can be built. Without a strong foundation all the hard work may be for naught. The Egyptians knew the importance of a strong foundation, and spent a long time working on before they started the main structure. In fact, they built several Pyramids on bases of solid rock.

In our case, the foundation for our Speed Pyrmaimd is built on a foundation of hardwork, a supportive community, and using a system.

Third: pyramids take a lot of time to build. Estimates are some Egyptian pyramids took well over 25 years to build. Yours won’t take that long, but do expect to invest time in constructing yours. [However, keep in mind if you want to be world-class fast you can expect to invest upwards of 10,000 hours building your pyramid.]

Rowing Speed Pyramid

Rowing Speed Pyramid for Your Personal Speed System

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Are you in the process of hunting for the speed you need? Then hopefully this helps tie up some loose ends as you go about trying to get faster. See something that needs to be changed, updated, or fixed? Let me know what you think.

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Step 6 In Your Personal Speed System: Real Rigging

January 21, 2010 by  
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Step six in this process of finding the speed you need is the pillar I call real rigging. This is the shortest post in this series. Let’s see if I can get my point across in just a few words.

Real Rigging

You want speed? Then you need real rigging. Pure and simple. And real rigging occurs when:

  1. The appropriate rigging numbers are found for the mindset, vision, athlete, training plan, and equipment being used.
  2. The equipment is adjusted properly for the mindset, vision, athlete, training plan, and equipment being used.
  3. The numbers and adjustments are tested to make sure that they work well for for the mindset, vision, athlete, training plan, and equipment being used.

Three steps to real rigging.

Yup, there are a lot of subtleties to rigging however if you can do these three (use appropriate numbers, make proper adjustments, and test effectiveness) you’ll be much closer to your finish line in a smaller amount of time.

The last post in this series, tying it altogether, will be out shortly.

In the meantime if you need more info check out the links below or drop me a comment.

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Step #5 In Your Personal Speed System: Rock-solid Equipment

January 20, 2010 by  
Filed under Speed, Think Different

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Today’s post is going to be a little different. I’m going to share some of my rigging book with you.

Five years of working on this site, writing books and articles, presenting clinics, doing videos has helped me realize that this is one-heck-of-an-equipment-intensive sport. Maybe too intensive.

Buying, transporting, cleaning, adjusting, etc. . . . sometimes it seems like having rowing equipment is more responsibility than having a child. As one of my friends likes to put it,

Having a rowing shell is like being pecked to death by a chicken.

A perspective

Ok . . . now on to speed.

When it comes to speed the first 4 pillars are more important than the equipment. Let me repeat that: There are 4 pillars more important to speed than rowing equipment. (Okay, I am kind of yelling that because it really does need to be yelled.) Those pillars are: fierce mindset, rock-star athletes, mindful training, and freak your technique. Yes, lightning bolts may be coming my way from New Haven or Seattle or Morrisville but that’s my version of the truth.

For instance, a rock-star athlete rowing old equipment will beat a lacksidazical athlete rowing brand new stuff 99% of the time. Scratch that . . 99.9% of the time.

Yet, this fifth pillar of rock-solid equipment is important. Why? Because the equipment serves a critical function—it allows the propulsion to happen. The key word there is allows. Equipment doesn’t make propulsion happen, it allows it.

We have a tendency to place the equipment on a pedestal, especially when it comes to speed. You’ve heard the comments, I’m sure (fill in the *blanks* below):

  • Hey, how could I possibly be fast? My boat is *blank* years older than theirs.
  • My athletes can’t row well unless they have the latest *blank*
  • The winning crew was in a *blank*, I need to buy one of those.

That is a lot of pressure on the equipment, and it is blown out of proportion. I truly believe that you just need rock-solid equipment and you will be okay.

The three keys of rock-solid equipment.

There are three critical characteristics that make a piece of equipment rock-solid. I’ve written a lot about them, (maybe too much) so I’ll get to the point, and if you want more details just hit the old search button. I am going to place the focus on the hull, because that is the really big-bang place. Here are the three characteristics:

#1 Stiffness of the hull: Simply put, the stiffer the boat the better the boat responds to the effort put forth by the rower. The boat is more responsive. It makes a difference.

A boat that wiggles, sags, and twists is not as effective. It is not rock-solid. (The stiffness does not necessarily apply to oars, as they come in different stiffnesses, with great successes across the board.)

