Early birds.

Early morning flat water.

In "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance", Stuart McGill notes that upon rising from bed, the intervertebral discs are at their greatest point of hydration. While sleeping horizontally, the pressure on the spinal column is removed, and fluid flows into the discs allowing the cells of both the annulus fibrosis and the nucleus pulposus of the discs to be nourished during rest. When the discs are fully hydrated in the morning, they are much more pliable than usual, thus highly susceptible to deformation generated by spinal flexion. This is the time of day that they are most vulnerable herniation injuries. (Don't we all know of someone who 'threw their back out' tying their shoelaces before leaving for work?) 

Fortunately this state doesn't last very long. Once we rise and begin to walk around, the intra-vertebral fluid is compressed out of the discs with loading on the spine. This process returns the discs to their regular, high performing state. Up to 90% of the fluid is removed during the first hour of the day.

McGill touches on the morning vulnerability of the discs several times in his book. In one section he answers the question of whether athletes should train right after rising from bed. The answer is clear. No. McGill recommends avoiding any spinal flexion (bending activities) during the first hour of the day, whether rehabilitative or performance enhancing in nature. Then, as if he wanted to make sure he got my attention, he uses rowers as his example! 

"Rowers pay dearly for their early-morning flat water; their backs would be much better served by training later in the day."

As a trainer and a coach, this is something that I must remember every morning I am working with someone. Early morning workouts are practically a gold standard in the fitness world, and as McGill correctly notes, rowers' love of flat water attracts them to dawn rowing sessions like moths to a flame. Additionally, there are many of us for whom first thing in the morning is our only option to hit the gym, and metabolically speaking, it is really a great time of day for physical activity. 

McGill is clear, contraindications within the first hour of the day include sit ups, crunches, spinal stretches, and there is no doubt rowing without proper preparation suddenly looks very risky. Thankfully, he also provides a sketch of a solution. Prior to an early morning row or workout which involves flexion, "arrange a progression to spine loading that produces progressive fluid loss in the disc to reduce bending stresses".

So we don't have to panic, we just have to use our heads.

1

If you are a gym rat, choose a warm up that can be done upright. Walking, running, or treadmill work are a great low impact way to load the spine. Avoid cycling; your spine will likely be in some form of flexion while seated. You can also do upper body calisthenics while standing to prepare shoulders for safe lifting.

2

Avoid exercises that require flexion (sit-ups, crunches) or that require strict form which, if compromised, would result in flexion (squats, deadlifts). Save these exercises for later in your workout when you are alert, capable of strict form, and have been loading your spine vertically.

3 

Whether you are a lifter or a rower, a great exercise to do before your workout would be the farmer's walk. You are upright (neutral extension of the spine), walking (the most therapeutic motion for the lumbar spine), and carrying weight (vertical compression of the discs).   

4

Rowers, once in the boat, make sure you warm up with light pressure, soft catches, and very strict back form. Then you can progress to your drill work, and then the row.

Time to hit it!

The time it took you to get ready, eat, and get down to the boathouse or the gym should have gotten you part of the way through your first hour. If you add in a warm up and the farmer's walk, you should be ready for your gym session. Rowers get to add in the time to prepare equipment and say good morning to everyone before they are dockside and ready to safely row.
 
Farmer's Walk

Grasp a dumbbell in each hand and let them hang by your sides. Walk. Pretty simple, but the added weight will increase the compressive load on your spine in a natural fashion. Walk across the weight room, your boat club apron, or the length of the boathouse. Do a series of round trips, progressing to a heavier dumbbell every 2 minutes. Walk for a total of 10 minutes.

References

McGill, Stuart. 2009. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance: Fourth Edition. Waterloo, Ontario : Backfit Pro Inc. 
(pg. 52, 144).

Sprechen sie Deutsch?

Hifi Fitness Factory. Chicago, IL

There are many well-known advanced training protocols available to serious weightlifters, athletes, and bodybuilders. Some have yet to be proven through evidence based research and others are more about marketing than science. There are also those which have proven themselves to be tried and true, providing results over the decades. They are worthy of the most elite training programs around the world, and offer suffer the flattery of imitation. I decided that the end of the rowing season was the right time to pick one to follow and set up a resistance program for the winter. 

