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Hester rows for Great Britain as lightweight sculler.  She won Gold in U23 WL1x in 2005 and was in LW4x the same year winning a Bronze medal; 2006 she was in LW4x winning Bronze again and 2007 in LW2x getting 8th place.  She is currently working towards selection for the Olympic Games.

When did you start rowing?
I started rowing at Latymer Upper School in the sixth form.  That was why I chose my school.  I liked the look of the boats on the river – there was an open day and the boathouse was on the tour.  It was dark and you see these white boats and the dark river and it was rather nice.

Don Mclachlan was my coach all the way through. He was at Latymer and when I was and later when I was at University in York he wrote my training programme and coached me in the holidays.  I chose Cambridge for my teaching PGCE because he was there [at Jesus College] and coached me there.

I am now in the GB squad system.  We are training at Caversham most of the time; we have camps for increasingly large amounts of time under the squad coaches and on the squad programme – Robin Williams is the main lightweight coach and works under Paul Thompson and Darren Whiter does LM2x and occasionally does us too.
There are 7 Lwt women - this is the first time when the whole worlds squad continued onto the next year complete.  

What were the key things that enabled you to take a big step forward?
I had a grounding at Latymer in how to train but when I was at University I trained on my own for 3 years doing Don’s programme.  He told me I could make the U23 squad in 2 years and medal within 3 years.  And I made it in 2 years and medaled.  His input has been the only reason why I managed to succeed and my personal “anal” obsession in following the training programme down to the letter.

I was a part of the University of York Boat Club – In my first year I was social secretary and in year 2 I was president.  I did the fun side of University rowing as well as train hard.  York is an awesome place to train with 5 km river in one way and I have been 15 km the other way and not reached the end.  It floods at winter and, apart from Ely and the Thames, it is the longest stretch of row-able water that I know.  Flat water allowed me to just get on with it – you don’t need to turn in circles.  I had some entertaining moments like when I was going to GB Trials and to wade out to the boathouse during floods just to get my boat to go on the trailer!

I studied Music and told the University in April that I wasn’t going to turn up for the last term of my third year - because I only had coursework not exams this was possible.  I told them I needed to be with my coach and on camps and the university said they weren’t happy but couldn’t stop me!  I was going to be back for my recital (I am a cellist) and that’s a big part of the degree examination.  The recital date was 3 days after the Dorney world cup and I didn’t get a 1st class degree because I didn’t take the cello to the world cup to practice!  

What was your U23 year like?
Darren Whiter was running U23 and had a good camp network and a good support system – e.g.  We went from selection to Wycliffe for a training camp and he looked after us and organised us all.   This was very effective – we were selected early and training in crews from April onwards.  It was unique to that year and it may not have continued since.  Zac Purchase and I were identified as Lwt single scullers and a WLwt double was chosen.  There were only 3 athletes to choose from for those crews.  There was some seat racing for a mens 4x and 2x and 2- and the selection was partly down to logistics of where athletes came from.  It was an incredibly successful year.

Darren had done lots of other international stuff before but he really showed his organisational skills.  He is a very good man manager.  

Where are you now?
I didn’t do well at December trials but have since done well being back in the top 2 lwt women.  We have doubles races in the next 2 weeks and an erg test on Friday.  One incentive is that the top 4 athletes don’t have to do trials in February and I am hoping to be selected in Lwt 2x with Helen Casey for the Olympics.  

Helen is physically very strong and her ergos are definitely the best fo the squad – she is 2 seconds ahead of me at present and goes sub 7 minutes for 2km and is pulling 18 km at a split of 2.01.  [Hester is 2.03] For the 2k test, my Personal Best score is 7.10 and I am hoping to do 7.08.  It will be tough because we have to be 58.5kg now and so I hope to break my PB!

What are your hopes for the future?
If our double had done better than 8th at last year’s world championships I would be more confident in my own selection. We now have to fight every step to get selected to go to the Olympics.  I have a 6 month plan and it’s very hard.  You have to go over each step before you can get to the massive goal.  The next 2 months is about selection.  I am determined not going to go to another World Championships or Olympic Games for a marginal result.  Getting a marginal result is a very hard experience and teaches you a lot and you know you don’t want to go there again.  The boat I am in has got to move.  That’s my aim.

