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Targeting all major muscles groups, easy on the joints and a great cardiovascular workout, the rowing machine is your best friend if it’s all-round fitness you’re after. That said, if you’re not a regular on the rower it’s all too easy to go too hard and blow up after five minutes, lose interest on a long row or get your knees caught on the handle and go flying off the back.
If you want to get your rowing on point, follow the advice of one of Britain’s most decorated athletes, Helen Glover. Olympic champion, three-times world champion, twice European champion and multiple World Cup gold-medal winner, Glover – who competes in the coxless women’s pair with Heather Stanning – is a medal hopeful for Rio later this year.
Glover is supporting Cancer Research UK’s The Great Row. Launched in partnership with the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races, The Great Row is challenging members of the public to complete a sponsored indoor row anywhere from 2,000m right up to a full marathon. The Great Row will take place between 19th and 26th March in locations across the country. Find out more and sign up at cancerresearchuk.org/TheGreatRow.
Helen Glover’s Tips for Rowing Machine Mastery
1. “Most rowing machines have a lever on the right-hand side that changes the setting from one to ten. A common mistake is to crank the setting up to ten as it’s the hardest, but there's no need. In training I use level four to five as it’s closest to replicating the effort you use on the water and you’re less likely to strain or injure your back.”
2. “A lot of beginners think rowing is all about the arms but it’s around 60% legs, 30% back and 10% arms. Don’t overuse your arms – leave them straight when your legs are pushing and only bring them in at the end of a stroke.”
3. “A long training session on the rower can be mentally challenging. You’ve got nothing to distract you apart from the numbers counting down on the screen, so music can be an absolute lifesaver. Get a good playlist together to help you fly through it.”
4. “Training in a group is fun and helps you keep going. A bit like when you’re walking along with someone and you fall into step, you’ll get into a rhythm with the rest of the group and it’ll help pull you along when you might have lessened the pace on your own.”
5. “Don’t hold your breath. Think about your breathing and get into a rhythm. Getting a good lungful of air back in will help your muscles function and feel less tired.”
6. “If you’ve got a long session ahead of you, don’t think about the full distance as it can seem overwhelming. Chunk it up mentally and work to your next target, whether that’s five minutes, one kilometre or whatever – it’ll seem much more achievable.”
Helen Glover’s Olympic Training Regime
Helen Glover (left) and Heather Stanning with their Olympic Gold Medals
You’ve completed the Great Row challenge, does that mean you’re ready for Rio? Not quite. Glover takes us through her training regime for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“Training for Rio began straight after London, but on 1st January 2016 it all started to feel very close. Around five to six months out from the Games is when training starts to get more focused.”
Coming into the last couple of days of camp now. No time to wind down with some tough sessions coming up #mileage pic.twitter.com/SpJt5dTGFG
— Helen Glover (@Helenglovergb) 5 March 2015
“I train seven days a week, two to three times a day. I’ll train once or twice on the water every day and the other sessions are in the gym or on the rowing machine.”
“Strong legs are really important for rowing so I do a lot of work on my glutes and quads in the gym, and train the core to protect the back. I really like gym work because you can see your improvement and measure yourself getting stronger. I get a real sense of achievement when I can lift more than the week before.”
“I’ll do a couple of rowing machine sessions a week for around an hour and 15 minutes. These are usually an 18km row, although two or three times a year we test ourselves over a 2km distance. I have a love/hate relationship with the rowing machine but it’s good for training because there are no variables.”
“Sessions on the water are my favourite – they’re what we need to be good at. This is where we work on technique, fitness and drills for up to two hours at a time. One drill could be for balance, where we row to a point, stop, make sure our oars aren’t touching the water and see if we can balance. Balance is very important to ensure you can keep the boat stable and use your power for rowing.”
#1YearToGo #RoadToRio churning out some morning mileage on training camp %uD83D%uDEA3 pic.twitter.com/lD6CJYS1Ez
— Helen Glover (@Helenglovergb) 5 August 2015
“As Rio approaches we'll start to work more on speed and practising race starts. It’s good to get the feel for what it’s like to be racing.”
“I think having competed in an Olympic Games before will be an advantage. Many athletes say your first Games is about the experience, but the second is about competing.”
“Nutrition wise I’m quite lucky – we don't have a specific diet to follow. Rowing burns so many calories we can eat pretty much what we want. I need to have around 4,000 calories a day – double that of an average woman. I mainly eat healthily and always have my five fruit and veg portions a day, but sometimes it’s a struggle to eat enough so I can get away with having high-calorie foods like chocolate and crisps.”
“Some rowers drink alcohol but I rarely feel up for a night out. I need my eight hours’ sleep because I’m up at 6.30am and training by 7.30am every day.”
“If I get time in Rio I’d love to watch some rugby, gymnastics, hockey and beach volleyball. Although I imagine it’ll be hard to get tickets for beach volleyball. There are athlete tickets but they’re not easy to get.”
This content is from the experts at Men's Fitness magazine.
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