I wanted to try something that had been proven to be effective, would be a significant challenge, and that I had never done before. What better way to screen an approach for use with future clients than to run myself through it? I looked at several well known protocols which have piquing my curiosity over the years and selected what some consider the king of muscle building routines. German Volume Training.

Based on the research I have done so far, German Volume Training is not something that is easily traced back to a specific individual; unlike today’s celebrity workouts no one patented German Volume Training. According to the Charles Poliquin website, it is named after its origin in the 1970’s on the German national weightlifting team under the coaching of Rolf Feser. Vince Gironda is also given credit for popularizing a similar training protocol in the US. It is given much credit for the performance of Germany's Olympic teams of that time period.

So what is it?

GVT calls for a very basic split, and incredibly minimalist workout plans. Oh, so German! (I was sold.) Each workout calls for one exercise per bodypart. That's it. The trick is you perform it for 10 sets of 10 reps. A total of 100 reps per exercise, which is why there are so few in a workout!

Naturally, the exercises must be selected to activate the largest amount of muscle mass, and should be as structural as possible. Emphasis should be given to multi-joint movements; this is not a program based on muscular isolation. Over the course of the program I will be altering the angles of the exercises, swapping similar exercises, and alternating between barbells and dumbbells. It would be foolish to do 100 reps of a flat bench press for 12 weeks, the risk of muscle imbalances and overuse would be too great.

Resistance loads are relatively light, starting as low as 50-60% 1RM. Prescribed increases are also smaller than usual 2.5 - 5% per week, but given the volumes lifted, that seems only natural. I will put together a post when I have completed the 12 week program summarizing my findings. I will be honest. If it sucks I will tell you, and if I suck at it, I will let you know!

So sit back and get ready.

It is about to get Germanic around here.

Tough Call

This week I had to make a very unpleasant decision. I had to withdraw from the Head of the Charles Regatta due to an injury. I had an entry that many seek, and few get; it is a race that would have been the highlight of my rowing year. At first it seemed like some rest and intelligent training would get me through what appeared to be an overuse imbalance. It has become apparent that my need for rehabilitation is far greater than I understood; it is likely an old injury only now being unearthed by my PT. The realization, and the resulting decision to withdraw, was hard and painful to come by, but it has allowed me to think very hard about what it means to be a trainer, a coach, and an athlete.

Trainer. 

Whether they know it or not, my clients are placing their physical well being in my hands every time we work out. If I am not spending every moment fully focused on training my clients safely, then I am not respecting that responsibility, the most ennobbling one I have as a personal trainer. Had I chosen to take a risk and row in that race, in spite of worsening pain, what message would I be sending them if it resulted in further injury? How would I be able to advocate the benefits of exercise; the importance of safely pushing one’s physical boundaries? Would they be able to trust me with their well being during exercise if I was unable to knowingly avoid injury myself? I think not. 

Coach.

Similar to being a trainer, as a coach, I need to model exemplary behavior to my athletes, safety being the first priority. When I looked at my decision externally, through the eyes of a coach, the answer was clear. Would I ever force an athlete to get in a boat and row a race, after they had reported increasing pain, the origin of which was not quite clear? Would I push a student the way I was considering pushing myself? 

Never. Period. 

Perhaps this had to happen so that, if I am ever faced with that decision, I know I can trust myself to make that tough decision. Even better, I will know exactly how that athlete will feel; empathy may actually help me to offer consolation that won’t ring hollow. Now I can just hope I don’t ever have to cross that bridge. 

Athlete.

What is my responsibility as an athlete? Simply put, good sportsmanship. All too often we think of sportsmanship in abstract terms, honorable but ill defined. Does it really have definite qualities? Most certainly. Sportsmanship is nothing more than respect for fellow competitors, officials, and the integrity of the sporting event. Knowingly competing with an incompletely healed injury would have violated that respect. At best, I would have competed unsure I was doing so at the peak of my abilities. At worst, it could have resulted in my sudden inability to row mid race. I would have become an obstacle to others’ ability to perform their best, a headache for officials, and a liability for the event. 

 

Yes, I have done right by my profession. 

