Tech Tip: Late Summer Musings on Rate, Rhythm and Run

by Ric Ricci, COC Sculling Associate Director

For most scullers the 2023 sprint racing season is coming to a close and attention and preparation is now being focused on the exciting and important "Head" races. From a physiological perspective the next six to eight weeks are the ideal time for emphasizing aerobic and threshold energy systems. Sculling technique can also be periodized and the late summer and early fall is an excellent time to review and improve the important aspects of sculling technique that will help to maximize efficiency. There is a lot of truth to the saying good sculling technique equals free speed. 

Cooler temperatures in the early morning or the late afternoon are ideal for enjoying long on-water sessions ranging from 60 to 90 minutes, where the technical focus is on the best ways to find easy, flowing and sustainable speed. For many scullers, the search for those elusive strokes where motion over the water is virtually effortless is what makes the sport of single sculling so attractive. Below are ideas and technical points which most scullers have heard before, but revisiting the basics can be a very valuable and enlightening experience where new light is shed on a familiar technical aspect of the sport. 

RHYTHM: 

Bryan Volpenhein, stroke of the United States gold medal men's eight at the 2004 Olympics, when being interviewed for an article in Rowing News, stated that he found "the rhythm in the water." A very interesting, provocative and instructive comment. Bryan's reflection, on one level, points to the idea that when rowing or sculling it is essential to be patient and responsive to the relationship of the sculling blades to the water. The tendency for the majority of scullers is to try and push the blades THROUGH the water instead of aspiring to move oneself, the sculls, and the shell as a unified whole over the surface of the water. When this alternative occurs, the sculler is more likely to discover that the rate of the movement changes through the water or drive phase of the stroke. This change in the rate of motion is another word for rhythm.   

RATING: 

Stroke-rate for much of the 20th century was not as easily accessible to coaches or coxswains as it is now and even less so for athletes in coxless shells. In the 21st century the stroke rate is ever present and instantly available. On water electronic feedback in many forms is now pervasive. I would like to encourage a more moderate practice habit. Find a way to scull at a desired intensity for long periods of time where awareness of stroke rate (or other metrics) is not focused on for 5 to 10 minutes. Instead, concentrate on a slow rate (12-18 strokes per minute) where you listen to the sound of the seat wheels moving on the tracks...where the sound goes down in pitch as you approach the catch and goes up in pitch as you approach the release. Feel your shin muscles contracting (toes up, heels down) with more intensity as you approach the catch and then gradually feel for the opposite shin ankle movement (toes pointed, heels up) as you release the water. Also listen for the sound of the bow as your shell moves through the water...is the sound staying constant? Instead of looking for a numerical indication of your rate, develop a feel for the rate. Check your rate after 5-10 minutes. With practice and concentration, eventually you will be able to "hit" different rates without having to look at the electronics. It is better to know your rate by feel than by sight. 

RUN: 

Gevvie Stone, the United States silver medalist single sculler at the 2016 Olympics is the subject of a much deserved urban legend. In her preparation for the 2016 Olympics she is reported to have trained in her single with the goal of going 14 meters each stroke at 14 strokes per minute. A very impressive training regimen! Paying attention to your run, that is the distance your puddles go astern before the next catch is classic training for scullers and crews alike. Keep your head up and strive for a wide gaze and watch your puddles recede sternward.  

An awareness of run in combination with the points above will be the foundation of fall head race preparation. As the fall season progresses, average sustainable speed will increase naturally and if preparation has been done consistently, when the head season begins, the excitement of racing will add just enough intensity to your refreshed technical base for an enjoyable and competitive fall season. GOOD LUCK!