What makes a boat move?
On the physiological side – you need two strong people with preferably long levers.  But the most important thing for me is technical ability – knowing how to move a boat, feel a boat and feel each other.  For lightweights we have to know how to row well because we are the same weight as our opposition; I am one of the taller lightweights, most are 1-2 inches shorter than me.  I am sure that physiology and technical ability will set us apart.  The only reason I won U23 was because I knew how to row well.  I wouldn’t have won it on physiology alone.
 
Psychologically, you and your partner have to be on a mission – decide what you want to do and get your coach on board and work for it.  When you get into a boat, you can try and get it all to work on the way there.  Work out how you race well and how the other person races, what fires each of you up, what gets you going in a race.  

Psychology is interesting – I never considered it much until this year.  I had relied on one coach to tell me what to think and how to do it.  Having to rely on myself for the past year I had to develop the skill quickly.  Being told what to do is easy if you trust the coach.  I have not had an individual coach [since joining the GB squad] but the system looks after you a bit with a load of coaches but you are expected to do a lot on your own.  

What inspired you to achieve?  
I have always believed I can do anything I wanted if I work hard enough. Sport appealed to me; I was a cellist beforehand and I had focused my life on music. In summary it is dedication and working hard and having one goal.  But music never quite appealed as much as sport and rowing has done since.  And as a result I didn’t succeed to the fullest extent in music.  I know that I can be the best in rowing if I try hard enough, work hard enough and do it for a long enough time.  It is all about time as well.  I know what I’m looking for in rowing and I know how to get it.

When you wake up on a sunny morning in Seville you think you have a rather good job as you get paid to be there!

Tell us about Rowperfect and how it helped you succeed
[Hester is a long term Rowperfect user]  I have used a RP throughout my rowing career from school onwards, always using a computer screen output.  We had them in the basement next to the gas boiler at Latymer – and you had to run out to get fresh air!  At York I persuaded the committee to apply to the regional rowing commission to borrow their Rowperfects for me to use.  I got one of the regional RPs on rotation and another one got lent to the University and they never requested it back.  And so I trained on that for three years.  

While in Cambridge I was using Jesus College BC’s Rowperfects and doing 5.30 am sessions and not wanting to row on the cam because of crowding from college crews.  I used to do half my sessions on the ergo and half on the Rowperfect.  Every other day I did 100 minutes with a break to drink at 50 mins. It was usually fartlek or UT2.  It is such hard work and so good for you.

Rowperfect for physiology and timing  
On an ergo it is static and so you always have a delayed response when you put your foot down – it kicks back slightly.  On RP you can really learn how to move a boat.  I still use it now: I get my curve upon the screen and try to fill out the back end.  And try to hold this through the piece.  If I time it well my splits are 10 seconds faster but on a bad day they are 10 seconds slower.  It really does tell you when you are rowing like you can do in a boat.  I used to do 3 sessions a week – 2 of work and a couple technical.  

Reading University BC [where Hester trained before joining the GB squad] has a RP but no computer.  Last year Helen and I tried to get together as a crew and we had the cross bar to link two RPs.  We used them to try to learn to row together without an interface and the drag was a bit different between the two machines but we used them for a few weeks. The main thing we realised was how differently we rowed the front end of the stroke.  We began to time it better.  Sitting alongside your partner you can see basic things – when your arms are straight are you moving in the same trajectory.  Is the other person doing a different motion that you haven’t seen?  

I would quite happily train on one of them rather than anything else.  100 mins on RP is better than battling around a lake…. the squad coaches think you should be able to handle all weathers (including storms) and I think you get more out of a RP session.  

My power curve is a work in progress – you can see what I’m doing from the shape – it goes up quite steeply so I connect alright at the catch.  The peak isn’t round; it has a bit of a step on the finish, and I push my legs down and then try to haul my back through.  I am trying to even this out.  

Do you have any advice for young athletes?
I have a thought both with my professional teaching and my rowing which is this.  Everyone thinks in this “Generation X” age that everything will come to you on a plate and will be given to them.  Young athletes need to work for it or they will never get it.  A lot of people will forget that.  You have to do everything to the letter and if there is a coach who has produced successful people [and results] and who knows what they are talking about you should do everything that they tell you.