Yes, I have done right by my sport. 

Yes, I have done right by my body. 

Yes, I can now focus on getting better. 

Yes, it feels pretty crappy right now.

We all want to believe that we can recover or heal following timelines that fit into our training; get us well in time for a competition. Sometimes we can, sometimes we cannot. That is life. Now I respect the expression ‘listen to your body’. 

I sure hope it finds a way to thank me over the next year!

Drilling down

The most effective way for a rower to improve the form of their stroke is through execution of drills. Why is this so? Drills break down the complexity of the rowing stroke into its component movements, allowing the rower to instill each motion into their neuro-muscular system.

Movement patterns

The rowing stoke, like many other highly repetitive movements, is a movement pattern. This means that it is most effective when performed on a semi-involuntary basis. A common example of movement patterns is walking. It is a voluntary muscle pattern only in the sense that we decide when we walk, but our bodies have essentially created a movement pattern that is performed involuntarily. When was the last time you actually had to actively think how control each of the dozens of muscles the body uses when you walk? I can tell you, it was when you were about 1 year old. In fact walking is a movement pattern we take for granted, but it took most of us nearly a year and half to two years to learn! Is it any wonder that we have to devote the time we do to learn how to scull?! 

So, when we learn a new pattern, be it skiing, rowing, or a dance step, we have to actively repeat the motions hundreds (maybe thousands) of times for it to become automated enough to allow our brain to focus on refinements while our body takes care of the base movement on its own. This is what drills help us do. Below I describe several drills that I will have each of you learn and perform on during your workouts. As my primary reference, beyond my own experience, I have used "The Art of Sculling" by Joe Paduda. A great entry level book about sculling that I would happily recommend to anyone of you.

Bodywork drills

Straight arm sculling

This drill is the best way to fix the most common error novice scullers make, bending the arms at the beginning of the catch.  Using your arms at the beginning of the stroke is a reflexive movement that comes from other movement patterns and pollutes the rowing stroke. It is nearly impossible to eliminate by thinking.

With straight arm sculling, you perform a partial stroke that consists only of the leg drive. Your arms stay straight the entire time, and when your legs are fully extended, you simple drop the hand to pop the blades out of the water, and slide the legs back forward to the next catch. It certainly takes several tries to get the feel for this drill, it will seem very strange at first, but the more of this drill you do, the more automatically this problem will be corrected; often very quickly.

Arms and back

The partner drill to Straight arm sculling, arms and back involved taking very small, short strokes only using body swing and the arms. The Arms and back drill creates automation of the second half of the rowing stroke, and will emphasize the distinct sequence of arms and back motion as separate from the leg drive.

Again, this drill will feel strange at first, but it is a great way to clean up the overall stroke, and it is a great way to warm up the smaller muscles of the torso and upper body at the beginning of a workout.

Pause drill

Pause drills are great for slowing down the stroke, and allowing the sculler to stop at a crucial moment of the stroke so they can evaluate their body position. This is the drill where the brain and the body speak to each other through a feedback loop. At each pause, you can actually do what you really want to, take stock and think about what you are doing.

The arms away drill is where you pause at the beginning of the recovery. Your legs are fully extended, you have pushed your hands away and swung your body forward. Pause for a second, make sure everything is in its proper position, and then slide your legs up through the recovery to the next catch.

Bladework drills

Blades square

Helps to clean up the finish by ensuring the sculler releases the blades from the water square. Additionally, keeping the blades square during the recovery forces the sculler to maintain a lower hand height which will foster development of balance within the boat.

This is a very challenging drill, and at first, the sculler may row with blades 3/4 square, which is slightly less punishing. Additionally, rowing square can be learned by alternating between square and feathered strokes in any combination.

Novice scullers should not try to row square in the wind or on choppy water.

Feet-out sculling

Rowing with your feet out, or unstrapped, will ensure that the release is as clean and smooth as possible. Your hands will have to accelerate quickly away from your body at the finish, your back swing will have to be immediate, and you will NOT be able to pause at the finish, a common mistake with novice rowers.

This drill feels a lot scarier than it is. A great way to get the self confidence to do this drill is to practice it on an erg. Always learn this drill while rowing with low pressure rates, calm smooth strokes, and never row with your feet out if the water is choppy. 