Want to know how stiff the hull of your boat is? Here’s part of the chapter from Nuts and Bolts Guide to Rigging that deals with that topic. I hope it helps a little:

JOB 13.4: MEASURING SHELL STIFFNESS.

Problem: Trying to find out how much wiggle you’ve got in your shell.

Needed: The boat in question, preferably slinged, seats-up.

What we’re interested in finding out is how tight, or un-tight, your shell is. We are going to check in two directions: side to side, and bow to stern. I use a reliable, but a fairly unscientific method. Definitely check the stiffness if it’s a used shell you’re thinking of buying.

Step 1. Setup: It’s best to try checking stiffness when the boat is in slings. For an eight, place the slings under the two and seven seats. If you can’t sling it, you can still check the bow to stern stiffness in the rack.

Step 2. Side To Side: Make sure your rigger nuts are tight. Go to the fore-most rigger and press down with a gentle motion. Notice what happens to your aft-most rigger on the opposite side. When you press down the other rigger should go up the same amount, and at the same time. Now gently rock the bow rigger up and down and see what happens. There should be little or no time delay between the two riggers moving, or any swaying occurring in the boat. The more sway you have, the less stiff the boat.

Step 3. Bow To Stern: Now we’re going to find out if the boat is tight from end to end. Go to the bow, about two feet from the bow ball. Cradle the hull in both hands and wiggle the shell up and down. Nothing drastic—just a subtle motion. Careful of the soft decking if you’ve got it. Look at the stern and see what’s happening. Are things tight, or does the boat wiggle like a bowl of strawberry Jell-O? (See figure 13.2.)

stiffness image

You can check your shell's stiffness in two different directions.

If the boat is in the racks, there’s another test you can do. Go to the bow, about halfway between the bow ball and wash box. Cradle the sides of the boat and gently lift up. Watch your back; grab a friend to help if you need it. When you lift, look at the racks and notice if the shell moves as one unit or if it sags in the middle. If it sags, it’s not stiff—the more the sag, the less the stiffness.

Step 4. Now What? You’ve looked at sag and sway so now you know something about how stiff your boat is. What do you do with the info? Your choices are fairly simple. If the shell is tight and solid, keep rowing it. If the boat wiggled, it may be time to either do a major repair JOB, such as tightening up the bracing, or take the boat off of your competitive racing-boat list and start using it as a training shell. If it’s a used shell you’re thinking about buying, lack of stiffness is a warning there might be problems.

#2 Size of the hull: When the shoes you have on fit well they are safer, look better, and function better than ones too small or too big. Same with a shell. Get the right fit to be faster. How do you know if you have the right fit? This might help:

JOB 13.3: DETERMINING WEIGHT CLASSIFICATION OF SHELL.

Problem: You need to know your shell’s weight classification (the average weight of rowers it’s designed to hold).

Needed: Rigging stick, tape measure, rigging card.

Most boats used to come in basically three different weight classifications (sizes): heavyweight (for 185–210 pound average crew weight), midweight (160–185 average) and lightweight (130–160 average). That was in the olden days, oh . . . say in the 1990s.

Today, there are more choices, and with more choices you have the need to make more decisions and you have more chances to make mistakes. What you are interested in with weight classification is pretty simple: trying to get the correct size crew in the correct size boat (see Chapter Seven, JOB 7.2, for more info on this).

Each size boat will have different dimensions. There are two dimensions that change the most between the different sizes: depth and beam. But there is variety as far as these dimensions are concerned, and two heavyweight shells from the same builder may have different depths and beams.

One reason is that customers may want different options that change the dimension of the boat, and models change from year to year as the builders experiment to come up with better and faster shells. Also, the building processes change over time with new methods and new technology, and that may mean different dimensions, too.

So how do you tell what shell size a boat is? First, you need the depth and the beam dimensions. Get your tape measure and go to the midships of the shell. This is where the hull should be the deepest. Set your rigging stick or straight edge across the gunwales. Now measure down from the bottom of the straight edge to the bottom of the inside of the hull. That’s your hull depth. At the same point—which should also be the widest part of the boat—measure from the inside of one gunwale to inside of the other for the beam. These numbers will be a guideline to help you find the shell size. Second, you may need your serial number for info on locating different serial. Armed with this information, you’ve got three ways to tell the shell size:

Good method: Eyeball comparison. If you’ve been around this sport long enough you’ll be able to tell a shell’s size just by looking. If you’re in a boathouse, and need a little help, take a few steps back and compare shapes with another boat you know the size of. If this doesn’t help,

try . . .

