I did my rowing trial - and my results were average!!!

 

 

I got the letter... the one i never thought would come...

I signed up for it on the internet... a once in a lifetime chance to become an olympian in the 2012 olympics in my home town.

I did the application form after hearing about it on the TV and thought i had no hope in hell since i didnt hear from them for months.

Then the letter came this morning, saying i was short listed for a testing day to become a olympic rower. They said my height of 6ft2 was vital to a rower's power and i could have a shot at this!

I have 2 MONTHS EXACTLY to train as hard as i possibly can.... does ANYONE on this site no anything about what rowers need to do for training.... i need endurance, arm and leg strength. PLZ HELP!!!

If you aren't a rower now what made you apply to be on an olympic rower?  I mean if you don't know now what it takes to train for this sport what makes you think you qualify to try out? 

I know people who sign up for the breast cancer "3 Day Walk" and train for 9 months and its walking. 

I wish you luck in your endeavor - but personally if you make the team you better take it a bit more serious especially if you are representing My Country

edit-- 8:pm PST well you didn't mention above that they weren't looking for persons who had done this before or had experience- I still think only giving yourself 2 months to train is cutting it short - unless you've been working out quite a bit prior to applying for the opportunity

the whole point of it is for amateurs... people whove never rowed to try out and see if they have what it takes... thats why i applied... im a beginner and i want to get into this sport and i am taking it totally seriously - thats why i need real advice on how to train up for my testing

Good luck hun : )

I know nothing about rowing but its only 2007 so despite the first response above it sounds like once you get the chance to try out and pass you will have plenty of time to train for 2012 olympics

The only thing I can think of is general weight training and the rowing machine, of course.

thanks! Does anyone know about endurance training.... what would increase it and help me go for longer... i heard breathing is vital and obviously cardio will help ... but is their any specific exercises that would help

While I have no expertise in this, in my own experience, I have increased endurance by using a variety of cardio each week, and working out with a heart rate monitor to hit my target heart rate for each type of workout.  I recommend a couple of steady, longer endurance runs (or biking, rowing, whatever you choose), mixed with some HIIT-type (high intensity interval training) workouts, in which you really challenge yourself to the max.

Weight training is also key!  Go for a full body workout, because you will not only need arm and leg strength, but your core and back strength will probably be important for your sport.  This website is a great resource:  http://exrx.net/Exercise.html.

Good luck!

My advice is to find a rowing coach in your area, pronto. 

Is this where you went to sign up? http://www.usoc.org/165_13154.htm

no it was a promotonal offer from the BBC in UK for the 2012 olympics... to find people at the right body types to be trained

At the risk of being annoyingly obvious ;-), the best way to improve at any sport, especially for beginners, is to practice that specific sport.  Check this out for a start, find the best rowing club near your home, and let the experts there guide you.  Tell them what you told us, and they'll be delighted to help you.

And don't listen to non-rowers.  The site linked to above explains why:  rowing is unique among endurance sports in several respects. For example, rowing requires generating power from both legs simultaneously, and improving at that crucial aspect of the sport requires physical adaptations that no amount of running will even begin to encourage.   That makes cross-training for rowing of less value than for many other sports.  Of course it will help to improve your general strength and endurance, but nothing will help as much as rowing (on the water or on a good rowing machine).

tgpish.... thanks a bunch i am checking the site out in a mo... great advice . I hope in these two months i really get the most i can out of rowing!

train with a pro using a heart rate monitor to determine your lactate threshold - so you'll know when you're working at a sustainable level and when you're working so hard that you'll blow up.

find a rowing team & practice rowing - it's not easy - lots of technique and timing to learn. will you be rowing in a boat with others? if so, you don't want to be the one to stall the entire boat because you got out of sync ("catching a crab" i believe the phrase is).

find a personal trainer, if you dont kno what to do yet? or google it

I found out what i need to do in my test.... its mainly a 1km go on the rowing machine to determine if i have what it takes to make a great rower. So my mate who does Wing Chun helped me to write up a training schedule for a total body workout and endurance training. So far it is looking like i could definitley improve in 2 months and i know it's a long shot that i will even get close to becoming an olympian but its worth the effort to try for this great oppurtunity!

All i need to do now as someone on here said is get a heart rate monitor and work in my target zone to get my body into great shape. I can't afford a trainer and they aren't expecting me to get one... thats only IF i actually get picked for training with them. So i am doing the best i can on my own to really work hard for this - and i am definitley taking it seriously!! I am so pumped!

You'll improve a lot more in 2 months if you row.  It requires coordinated movement from head to toe, and without training your brain, muscles and nerves in the precise sequence of movements involved in rowing, you'll waste enormous amounts of energy during the test on superfluous, and even counterproductive, movements.  Would you try out for gymnastics without touching a parallel bar, or try out for basketball without shooting hoops?  The right answer is "no" ;-).

The Concept 2 rowing machine is most popular among serious indoor rowers, and you don't need to buy one, you just need to find a gym or training partner that has one you can use.  Check out their detailed description of the movements and muscles used in the stroke.  It can't be duplicated short of actually rowing.

Now suppose you do row over the next 2 months.  Then you'll have a crushing advantage over all the other hopefuls who thought  they could get away with just "getting in shape".  While the Olympics are "for amateurs", they're still extremely competitive, and you can bet that other serious hopefuls will be doing the obvious thing here (i.e., training for a rowing tryout by rowing).

thanks tgpish for saying in a much better way what I was trying to get at!!  The olympics aren't just amatuers anymore.  Look at the hockey and basketball teams They opened the games to all several years ago.  Five years may be enough time to become a conditioned athlete but I think just because you may have the physical build for a sport doesn't mean you can do it- heck how do you know you will even like it if you haven't done it before. 