References

Paduda, Joe . 1992. The Art of Sculling. Campden, ME : Ragged Mountain Press. (pg. 9 - 17).

Olympic Rowing

Racing shells at the Head of the Charles Regatta - 2009

Time to join in on the Olympic fever that has been gripping us all. The London games are turning out to be an incredible series of games on all levels and the British people should be proud of the bang up job they have done, it certainly looks worth all the inconvenience Londoners have had to endure in preparation. 

There has been so much attention focused on swimming and gymnastics, as usual, that I struggle to keep up with what has been happening on the water as rowing gets lower billing with the media. I want to take a moment and touch on a couple facts about rowing and the Olympics that you may not know. 

Pedigree

Rowing was one of the original 10 Olympic sports. In the 1896 Olympic games, events were held in Athletics, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. Rowing was on the docket but events were cancelled because of weather. The first Olympic rowing competitions were successfully held in 1900 in Paris.

Rowing is a sport with serious history under its belt. The Doggett's Coat and Badge sculling race in London has been held every year, without interruption since 1715, making it the oldest running athletic competition, in the world! In fact, rowing competitions are often amongst the oldest running events of any sports. Example, the Harvard-Yale Race (or Yale-Harvard Race, depending on your preference) is the oldest collegiate competition in the US and dates to 1852.

Longevity

Olympic rowers have incredible longevity as athletes. While Michael Phelps has dominated the last four years with the medals he has accrued, two Olympic rowers, Sir Stephen Geoffrey Redgrave of Great Britain and Elisabeta Lipa of Romania both achieved records that put Phelp's performances in perspective. Sir Redgrave won 6 medals in 5 different Olympic games from 1984-2000, and Lipa won 8 medals in 6 different Olympic games! They both earned Olympic medals over a 20 year period.

Lung Capacity

Olympic level rowers have stunning lung capacity. Matt Pinsent had once held the record for lung capacity of ANY athlete at 8.5L until Peter Reed surpassed him with his measurement of 9.38L! The average male lung capacity is 5.8L. By contrast, Lance Armstrong's capacity is 7L.

World Records

There are no world records in rowing. During the fevered races in the Olympic aquatic centers we can often see yellow stripes struggling to keep pace with the fastest swimmers. Announcers breathlessly urge us to the edge of our seats to see if we are witnessing not just a stunning victory, but the fall of yet anther record to superior sport science and athletic prowess. Not so with rowing. Rowing is so heavily impacted by wind, temperature, surface conditions, and water current that no two times in different events can ever be compared, at least not evenly enough for a world record to stand. 

DXA scans at Dexa Fit Chicago

Overview

Duel emission x-ray absorptiometry is the absolute gold standard for body composition assessment of living tissue. (The only way to directly measure body composition is post-mortem ether analysis which involves tissue liquefaction. So far, no clients have been interested in this one-time evaluation.)  With DXA scanning two types of energy are passed through the body, each one absorbed by different tissue densities. The two images are then subtracted from each other, and it is possible to ascertain fat mass, lean body mass, and bone mass/density. 

I have done two scans in 2012 at Dexa Fit Chicago, and I must say, aside from some of the news being unwelcome, it is a revelation. My first scan, which established a baseline, was in January. Right off the bat, I had to adjust my understanding of the results. DXA scanning will provide a much higher body fat percentage than other methods as it is able to measure all fat in the body. The majority of methods, including the standard benchmark method of skinfold calipers, tend to focus on subcutaneous fat, the fat that lies between the muscle and the skin. DXA scanning can also measure the intramuscular fat (think of marbling in a slice of beef) and the visceral fat which lies deep within the intestinal cavity.  

Was I happy about my results? Not at all. The truth can be, well, inconvenient. I took it on the chin, turned my cheek, and set my goals. Six months later this past July, I had a follow up scan. I had expectations, and they were realistic based on where I knew I was. (I knew I wouldn’t quite be where I hoped to be when I originally set my goals.) Wait, what? A trainer that didn’t meet his goals? How is this possible? Well before I explain, let me tell you what the DXA scan revealed.