Better method: The best way to tell a shell size, with the least amount of hassles, is to already have the measurements (beam and depth) of a boat whose size you know and then compare the boat in question to those numbers. There are two ways to get these numbers. One, of course, is to call the builder and get the beam and depth for a size and category (eight, four, pair) of boat. The other way is just to measure a boat. Either way, make sure the numbers are from the same manufacturer.

Don’t try to compare a Dirigo’s measurements to a Pocock’s—the measurements vary drastically between different makes of shells.  Generally, heavyweight shells will have larger depths and beams than midweights, and midweights will be larger than lightweights. But don’t be surprised if there is not a lot of difference in dimensions between sizes. In fact, different classes might have the same beam or depth. If this won’t work,

try . . .

Best method: Take your measurements and the serial number and head to a phone. You need to call the builder. This may cost you a few pennies, but you’ll find out positively what size shell you’ve got.

I know all this may sound like a lot of hassle, but for good rigging you need to know what class a boat is.

#3 Integrity of the hull: There are two critical aspects here: the smoothness of the hull, and the cleanliness. Both go directly to the drag. A smooth, clean hull, free of anything that will increase drag will be faster than a hull that is not. How do you get it clean and smooth? Well here is an article I published a while back:

Last month we discussed the benefits of waxing the hull of your rowing shells. And, yes, there are benefits, like protecting the hull from damage from the sun and from pollutants. (And, of course, there are also down sides, like messing up a nice pair of pants).

However, one of the benefits of waxing is NOT speed. A good wax job will actually slow your hull down. So what is the best treatment for a hull when you’re looking for speed?

The answer is, “Nothing!” A naked hull is usually the fastest.

You see, when a hull is gliding through the water, you want to have the smoothest possible surface that you can. Smooth is fast. The smoother the hull, the less friction . . . and that is good.

If your hull has a good paint job and is free of dings and checks, then its maximum speed will come from being clean. Think of it in these terms: “Clean is fast.”

So how do you clean a hull? In my opinion, it’s a two-step process.

My first step is to use a rubbing compound. I usually treat the hull one or twice a year with the compound to remove the gunk that attaches to the hull over time. This is critical if you do wax your hull, or if you row in water that has pollution in it (and, unfortunately, today most water does have it).

Rubbing compound is an abrasive, usually in a liquid or almost-liquid form, and it comes in different levels of “grit.” I just think of it as liquid sandpaper.

There are two critical components of successfully using rubbing compound. One is selecting the correct grit (I use 1500). The other is to follow the directions, and I mean follow.

Using compound can be a mindless job, but that doesn’t mean that YOU should be mindless. Care needs to be taken that you only “clean” the hull, and not damage the paint. Gentle strokes, usually in a circular pattern, work fine. Some people profess that using a bow-to-stern motion is best. This does have its merits, but usually only if you are using a heavier grit, or sandpaper.

My second step is to wash the hull prior to each race. I try to do this the day of the race, when the boat is ready to go. That means if we’ve transported the boat, I’ll wash it right at the race course.

That’s not usually a hardship. A bucket, a sponge, a little soap (I use dishwashing detergent), a little water (which tends to be available at race courses . . . hint, the river or lake), a little scrubbing, and in ten minutes the hull is clean. I then just rinse off the soap and let the boat drip-dry.

(For what it’s worth, one thing that I’ve noticed is that people love, I mean LOVE, to help wash a racing hull. There must be something sensual to it. Almost, without fail, every time I wash a hull people flock to help.)

So . . . if you’re racing, clean off your hull.

And remember, naked is fast!

Is it that simple?

Maybe. No. Yes. Sorta.

Yup, there are many more subities to equipment, but notice one thing—age is not one of the top characteristics. Remember, a proper fitting, stiff hull, with a smooth, clean hull can be fast. Very fast. So if you can get these three specifics taken care of you will be well down the road to finding speed.

Take action now!

Why don’t you chime in and let’s me know how it is going, and what you think of this post.