Your example of the gymnast is ideal.  Those girls start training when they are barely out of diapers - especially in the Eastern european countries.  I'm sure there are also counries who start their rowers at a young age. 

Ok, just so I am clear. If you do well in this contest, you are being offered training so that you may potentially row in the 2012 olympics? I am assuming this is not a straight ticket to the olympics considering they have not even completed the 2008 olympic trials.

I would highly suggest checking out the USRowing website so that you can learn more about the procedures involved in getting on an olympic team.

Also, be forewarned of scams. They have chosen you based only on your body size. Unfortunately for all of us mildly athletic people out there, althetic talent and ability is based on much more than that. Also, the "amateurs" who compete in the olympics have been rowing for years and have impecable training. You may be a great rower with time, but don't assume that because they say you have the right body the sport is automatically for you.

I think rowing is a great sport (I did it for 3 years when I was younger). I had so much fun with it. It just seems incredibly odd to me that you have never even taken part in the sport, yet your goal is the olympics? I feel a bit as if this were like me saying, I can run a 5k, I probably should train to win the Boston Marathon.

I just don't want you to get yourself into a situation where you get your hopes up for something that people train for for years and still don't get. I had a very good friend who could out lift every single guy on our team, was incredibly muscular, and was by far the best rower on our team (she won a highschool national competition as well). However, I watched her bust her butt to make the junior national team, and still did not make it. She did go on to get a full ride at a very good rowing university. It just goes to show how hard it is to make a national team.

Also, form is as important on the erg as it is on the water. You will not make it through a 1k without it. Its amazing that rowing can turn a 5 minute workout into the hardest thing you have ever done, but it will. Trust me.

Good luck in your effort. Just remember that you do not have to be an olympian to enjoy this sport. If you like this experience and it doesn't work out, I highly recommend getting involved in the sport. If it does work out, great and good luck in your training.

I get what you are all saying and its true.. i have hardly a hope in hell to get into the actual olympic rowing team. But my goal here is to train as hard as i can with rowing the number one activity on my schedule for the small chance i may have of gettin picked for other trials or at least just for the experience!

I'm not really thinking in the mode of wanting to get in shape anymore. I'm more in the mode of being on my top form for this specific sporting test and training and living like a competitor. I've done tonnes of rowing on indoor rowers and the concept 2 is at my local gym and in my regular workouts occasionally. I have a cheaper one at home too but i prefer to use the top quality to get my actual rowing into the peak of performance.

So far i can go 5 minutes without breaking much of a sweat and my heart rate is slightly raised so i think if i get some expert advice on how to row and how i should increase my endurance on it i will be on my way to standing a small chance at this testing day!!

Thanks for all who've taking an interest in this... i never thought i would have this oppurtunity in my lifetime and i am so gratefull i still am not over the shock of it lol please keep bringing in your comments!!

I am a high school rowing coach and I can tell you that it takes years and years of practice in order to get the form of rowing down. Since you have until 2012 I'd say that if you joined a rowing team with the right kind of coaches you would have enough time.

Although I know that you will want to hop on that rowing machine at the gym I would suggest that you NOT until you have someone who can show you how to do it correctly. It is much much harder to fix bad technical problems then it is to teach someone who knows nothing. You might feel like you are helping yourself while you are really shooting yourself in the foot. The fact that you said you can go 5 minutes without breaking a sweat tells me that you need someone who knows about rowing to help. 5 minutes on the erg can mean anything depending on how hard you are pulling. If you are only going at a 2:30/500 meters then of course it isn't going to be too hard. On the other hand if you are pulling under 2:00/500 meters for 5 minutes then you should be sweating bullets. It all depends. Rowing isn't about how far you can go without feeling like you are working, it's about how long you can pull extremely hard before you feel like you are going to die.

I hope I'm not coming off mean or anything, but I've seen people hurt themselves before trying to row when they don't know how. We have so many injuries every year and I just want to make sure you don't kill your chances by hurting yourself. I've coached freshmen and while their enthusiasm is great, they often think that they can just hop in a boat and row away. It takes weeks and weeks to even them to the point where they are all able to row at the same time - and very very slowly at that.

Honestly, your best bet is to join a great club with great coaches. Even if you manage to find someone outside of a club who can show you how to correctly row on the machine it will not be as good since rowing on the water is extremely different from rowing on the erg. As the saying goes - "Ergs don't float".

Rowing is the most complicated (and fun!) sports I've ever done and my advice is to get as much help from experienced people as you can.

Rowing! I've been rowing since my soph. year of high school and i have been in love with it ever since. The olympics is my ultimte goal/ dream that will never happen.

I think vpmraika has covered most of what i want to say so my only advice is to stick with it through all the hard erg workouts and the frustrating practices in the boats. Make sure your technique is perfect and strive for that power rectangle(hopefully that will make sense soon) It's worth it! Oh and have a strong core...Crunches/planks/bicycles! I really hope you like rowing. Since you are in the UK, is there any way you can go watch the Henley this summer? That will give you a great idea of what rowing is like.

Good luck!

Well, today i did my first day of training and it went real good!! I started the morning with 20 minutes on my stepper, than 5 minutes on the rowing machine than 15 minutes jog around the field... raining hard so had to come in early!! Then got home and did 50 full sit ups, 50 3/4 sit ups held for 10 seconds, 20 squats with weights, the horse stance for 70 seconds and later im doing some gripping exercises....

I am struggling with the sit ups because my back is not as strong as it could be... i really need to get a coach but i can't afford one and there is no money to help me with this 2 months... unfortunatly. But i am making the most of free exercise and trying to not get to put down by not having a coach. Hopefully tomorrow's upper body strengthening session will go better!