MATT PEARCE
Attain fastest speed possible for your final race of the season
Improve consistency and reduce the “valleys” by building a solid foundation “On a good day, we can win, on a bad day we can win a medal”
Have the individual be the best they can be
Build a very large aerobic foundation (80%) to support a tall peak
Once they get to Final Preparation change gears and let them race
10” 1’ 2K 6K 30’
WATTS
TRAINING GRAPH
Build from the bottom up. Push from below for most of the year
You want to provide just enough stimuli to elicit a response and see improvement. NB IF IT DEVELOPS QUICKLY IT CAN DISSAPPEAR QUICKLY
Stay in touch with all training zones all year. Evaluate 2-3 zones every test period
Need to be confident and patient- realise you won’t be fast all year
Every athlete may not be an Olympic champion, but every athlete can be much, much better than they are. Build the athlete, don’t simply select athletes
Periodisation is breaking the rowing year in blocks that have specific training goals and complement each other
Main elements for designing a programme are VOLUME, INTENSITY and SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Steady State/UT3-2
HR 140-156, 1-2mmols, R16-20
Hard Steady/UT1 Most training in these
HR 160-172, 2-3mmols, R19-24 zones.
Anaerobic Threshold/Lactate Threshold
HR 176-190, 3-6mmols, R24-32
Race Intensity +/-
HR 180+, 6+mmols, R32-40
Max Speed
HR???, ???mmols, R40-44
NB: COMBINATION OF SR, HR, SPEED DETERMINE YOUR TRAINING BANDS
UT2 WILL NOT BE FULL PRESSURE EARLY ON IN THE SEASON BUT WILL DEVELOP INTO IT
Rowing Specific- (UT3-1, AT, VO2 Max, AN)
Power- 1/2-Whole boat, Bungee, 3’/1’, 250-750str (R14-28)
Weights- Strength 3-15 reps, Endurance 20-60 reps Not rowing training Optimal to do a aerobic session after weights training 3 sessions are a lot unless they are varied in training
Cross-Training Anything that is not rowing on the water should be
considered cross-training because it does not have a direct link to the speed of the boat
Most of the cross-training is done on the CII ergo Unless developing fitness, biking, running, swimming
are a waste of time for TRAINING benefits for rowing
Time is the easiest way to assess stress on the bodies (not KM’s)
Determine when in the year do you have the MOST time. Assess how much time you have in “peak” time
Determine when in the year you have the least time Assess how much time you have in “valley” time
Determine when you need to be fastest in the season Estimate the amount of time you have 2-3 weeks
before your final/primary race (stress needs to be greater than what they have done in the previous 2-3 week period)
Establish what testing you will use to determine progress
Gradually increase the volume over time through early season
Plateau volume or slightly decrease and increase length of intensityLargest volume is at 7-5 weeks before
major competition6 weeks out mini season of UT2/UT3
training 2 weeks from major competition decrease
volume and increase short, intensive pieces
The year can be broken up in 3 training periods:
Preparatory Phase Precompetitive Phase Competitive Phase
GENERAL PREPARATION SPECIFIC PREPARATION
12-16 weeks Emphasises strength
training, flexibility and aerobic conditioning
60% of aerobic training is at or below the aerobic threshold in long, steady-state workouts of 60’ or more
Use cross training to alleviate boredom and prevent overuse injuries
Technically it is ideal to work on specific skill development in the stroke
8-16 weeks Emphasises rowing-
specific aerobic, anaerobic and power work
Training volume increases Rowers do more work near
the Anaerobic Threshold Cross training decreases
to 10% of training Strength maintenance
sessions 1-2 times per week in gym
Technically it is ideal to work on overall skill of the rowing stroke
4-8 weeks Training volume peaks during the precompetitive
phase and intensity continues to build Low-intensity aerobic threshold workouts continue
to account for 60% of training time, but it includes intervals done just above and just below anaerobic threshold, with about 1 ¼ hours per week dedicated to race-pace intervals.
Strength training in the weights room features full body maintenance sessions
Generally strength training focuses more on water work and anaerobic sprint training
Generally precompetitive camps would be held in this period
6-8 weeks (but could be longer) Design this phase first in the training programme
as the lengths of the others depend on this one The goal of the competitive phase is to develop
boat speed and rowing specific power About 31% of volume is dedicated to race-pace
intervals, some of which can be done with minor races
Race Pace is not meant to feel comfortable ever- You shouldn’t train at race pace too much
If you don’t have the physiology for race pace, training on it for race prep won’t do too much
6 weeks prior to major competition- ‘A season within a season’ to avoid peaking too early
G.P. WEEKLY TOTALS
MODE KM UT3-UT2 UT1 ATVO2 MAX AN POW W RUN
1X 136 370' 84' 54' 0' 1' 4' 120' 120'
%'S 78% 13% 8% ≤1% ≤1% 16% 19%
TOTAL TIME
750'
TOTAL AEROBIC
630'
T10” no change or slight decrease
T1’ improvement or the same
T6K improvement
T2K improvement by 1-2% (4-6” over 2K)
Conclusion: On the right track for this time of the year
T10” improvement
T1’ improvement
T6K no change
T2k close to PB or same
Conclusion: Too easy too often, check speeds and heart rates. R/R?
Evaluating General Preparation
S.P. WEEKLY TOTALS
MODE KM UT3-UT2 UT1 ATVO2 MAX AN POW W RUN
2-/2x 174 610' 120' 90' 6' 3' 10' 120' 120'
%'S 72% 14% 10% 1% ≤1% 1% 12% ????
TOTAL TIME
1000'
TOTAL AEROBIC
850'
T10” no change or slight decrease
T1’ improvement or same
T6K improvement
T2K improvement by 1-2% (4-6” over 2K)
Conclusion: On the right track for this time of year
T10” improvement
T1’ improvement
T6K no change
T2K close to PB or same
Conclusion: Too easy too often, check speeds and heart rates. R/R’s?
Evaluating Specific Preparation
C.P. WEEKLY TOTALS
MODE KM UT3-UT2 UT1 ATVO2 MAX AN POW W RUN
4x/4- 204 620' 50' 63' 22' 3' 3' 90 120'
%'S 80% 7% 8% 3% ≤1% ≤1% 10% ????
TOTAL TIME
870'
TOTAL AEROBIC
770'
T10” no change
T1’ no change
T2K improvement by 1% (1-2” over 2K)
Conclusion: On the right track for this time of year. No CII training…
T10” improvement
T1’ improvement
T2K decrease
Conclusion: Too easy too often, more side by side racing, R/R?
Evaluating Competition Preparation
Always Be Building Increase volume, then intensity Beware of camps. You can end up with nowhere
to go Beware of holidays. Stress individual
commitment Think long term if possible. 2-4 year cycles Human element to coaching. Don’t let the
training programme dictate the training all the time
Build in variety Test regularly, when it fits in the programme A rapid increase in volume and intensity though
could lead to overtraining and injuries. Gradual path progression over time is therefore needed