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Step #4 In Your Personal Speed System: Freak Your Technique

January 18, 2010 by  
Filed under Speed, Think Different, Uncategorized

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So the first pillar of boat speed is setting up a Personal Speed System, right? Next you build a fierce mindset, get rock-star athletes, and develop mindful training. Those four pillars make a solid foundation that can help you be successful in your hunt for boat speed.

Ah . . . and there is more. Specifically, there are three more pillars that can make your foundation even stronger, and your boats even faster.

And the next pillar of those three is to freak your technique.

What’s a freak?

There are numerous people today we consider extraordinary but in their youth would have been called many other things—things not so nice. For instance consider Albert Einstein.

He was a rebellious and difficult student. Like Leonardo, he was dyslexic . . . leading one of his teachers to tell him that he would “never amount to anything.”

Mike Gelb wrote that about Einstein in his book Discover Your Genius.

Growing up Albert was probably hard for two reasons: he marched to his own drummer, and he was notably different than kids his own age. I mean, here was a kid who stopped to think about problems of space and time.

By many accounts youngster Einstein was no doubt thought of as a freak by his peers. Yet today he is known as one of the most intellectual humans to have recently lived. If you put your mind to it you could probably write a list of many others like Einstein—many other freaks. Maybe you were one.

And what Einstein did (how he thought and acted) is what you need to do to your rowing technique, that is, if you want to find speed.

Zappa

Frank Zappa made the Freak culture popular

Not long ago freak was used only to describe people (Man, that Einstein guy sure is a freak). But today freak also means look at the world differently and that is exactly what you should be doing with your technique. Look at it like a freak (differently) to make it better—to find more speed.

Specifically there are four things you can do to freak your technique.

Freak #1: Befriend your technique.

I wasn’t always smart about rowing technique. In fact I probably spent many years doing and teaching it wrong. For as long as I can remember I was told that technique was for wussy boys. And that sentiment stayed with me for many years. Back then we sacrificed technique and focused more on strength, which means many of us worked way too hard to get whatever speed we could achieve. And this still goes on today in the rowing world.

I’m going to suggest you stop that.

Instead, look to become wickedly efficient with your technique. Strive to get more distance per stroke rather than more strokes per distance. I know it seems all wrong (a 38 must be faster than a 32) and seems actually, kinda . . . well . . . freaky, but there is some pretty good science behind the concept.

By befriending your technique you can greatly increase your chances to get fast.

Freak #2: Ask, look and listen.

Not long ago I wrote a post about looking at boat speed differently. It sparked intense conversations. In essence I reported on Jim Mitchell’s research showing the catch to be the fastest part of the rowing stroke. People weighed in and I did get called quite a few nice names in the process. What I noticed was a real entrenchment by many to not even consider any alternative to the status quo (the finish must be the fastest because we’ve always been told that). That’s not being very mindful (regardless of the merit of the concept).

This brings up an interesting point, what should your rowing technique actually be? Two thoughts.

First, many of us having a rowing technique that we neither question nor deeply understand. We do it because we were taught it. And that certainly is understandable since most of us were taught by coaches who learned a style handed down to them by coaches who had the style handed down to them. Our learning comes from on high so many of us just accept it as the gospel.

Second, rowing is a comfortable sport (for the most part) and the stroke is fairly natural. The small details are often what separates the fast from the wanna-be-fast.

So, again, what should your rowing technique be? That depends on what your goal is, what boat you are rowing, your skill level and a host of other things. The best way to determine what it should be is hook up with a mindful coach (or mindful rower) who can teach you the best way for you.

Ask who that might be, find them and look at their results, and then listen to them to see if the person is the right one to teach you the right technique for you.

Freak #3: Work hard.

I’ll be very blunt here, you will need to invest time (a lot) in your technique to get really good at it. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, promotes the idea that to become a world-class expert at anything (anything) you will need to invest upwards of 10,000 hours. That’s around 20 hours per week for 10 years. But what if you don’t have world-dominating aspirations? Once you find the right technique you will still need to dedicate yourself to it to get efficient and find your speed.

Freak #4: Play.

Einstein silly

Einstein loved to play.

Some of the great breakthroughs that occur in science, sport and numerous other areas of life happen when people are playing. That play may be rigid-playing such as experiment, or doddling, or daydreaming, or goofing off . . . regardless, sometimes the results are great. Look no further than the business world to see examples such as Post-It Notes and Silly Putty, both products of play.