If you cut a corner you won’t win.

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Rowperfect is offering Paul Thompson's companion to his successful book, Sculling, a new DVD.

Rowing and Sculling: Techniques in Action is presented by Paul and offers a "unique opportunity to see the techniques of Britain's best rowers in training and to hear tips and advice from them and their coaches".

Here is the publishers information:

Illustrated with footage from the Olympics and the World Championships, it is an accessible account of this inspiring sport.

• Explains through clear, key points how to improve your performance on the water
• Essential viewing for coaches and rowers at all levels
• Interviews from the leading figures in GB rowing
• Produced to the highest standards with full play option and clear chapter divisions

Pre-order your copy today from Rowperfect UK.

Publication date is "end" of October. Price £19.99. DVD Region: 0

Rowperfect UK is offering the DVD for sale

DVD Rowing and  Sculling £19.99 plus £2.50 postage

DVD Rowing and Sculling plus Sculling book £32.98 plus £3.50 postage SAVE £2

Pre-order today and be among the first…. just email us your order, postal address and phone number and we'll call for payment when the DVD is in stock! 

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Michelle Guerette, US Rowing W1x – career highlights World Champs Bronze 2007 and 2005, Olympics 2004 W4x 4th. She writes a Blog for US Rowing News

Michelle spoke to Rowperfect in the Press Office after winning the Princess Royal Challenge Sculls – beating Jen Goldsack in the final.
 
How has your season gone so far?
It will be good to race at the worlds and qualify for Beijing. [She did qualify, winning a bronze medal in the process – her career second].
National selection in April was cancelled and there will be a trial in July 30 at Princeton because I am not going to Luzern.  But Liz O’Leary entered me for HRR without my knowledge.  I had thought it would be a distraction and very “wakey” but Charley Butt, my coach, thought it would be good for me.  It has been a perfect challenge.  It is fun.

I have never raced Henley before.  I heard a lot about it.  First impressions are the course looks like a cup cake all pink and white and very beautiful.  Strange to have a race course down a social scene but quality is great, it’s very high.  The mix is interesting in the womens singles event.  On this course you can’t let your guard down.  You have to fight for every stroke.  I heard cheers and wanted to look across today but I knew that was trouble from my first race when I nearly caught a crab.

Just like the Longfellow Bridge on the Charles it is swirly, rough water and this was a challenge for me.

Today I pulled into the wrong station at the start.  The Elvis boat distracted me.  [An annual attraction at HRR is a group of men dressed up as Elvis on a motor boat driving up the river.]

What do you think about before a race?
5 minutes before the start I am thinking… I make sure things are set, I check my uni [all in one rowing suit], focus on little things.  Think about legs and feet standing off the catch, don’t want to get into my shoulders.  My start was a little shaky today.

What do your row in?
I row an S15 Empacher with 2 stay riggers.  It was the first boat I had as I was getting up to speed in and, like a little superstition, I stick with it.  It feels solid.

Charley is my technical coach.  I do pieces with Riverside [her Club] and Steve Tucker at Union twice a week.  The rest of the time it’s just me and a speed coach.

Tom Terhar writes the programme.  He is the new U.S. women's national team coach.  I’ve done pretty much the same thing with a couple of tweaks each year.

How are you preparing for Beijing?
The heat in Beijing will be bad and I’ve started training later in the morning to get used to it.  The recovery will be an issue – getting tired just walking to the course.  We used ice vests in Athens to combat the heat there.

What is your background in Rowing?
I started rowing in 1998 at Radcliffe [Harvard University] in sweep.  I was not that fit.  I played tennis in high school and I wanted a team sport, choosing ultimate frisbee initially.  The rowing meeting was before the frisbee one and I tried it as my room mate had rowed and said I would be good.

What advice do you have for young athletes?
Just have fun.  I came to the sport later and wish I’d started at 12.  Use it to gain athleticism.

What is your ultimate aim in rowing?  And how do you get there?
I would like to win a Gold medal in Beijing.  

