Why Strength Train Before You Need To?
Archive post from 3/20/23
Taking a break from videos this week to pass along a conversation I had with a friend who coaches competitive junior rowers. He asked my opinion on the advice that, “rowers only need to strength train when their 2km average split is within six seconds of their 6km average split.”
For example, a rower with a 7:00 2km (1:45 average split) and a 22:00 6km (1:50 average) would be ready to improve from strength training, but not with a 22:45 6km (1:52 average).
The idea is that the comparatively slower 6km rower still has more room to gain in aerobic fitness at longer durations before they need strength training to increase their maximum force potential to improve their 2km performance at higher intensities.
I like the idea from a performance perspective as a way to identify points of diminishing returns and individualize training. It offers one data point to answer the question, are you fitter than your strength or are you stronger than your fitness?
However, there are two main problems with this approach in practice.
The higher order problem is the assumption that the only purpose of strength training is improving rowing performance. There are plenty of other reasons outside of splits and 2ks.
The more immediate problem is that strength and muscle mass don’t improve as quickly as aerobic endurance and rowing technique. By the time we identify a limitation in max force production, we’re 2-3 months away from actually seeing meaningful improvement.
Other than very athletic people who take to strength training immediately, everyone new to strength training of any age or level of rowing performance has to go through the same beginning pathway. Start with learning the exercises, then improving physical coordination to perform the exercises consistently, then learning how to strain in the new form of training, and getting through the initial phase of increased muscle soreness. Only after this do we see bigger changes like increased muscle size, bone mineral density, and transfer to sport performance. 2-3 months is a normal amount of time to go from zero or very little strength training experience to able to strength train hard enough consistently enough to make structural change.
This applies to masters rowers, too. For example, I’ve had a few inquiries from 50-60-year old women who have been recommended strength training to gain/maintain strength and muscle mass (sarcopenia) and/or bone mineral density (osteopenia/porosis). We have to start in the same place as everyone else, learning the movements and building up coordination over weeks and months before being able to train hard enough to stimulate physical change in muscle mass and bone mineral density. It’s never too late, just later than it could be had we started earlier to stay ahead of the need.
Why strength train before you need to? So that you CAN when you need to, instead of starting out 12 weeks behind.
The essence of long-term athlete development is anticipating the future needs of athletes and preparing them accordingly alongside current needs. See the big picture. We can teach all rowers strength training basics to achieve the greater benefits outside of rowing performance, and also so that those skills are ready when we want to train them more specifically to improve performance.
We can do this preparatory training from the boathouse. It’s better to spend money on qualified instruction to do bodyweight and resistance band exercises well than weights and other equipment without good instruction.
For example, at least three times per week do a 30-30-for-15’ (or 20’) or an “extended warmup” of two rounds of the full-body warmup to get some extra movement training in, learning and maintaining the basic physical movement coordination. That coordination will “be there” when you’re ready to strength train more later, instead of starting over at the coordination level again after months entirely away. This makes for a great, simple in-season maintenance plan, for anyone else hitting spring season this month.