Results : Body fat

As hoped, my bodyfat percentage had dropped, and as expected, it was less of a drop than I wanted or should have been able to pull off. So; should have been, could have been better. Certainly will be better in the next scan three months from now, new goal set!

Results : Muscle mass

Any lowered bodyfat percentage, even modest, is always good, but this one was tempered with a drop in lean body mass as well. That is, of course, NOT good. So what happened? Rather than panic, I looked at the wealth of data my scan provided. 

DXA scans divide the body into regions, allowing you determine where the changes are taking place. The high level of precision is carried over to each arm, each leg, left and right sides, torso, etc. This is incredibly important, and as a trainer, this is the data that most interests me. So that did happen to my body over the last six months? Well, most of the fat I lost was android fat, the fat around the midsection, and in the midsection my fat lost was significantly higher than my overall average. Great news! Where did I lose my lean muscle mass? Upper body, arms, and trunk were all stable, I lost the muscle mass in the legs. This is not a good thing, not at all, but information is power, and the clarity the DXA scanning brings to my analysis is why I am so pleased with the results.

Analysis

Here is how it happened. This summer has been a new life for me. I am cycling around the city to client sessions and classes; on average 20 miles a day, and rowing at the boat club; up to two hours a day. I have been spending up to 6 hours a day outdoors, often in brutal heat, and up to 5 hours each week working out. This has increased my demand for nutrient and hydration to levels I have never had to maintain. I realized only recently that I had to watch electrolytes with a precision unlike anytime in my past. I had been propping up my flagging energy with carbohydrates, probably more than necessary. 

Fat mass

Maintaining a low carb diet to get ripped under above circumstances would in incredibly taxing, but now that I know most of my energy loss was due to electrolyte mismanagement I can reduce the carbs to favor fat loss while sparing muscle mass.

Muscle mass 

Both cycling and rowing favor muscular endurance (so called density) over hypertrophy (size). Both develop slow twitch muscle fibers over fast twitch. This means that this shift in training resulted in a reduction in muscle mass through the legs. This is why I am so pleased with the results of the DXA scan. I am now fully aware of what has happened, don’t need to panic, and have the knowledge of what to alter in my current regimen. I also need to remember that it will be an uphill battle during the water season to pull this off, but I will increase my weight lifting to keep hypertrophy in the mix. I will also remember to take the long view and focus on leg mass come winter when it will be a piece of cake. Absolute proof of the principle of periodization.

This was a long post, and I thank you for your patience if you made it to the end. If you are one of my clients, I highly recommend you consider a DXA scan. I will be happy to schedule one for you at Dexa Fit Chicago with Matt Ulrich. 

Check out their link to learn more: http://dexafit.com/350  

You can see how I am able to leverage DXA scans to improve my own training; imagine how I can leverage your results in designing a program for you.

  

Swimming home

There are two kinds of rowers, those that have flipped, and those that will flip. 

Me, with some help, NOT flipping a shell. Take that, water!

Since many of my students are very scared of the idea of flipping their shell, I have decided to put myself out their and set an example. I want them to understand that flipping happens, that you move on, and maybe even they will become a sculling instructor in spite of having to swim home to the dock.

I have been rowing now for just over 5 years, and I have had the pleasure of flipping my shell a total of six times. Each flip is ingrained clearly in my memory, and as I look back on them while teaching my students, I realize they are virtually a primer of the ways in which to flip a shell. No better way to teach than from experience!

Flip 1 : The wall

It was my first lesson, it was a cold and hostile November morning, and I got my tub pinned against the seawall north of the Fullerton Avenue Bridge. My port oar, stuck in the corrugation of the sheet piling was the problem. The solution? Hmm, let's see. Clearly all I have to do is pull the oar inboard and get it out of the way. Splash. I didn't even have time to close my eyes. I recall seeing the water line pass across my vision, and for a moment I was sure I was looking upside down at a startled fish. Thankfully, it was so cold that day, the water felt almost balmy, and I was relieved to learn that a shell ejects you so forcefully you come clear out of the shoes. No need to fear those straps.My fear at being in the water alone was quickly replaced by relief that no one saw that happen.