I use smaller goals, improvements every day.  Be in peak form and the best shape.  I push my limits and feel that each year is it better.  

When it’s tough I think of the goal and what does it take – what the competition is doing.  This motivates me not to slack.

Crew mates say “if you want to be good you will have to do it more than you want to do”.  I try daily to do my best; make an improvement.  Stay on task in a broad sense.

I can push myself through which is a learning I got from being in the single.  It has been good to get more people interested in sculling in the US.

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You will have seen the recent success of the Estonian 2x at the World Cup Regattas.  Juri Jaanson the Olympic silver medallist at Athens in 1x is in this boat.

Juri is a long time Rowperfect user. and used it to calculate his gold medal time and target splits in his preparation for Athens.  They calculated the joules output required per stroke to achieve the target splits and so if you watch the Athens 1x final, you will see Juri rates about 36 down most of the course and produces near-flat splits throughout.  [Ask us if you want to know how to do this calculation for yourself].

Now he is training with his doubles partner on linked Rowperfects….. and it seems to be having the desired results.

His training has been studied by a goup of sports science researchers and they have published the findings in Sports Medicine Magazine.

The article is by: Jarek Maestu, Jaak Jurimae, Toivo Jurimae

Monitoring of Performance and Training in Rowing;

Sports Medicine 2005, vol 37 (7) page 587-617.

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We recieved this question from Nick Panza, coach at Yale University. 

We use the rowperfects a lot at my university and I had a few questions about them. 

My primary question revolves around being able to enter different weights and how that affects your splits, watts, power on the screen, if it does at all. 

For example, over a 2000m piece, if someone who actually weighs 75kilos and enters 75kilos averages a 1:25.0 split for the piece….if he did the same piece with the same settings but changed his weight to 70kilos, would his split be a lot faster?  Does the weight adjust the split or anything else?  Thanks very much for your reply. 

Nick Panza

Our reply

The algorithm behind the RP software works like this.  The power (joules / watts) you pull is an absolute measure.  If you pull 500 joules and I pull the same it is the same number and totally unadjusted for our respective body weights.

BUT the athlete's body weight and the boat class affect the 500m split score because this is a derived number. 

To answer your question about the 75 / 70kg athlete.  Yes he would go faster at 70 kg as the computer assumes he is carrying the weight of his boat plus his body mass.  If the body mass is lower the score improves for the same amount of power exerted.

I did a test of this once while training alongside a Lwt lady who was about 10kgs lighter than me (thanks Marjan!).   I tried to pull the same watts score as her.  When I did (approximately) my 500m split was about 8 seconds slower than hers. Which proves the point.

I attach a document detailing a re-verification of the algorithm done by Casper Rekers which I think you'll find interesting reading!  It still holds true from original 1991 data to today!
Rowperfect algorithm

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Dear Rowperfect community

Welcome to the summer season!  We are seeing a sea-change in club rowing – more and more athletes and coaches are prepared to experiment with new equipment than ever before.  Being a company that imports new rowing and sculling products, this is very important to us.  Without your enterprising spirit we would not be making a success of Dreher, Coxmate, Rowperfect and the MK1 oarlock.  Thank you.  

Our continued support for athlete and coach education was rewarded by the best-attended seminar ever.  Duncan Holland’s slides on “Seat racing for crew selection” are still available – email us for a copy.

Please help us to widen the readership by forwarding this to your rowing friends.

Rebecca Caroe and Grant Craies, Rowperfect UK
 

Rowperfect Researches

Richard Smith, Associate Professor, School of Exercise and Sport Science, The University of Sydney has been doing work on comparing results for the Rowperfect flywheel as recorded and produced by the various software versions against the results using "Gold standard" strain gauges attached to the Rowperfect.  The testing involves attaching more than 60 reflective markers to Koen (the willing subject) and finally connecting the myriad of computer, camera and light power cords - it all worked! See photos – the computer one is him tying his feet into the RP footstretcher.
 