You’ll need to work hard to perfect your technique, yet  you’ll also need to play, fiddle with it, experiment, to see what works for you, and what doesn’t.

You have permission to experiment, and if you think you’ll get in trouble I’ll write you a note.

Take Action Now.

Okay, go be a freak. Your technique will love you for it.

Step 5 on it’s way.

Let me know how I’m doing in the comments below.

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[PSS #3] A Secret Weapon For Your Training

January 15, 2010 by  
Filed under Speed, Think Different

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You might have heard that proper training is critical for a rower to get fast. A few rowers have stepped up their training and have a secret weapon they use.

The year was 1812 and Napoleon was having his way with Europe. Basically all of it was under his control. Then in April he turned his attention, and armies, towards Russia. As he invaded, the Russian general in charge played a game much different than Napoleon’s.

200px-Napoleon_Moscow_Fire

The French in Moscow

As the French marched forward the Russians retreated. The Russians destroyed their crops, livestock, and homes as Napoleon advanced because they knew that an integral part of Napoleon’s successes had been having his troops live off the land. As Napoleon prepared to take Moscow the Russians evacuated the city, burned it, and then let him have the city.

300px-Napoleons_retreat_from_moscow

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, painted by Adolph Northen in the 19th century

The Russians seemingly had just let Napoleon and his troops walk into their country—and then the tide turned. The Winter arrived and the French found, as did Hitler many years later, that the Russian winter is a deadly and unforgiving foe, as are the Russians. Napoleon was forced to retreat and his army was destroyed.

Ellen Langer uses this story in her book Mindfulness to bring home a very specific point—very often, and often in critical times, we act mindless.

Mindfulness and Your Training

According to Langer mindlessness is a human tendency to operate on autopilot, whether by stereotyping; performing mechanically, by rote; or by simply not paying attention. And unfortuantely for Napoleon this is what he did. Being comfortable in easy wins in a different type of war he failed to be mindful about the Russian’s scorched-earth strategy. And he and his army paid dearly.

In competitive sports, especially rowing, many athletes and coaches do the exact same thing with their training—they act mindless.

Granted, today it is often difficult to be anything but mindless in our training. Life is coming at us at 173 miles per hour. It is constantly streamed, beamed, and blasted at us. It is hard to find a moment to stop and think. On top of that many of us do not have any background in exercise physiology or biomechanics. And when we turn to the web, books, and experts for help we find a wealth of information that is either unhelpful, bad, or just plain harmful.

However to be fast you need to be very mindful about your training program. It can be your secret weapon.

Why Be Mindful

Langer defines being mindful as:

[Having a] heightened sense of situational awareness and a conscious control over ones thoughts and behavior relative to the situation. It is not just about paying attention. It is making a conscious effort to be “in the moment” and to not ignore the environment.

I believe strongly that every coach, rower/coxswain can greatly benefit from a training program that is mindful and especially follows those last two points: being in the moment and not ignoring the environment. [Here the term environment is meant to mean the physical and mental surroundings of the athlete and not the common term an area in which something lives.]

Why? Well one obvious reason is decision making. Whether constructing a program for yourself, or a team, or getting ready to participate in an ongoing program there are decisions to be made, such as:

  • do I have the time for this
  • can I physically and mentally handle this program
  • does this training fit in with my vision

Mindless training ignores these important decisions. Mindful training does not.

Another reason to be mindful is too often we follow what others are doing, or what we have done in the past, because, well, because that is the way it is done.

You probably have heard the urban legend of the woman who would cut the end off of the pot roast every time she cooked one. She would put it in the pan and trim off the end. Her daughter asked her why? She had no idea so she asked her mother who had taught her to do it. Her mother did not know why so she asked her mother, who had taught her. The grandmother explained that she cut the end off because the only pan she had when young was too small for the roast, so she cut off the end so it would fit.

The grandmother was being mindful, but her daughter and granddaughter were not.

So What Training Program Do I Use

It is past the scope of this blog to suggest what specific training plan you should use, however, I would like to make a few suggestions about things that can make your training more mindful.

Recommendation #1: The training program, the intensity, and the workload should be geared specifically to you, or to your team. That means consider your fierce vision (step 1) and your rock-star athletes (step 2) and gear the training and program to them.

It would be crazy for a 54 year old who has been rowing for one year, or a junior with 2 years of rowing experience to use the same training program that the US National team uses to prepare for international races. Crazy yes, but it happens quite often.