Flip 2 : The rock

My first summer rowing on the lagoon, I was having a grand old time rowing full laps by now. After turning around in the south basin I was charging back towards the club without realizing I hadn't kept an eye on my course. The water was low that year, and I ended up grazing a shoal with my port oar. A rock seized the moment. Splash. It was, I imagine, like sticking a rod into a bicycle wheel. Sudden and catastrophic. I was shot clear of the shell. (I was in a racing shell by now!) While trying to stand up I tripped in the water, and fell, cutting my hand on a razorback mussel. (Yes, Virgina, there is life in that lagoon.) No way to pretend this flip didn't happen with blood gushing from the palm of my hand.

Flip 3 : The oarlock

A one-on-one row with my coach Lev Skylansky. It was a beautiful summer evening and we were practicing some maneuvers near the dock, starts and turns and all sorts of fun oarwork. Strangely, as if fate wanted to me to watch, I looked over at my oarlock just in time to see the whole thing slip effortlessly up off of its pin. Splash. Helpless to even try to react, my shell freed itself from its stabilizing oar and rolled over on its back like a dog looking to get its belly scratched. I of course was beneath. I recall emerging from the water and yelling "Not my fault this time, the oarlock came apart!" It was how I learned that a flipped rower can be towed, with his shell, by holding onto the stern of a non-flipped shell.

Flip 4 : The dock

Ah yes, the lure of rowing whilst on vacay. I was visiting my mother in Seattle and I wanted to row on Lake Union. I contacted the Lake Union Rowing Club, and assured them I was a competitive rower, visiting from Chicago. It was Thanksgiving weekend, and naturally their open row was at 5:00 am. Yep. 5:00 am. In Seattle, in November, the rosy hued dawn makes the sky first blush sometime around 8:00 am. Naturally I sold my skills, so I had to do the fancy leg push off from the dock. It was just so early in the morning, too early for me to realize that I was entering the shell from the opposite side as I always do at LPBC. Try this sometime. It is like cutting your own hair in a two way mirror. Push off. Splash. Die of embarrassment in front of a group of strange rowers who don't know you from Adam. Oh, my mom was dock side too. Somehow I should have found a way to blame her. 

Flip 5 : The crab

The Grand Regatta, in Grand Rapids Michigan was the first time I had rowed on a river. Things had gone pretty well. I mean, I had rigged an oar with the oarlock on the wrong side of its pin, pushed off, learned what strong current feels like, (Quite scary, actually.) and then realized the error! I opened the oarlock, pulled the oar out, and flipped the oarlock around. All while out on the water. A more perilous or scrappy maneuver would be hard to imagine, and I pulled it off. If that isn't immunity...Fast forward to the last 50 meters of the race, I was squarely in second, perhaps first, when I look over one last time to make sure not to cream a finish line buoy. To this day it was too fast to know what happened. I suspect it was a crab. The next thing I remember I was being pulled into a launch. In front of all the spectators and my fellow club members. Somehow I saved my shoes, but that really expensive rowing seat was swallowed by old man river.

Flip 6: The wind

And we come full circle. My first lesson teaching LTS1 at the LPBC this spring. It was a beautiful day gone bad; halfway through the water portion of our lesson. Winds and current got whipped up, and I had students trying to turn around beyond the bridge, but being blown ever farther into Diversey Harbor. I had to save them! I had to instruct! There I was teaching the turn, verbally, and then when sign language. You know, if I just hold my arms out and turn my hands like oars, I can show her what to do. Damned Italian side of my family, have to talk with my hands. Splash. Well, now I am cold and wet, but my student is still blowing away. I stood up in the water to my waist and finished the tutorial, got my student turned and back off to the dock. That is when I realized I was not more than 20 feet away from...Flip 1. 

We all will flip, it is getting back in the seat and moving on that makes flips no big deal. This may seem like a litany of horrors, but let me tell you, they pale compared to all the amazing times I haven't flipped. I have rowed on the glacier fed water of Lake Dillon, Colorado, the papyrus trimmed banks of the Nile in Cairo, Egypt and the serpentine arcs of the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. I have even started a humble collection of metal to hang around my neck. 

Every one of those flips was worth it.