Meanwhile, closer to home Jennie Coker of the Sport and Exercise Science Department at the University of Bath is running a research project to compare the timing and velocity of the opening of the back with peak force, time to peak force, and power. She is using a Rowperfect “because on-water analysis would be unrealistic and doesn't think findings using a concept 2 would be as transferable to the water”.  She uses CODA (Cartesian Optoelectronic Dynamic Anthropometer) for positional analysis and then comparing the kinematic data from the hip joint with force time outputs for normal rowing, delayed body opening and early body opening.

And Lucy Allanson-Bailey is also conducting researches at Cardiff University and has promised us a copy of her results when they are completed later this year.

Coxmate update 

The Coxmate series of products is only three years old and we started working with them in February last year.  News from Australia is that they have sold over 1,000 units and are now the preferred supplier to most Australian rowing clubs and, particularly, schools.
In the UK, Coxmate users include: Abingdon School RC (SR), Great Marlow School RC (SR), Phyllis Court Club (AA), Belfast RC, Cambridge University BC (SC), Queens College, Oxford and Derby RC (SC).  Note - the initials represent the type of Coxmate product used.(see www.coxmate.co.uk for information).

The modular wiring loom (a series of speakers that plug into each other with an incoming and outgoing lead connector) is now fitted into all Ray Sims boats.  www.rowing.co.uk   Coxmate offers four speakers as standard for an eight.  This produces more even sound levels down the boat and requires less volume overall.  Cambridge University found that by mounting the speakers onto the athletes’ footplates rather than in the foot well they could overcome the ‘roar’ of the crowd on race day.

The advantage to the wiring loom is that there are only four modules and these can fit all boat types – and it doesn’t matter where the boat is sectioned, if you have a problem you only have to replace the faulty section, not the whole thing, and they are around 50% cheaper than NK!

Ever wondered why “ergo monsters” can’t move boats?

Casper Rekers, the Rowperfect inventor has the answer….“Rowing is a cyclic movement, based on a series of highly automated reflexes. One important effect of training is that an increase in the level of automation increases power generating efficiency. For this reason, cross-training should exercise muscles over the activity’s full range of movement, load and speed of contraction.

Therefore machines used for cross-training should simulate the dynamics of a light racing shell (e.g. a single scull) as precisely as possible. If they do not, a severe loss in power generating efficiency can be expected. That is clearly illustrated by the fact that the transfer of an oarsman from a stationary Concept II to the same machine on slides decreases the oarsman’s power output to the flywheel instead of increasing it. The same occurs when transferring a rower from a stationary ergometer to a light racing shell, or vice versa.

This explains why many good boat movers do not score well on stationary ergometers, and why some ‘erg champions’ are poor boat movers”.

Magik oarlocks gain acceptance

The new oarlock is getting its features tested out by a wide range of athletes from novice to elite and veteran downwards!  Both Cambridge University crews used them (with medium strength elastics) in the Boat Race this year – they found it helpful for the unusual start situation of the race.  Because of the stream, crews cannot square their blades in the water before the ‘go’ signal and the MK1 ensured a clean grip on that critical first stroke.

Eton College, Pangbourne and Kings School Worcester are leading the schools and elite athletes include Thormann/Engelman German pair (from CUBC) who came second at German trials, Natasha Howard, Tim Male and James Stephenson from the GB squad.

Try them for yourself for a week – return them if you change your mind!

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Dear Rowperfect community

The Rowperfect Seminar 2006 is again on Friday 24th March the night before the Eights Head.  Our speaker is the new Cambridge University Chief Coach, Duncan Holland and he will be speaking on Seat Racing for Crew Selection.  Email us to reserve your place.

Have you read Rowing magazine?  They are asking for readers’ letters.  And this fantastic endorsement for the Rowperfect from Murray McLeod Jones, has been sent to Sophie Mackley for publication.  He has kindly allowed us to reproduce it here and also on the website – under Latest News.  We hope to see it in print in a future edition.

We were at the ARA conference in Warwick demonstrating the new Rowperfect MKIV monitor.  A couple of interesting things came about which reassured us that we are on the right track – Paul Thompson emphasized the importance of measuring distance per stroke as a measure of progress and the continued importance of core strength and posture in preventing injury came from a talk by Alison McGregor.