Recommendation #2: Make sure the program is not based just on what coaches have done before, but instead is based on current research, advances in technology, and best practices.

For example, in her book, Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life, swimmer Dara Torres details how she mindfully adapted her training and program to her age, abilities, restrictions, and environment. Swim coach Terry Laughlin, in his book Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier talks about new and quite mindful methods to train swimmers.

Recommendation #3: Get help when building a plan, good help. Unless you have a background in physiology, physical eduction, or biomechanics putting together a sound plan can be daunting. Like building a business from the ground up, some folks will find success doing it on their own but the success-rate greatly increases with good help. This is a case where standing on the shoulders of giants can pay off handsomely.

Take Action Now

If you are in the midst of designing a program, or participating in an established one, find time to be mindful about exactly what you are doing. If you make changes, or realize that your plan and training are right on track, then it will be time well spent.

Coming up next is Step 4.

Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

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Step 2 of Your Personal Speed System: Rock-star Athlete

January 13, 2010 by  
Filed under Speed, Think Different

7 Comments

** Banner Speed 2

I’d like to share a letter I received a few years ago:

Hey Coach—

The team wanted to let you know it’s been a real interesting year. We had ups and downs and they all were interesting. We learned a bunch.

One thing that stuck out was what you said at the beginning—people make boats go, athletes make boats go fast, rock-star athletes can make boats fly . . . Or something like that.

That rocked.

We look forward to next year. Thanks, have a great summer.

Team of ‘88

That letter was from a college men’s team I was coaching (many seasons ago). They were not the fastest team around however they had gotten much faster than they had ever been. A lot of development happened that year.

The specific quote they referred to was something that I read on the wall of a bathroom at a race course (expecting maybe Buddha from his racing days?), and it seems to summarizes exactly Step 2 of your PSS (personal speed system)—the importance of an athlete and their athletic ability.

It doesn’t matter if you’re coaching a team looking to dominate the river or you just want to row faster than the fish that swim in your river—the person in the boat is the second most important thing in your hunt for speed (second, that is, only to the fierce mindset that athlete has).

And if you really want speed a rock-star athlete is what you are after.

The Rock-star Athlete

Eric Clapton is an amazing musician. A great talent that has also dedicated years of his life to perfecting his skill to becoming an authentic performer.

It’s been very important throughout my career that I’ve met all the guys

I’ve copied, because at each stage they’ve said, ”Don’t play like me, play like you.’

In essence that is what I mean by a rock-star athlete. Someone who has the ability, who will dedicate themselves to improving that skill, all the while becoming the person that is really them. That is where speed comes from.

The Indy 500

It is not too great of a stretch to compare a rowing race to the Indy 500. The top placers at Indy usually are the teams with the best drivers with the best motors. They might not win every single time (for instance, taken out by a crash) but usually you will find them in the winners circle more often than drivers who aren’t as skilled or cars with less powerful engines.

And that is how it is in rowing.

So What Does This Mean?

It means that if you’re after speed then you need rocking athletes. It means if you want to go fast a good investment of your time is finding the athletes who have a fierce mindset (or are open to building that mindset) and have the athletic ability to go fast. It means the person on the end of the oar (or the end of the mic) is really dang important if you are chasing speed.

And as a coach it means that recruiting the athletes and retaining those athletes needs to be near the top of your *to do* list.

What Should I Do?

This all makes sense, right? Yeah, well it sure took me a long time to really grasp the importance of this, and I see the same happening to many coaches today. To help, let’s distill this step right down to a few actions:

If you’re coaching a team I might suggest:

  1. Find the rock-star athlete(s) that can help you attain your vision
  2. Recruit the athlete(s) to your team
  3. Keep the athlete on your team
  4. And then do step #3 (coming out in three days)

If you are the athlete (for instance, a single sculler) then I might suggest that you come back to your mindset (from Step #1) and make sure that your athletic ability is in alignment with your vision.

So what might you be looking for in an athlete? Well, if you are looking to make the next World Championship awards dock then you might want to look for these physical traits (might but you don’t have to):

And in terms of mental traits . . . look for rock-star athletes. Those who are (or, again, can be) intense, strong, untamed, and authentic.

Up Next

Coming up next is Step #3 in your PSS. See you in a few days.

And if you have a moment, leave a comment. It would be great to hear from you.

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