Rowperfect and Coxmate both measure distance per stroke so you are covered both on and off the water.  The new Rowperfect for Windows software has stroke length and distance traveled per stroke in centimeters.  The Coxmate SC reads distance traveled in meters for each stroke.  And, of course, the RP limited tilt seat is great for posture and stability training.

The FISA Sculling DVD has been selling well – every club should have a copy!  Add to this Paul Thompson’s new book “Sculling” and we have a winning combination for every coach and athlete.  Details inside for a combined sale offer.  

Happy reading and, Rowperfectly!

Rebecca Caroe and Grant Craies, Rowperfect UK

The Rowperfect Seminar, 2006

Duncan Holland, Chief Coach for Cambridge University Boat Club is speaking on the sometimes contentious
subject of Seat Racing for Crew Selection.  

• The advantages and disadvantages of seat racing within the context of crew selection
• Common pitfalls, limitations and ways of going wrong while running seat races
• The context of a selection system using objective and subjective data
• How to run seat racing and why Duncan chooses to do it his way

Email us to reserve your place.  Price is £5 on the door. Please help us to publicise this by circulating this information to your club coaches and crews.We can send you a poster by email. 

FISA DVD and Paul Thompson’s book, “Sculling”

Rowperfect has arranged a winning combination for you – buy these two invaluable reference works for £38, a saving of £3 off the recommended price.  And for the hundred people who have already bought the DVD – get another and give it to your club.  They’ll thank you for years to come!

The book is signed by the author – and we can arrange special inscriptions for you.  For that special birthday, Easter present or anniversary, Paul will write your message into the fly leaf.  Please allow three weeks delivery time for this service.

An extract from the chapter on Sculling Technique

Stroke correction

Sculling technique should be a focus of every sculling outing.  Perfect sculling practice makes perfect sculling.  You need to apply enough concentration to maintain your technical focus for the whole of the outing.  A technically good sculler will have listened, considered, and taken responsibility for implementing sound technique and the changes required to improve sculling.  To achieve a permanent technical change it is important to have a sound understanding of how you are sculling, as well as how you should be sculling.  A good coach can impart this knowledge.

When concentrating on stroke correction, you must be able to feel or see a difference in what you are doing and then make the necessary change to your stroke pattern.  Video feedback and modelling are excellent aids. ….
To make a technical improvement, it is often most effective to isolate that part of the stroke that is to be improved.  Both the coach and the sculler need to break the complete sculling stroke down into its smaller component parts in order to achieve this.  You can correct your stroke by exercises and then by incorporating your improved technical skills into continuous sculling.  Major technical improvements generally occur when it is possible to concentrate fully and you are not excessively fatigued.  Short sculling, or ergometer sessions, and the beginning of workouts are the best times to achieve stroke correction.

Reproduced with permission from Crowood Press

All solid advice, as we are sure you know.  Rowperfect was invited to join the ARA’s round-Britain seminar series on “Applying British Rowing Technique” speaking on how to use drills and exercises in order to apply the technique.  Email us if you would like the handout from the seminar with a list of exercises and progressions for water and land use.

Using the Rowperfect DOS software with Windows XP

An information sheet on how to alter the Bios settings to enable it to work is now available.  Email us for your copy.

Would your club like to trial the Rowperfect and the MKIV touch screen monitor for a fortnight?

We have sent out RPs with MKIV touch screen monitor out to Hereford, Worcester and Ross on Wye rowing clubs to try at present.  We have received interest from Staines, Windsor Boys School, Tees, Derby and Cardiff University.

If your club would like to join the list, you need to first clarify

• Your club insurance will cover the RP while in your care and you are liable for any damage caused;
• We will deliver the RP to you, but you will have to take it on to the next club on the list (this will be local or via exchange at a regatta);
• We may use your club name in publicity.

The Rowperfect Challenge!

A letter to the Editor of Rowing Magazine.

I read with interest the article regarding the Rowperfect in the Nov/Dec 05 Regatta.  I must add my support to the article, as the machine is a brilliant piece of training equipment; I know as I have one myself but have convinced other scullers that this is the equipment to invest in.  When I procured my Rowperfect, a fellow sculler was fairly dismissive about the advantages of training on it.  I challenged him to allow me to prove its worth.  He was a Senior 1 sculler who was now moving over to veteran sculling at the age of 35, and had been rowing and sculling for about 8 years.

The challenge was that he would train on the C2 Ergo every day for two weeks and then do some videoing analysis on the water in his single and conduct a question and answer session about how the boat felt when being sculled, we would then do exactly the same for the next two weeks using my Rowperfect for the training.  The results of the first two weeks training were very interesting, he had trained on a C2 ergo for all his sculling life and from the videoing it was obvious that he had transferred the ergo skill to the boat.  In the question session he stated he felt hurried and crowded at the catch, but thought that he was applying his legs properly and coordinating the stroke correctly.  The videoing did not support this at all.  The sculling was very snatched at the catch with lots of effort in the initial phase of the drive and a burying of the sculls; the legs, body and arms were not properly coordinated and the finish was wrenched through to give a hurried finish.  The recovery was not as coordinated as it could have been and this led to an inconsistent set up of the body for the next stroke.

The results of the Rowperfect training were a revelation to him.  He struggled with the co-ordination of the technique and the firing the correct muscle groups at the right time at first, but with perseverance, coaching by me and the instant feedback the monitor gave him from the power curve; he got the hang of it.  He realized how to apply his legs and coordinate his body correctly for the drive and recovery phases.  The second set of videoing was like watching a different sculler.  The catch was much more coordinated, with a quick entry and smooth application of the legs.  The body was coordinated properly with the body and arms keeping the pressure on to the end of the stroke giving time to execute the finish properly.  The question session was also revealing, with the sculler stating he felt that he was applying power the whole way through the stroke and that he had time at the finish to get his hands away.  The overall stroke flow was better and he felt less ‘cramped up’ at the catch.

I had convinced him but then the Rowperfect had done it really, we also worked out that his overall distance per stroke had improved by 1.79 meters, so he was getting more output for less effort as he was coordinating the power properly and sculling the boat as it should be.  He now trains on a Rowperfect rather than a C2 ergo.  This was not a rigorously conducted scientific experiment, but as anecdotal evidence, it adds to the body of research that highlights the advantages of training on a Rowperfect.

Yours sincerely,
Murray McLeod-Jones

Is there anyone out there who would like to reproduce the “Rowperfect Challenge” as described by Murray above?
We can put you in touch with Rowperfect owners in your area and would like to hear your feedback.

Rowperfect owner and user, Stuart Horth of Yare Boat Club near Norwich has started already.

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All tests must have an objective – what are you testing and why are you testing.  

Be clear, are you seeking a profile of your athlete or are you looking for a problem that needs sorting out.  

Taking the results of the test and consider the profile of the athlete – [this is about] his development.  Focus on weak points resulting from the test analysis.  Adapt your programme and the way you are training if the test [outcome] is not right.  

Very often you see coaches testing because they think it should be done or just for crew selection.  But if you want to do it to develop the athlete and the person you must adapt your next training plan to work on the weak areas.

As a coach you have to accept that in any training programme it is a long term job.  Every 4-6 weeks you have to change the programme because the body adapts.  You have to change the load or intensity because the body adapts and you don’t get progress otherwise.

You can’t do a maximum test too frequently because of the [high stress] load but also because the athlete must be motivated to do it.  

If you want to track progress by testing you must find test systems where the athlete isn’t forced to do maximums all the time.  

The answer is sub-maximum tests.  These are simple test systems where you can control athlete development without asking for a maximum output.  

You can do a maximum ergometer test every 3 months – if you have progress  - but this could be a long time elapsed and so you would be better off to use sub maximum tests to trace progress in between.

When testing are you looking for strength or oxygen uptake?  
A simple oxygen uptake test is to use the heart rate step test and simple lactate control test equipment.  

A strength test is a weights sub-maximum test with 12 reps.  This means you don’t need to damage anyone with the weights and you still have a picture of athlete development.  

If you have force platforms you can see if the effective test average is over a series of tests.  You can test to a certain rhythm or weight and each time increase the weight and see if they can do the same thing.  
We have developed a sub-max test where we estimate the maximum we can calculate the potential maximum uptake.  210 watts on C2 = 200 on Gjessing watts.  Average of last 90 seconds heart rate gives test result.  

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