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Herausgeber: Crowood
Kategorie: Lebensstil
Sprache: Englisch

Beschreibung

Masters scullers range in age from Grade AA (21 in the US) or Grade A (27 in the UK) to Grade M (89 plus). Although diverse in age, these athletes all have one thing in common - they are each unique. This book partners with each individual athlete to achieve performance improvements based on their own aspirations, technical skill and fitness level. The focus is on understanding and efficiency, both in the acquisition of skills and training. The dynamic technique described offers scullers a high-performance sculling approach, carefully tailored to support a Masters sculler's long-term career. Illustrated with superb colour photographs, diagrams and a wealth of examples, coverage includes individual assessment of an athlete's sculling skills, flexibility and aerobic fitness; compilation and application of evidence-based data; formation of highly individual training programmes; experiments for athletes to explore their connectedness, versatility and speed, and finally, race strategies and plans for competitive athletes. Based on the athlete's needs and aspirations, Masters Sculling provides you with the knowledge and skills to build an individual training plan that minimizes injury risk, achieves continuous improvement and fosters a lifelong enjoyment of the sport.

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Leseprobe

MASTERSSCULLING

TECHNIQUE AND TRAINING

DR NANCY CHURCHILL

MASTERSSCULLING

TECHNIQUE AND TRAINING

DR NANCY CHURCHILL

First published in 2020 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

This e-book first published in 2020

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 706 4

Dedicated to the athletes of the Masters Rowing Western Australia Development Teams 2016–2020.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

1MASTERS SCULLING FUNDAMENTALS

2THE SCULLING SYSTEM: BOAT AND OARS

3THE SCULLING SYSTEM: INTEGRATING THE ATHLETE

4THE SCULLING SYSTEM: PROPULSION

5DYNAMIC TECHNIQUE: PRE-DRIVE SEQUENCE

6DYNAMIC TECHNIQUE: DRIVE SEQUENCE

7ATHLETE ASSESSMENT

8ASSESSMENT REVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO TRAINING

9CREATING THE INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PROGRAMME

10RECOVERY STRATEGIES

11RECOVERY SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

12TRAINING EFFICIENTLY

13COMPETITION AND RACE PLANS

14RACING A SINGLE SCULL

Conclusion

THE SPORT OF SCULLING

Whether you are a recreational sculler or a serious competitor, the sport of sculling provides a long athletic runway. Water, with its buoyancy, supports the torso. Sculling is physiologically kinder to the human body, with water’s resistance softer than, say, a hockey ball or turf. When a sculler falls out of a boat, the landing is a splash, not a crash. Sculling can occur on many different water bodies and does not require an expensive sporting pitch or ground maintenance. For those who compete, FISA (World Rowing) is proactive in supporting Masters competition, regularly adjusting rules and age categories to accommodate changing needs. For example, in 2018 FISA (World Rowing) added three additional Masters rowing age groups (K, eighty-three to eighty-five; L, eighty-six to eighty-eight; M, eighty-nine-plus). Because of its longevity, its water-based focus and collegiality, the sport is growing, particularly for Masters.

WHO ARE MASTERS SCULLERS?

Depending on the country, Masters represent between 30 to 50 per cent of registered rowers in Australia, the US, UK and Canada. The majority of Masters are women. Their age is from twenty-seven to death! (The inclusive exception is the US, where Masters AA grade starts at twenty-one.) Independent Masters, rowing outside of the affiliated club system, swell these numbers.

Masters are the lifeblood of grass roots sculling. As well as being athletes, they are the committee members, coaches, officials, sweepers, cleaners, cake bakers and boat maintainers at the club level. Because of the significant support role Masters play, it is important to provide contemporary evidence-based information to this group not only for their own athletic development and retention in the sport. It is crucial to the long-term health of the sport as a whole.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MASTERS SCULLERS

Masters scullers have unique athletic needs. The typical child, youth or national/Olympic athlete has an average career trajectory of eight years. The structure and goals of their sculling experience is designed for that shorter participation period. By comparison, the career trajectory for a Masters sculler is measured in decades. A twenty-seven-year-old Australian Master sculler can expect to participate in the sport for forty-eight more years (male) and fifty-five more years (female).1 With the increased longevity attributable to sports participation, even older Masters can expect to enjoy many decades of sculling. As opposed to achieving greatness in a four-year secondary school career, Masters athletes have the luxury of acquiring competencies slowly and well.

With the potential for such a long athletic career, retention is an issue. First, a primary training objective is injury and illness prevention. Another training objective is sport diversity. That is, training needs to include other sports or training modalities. These ensure the athlete develops physiologically and mentally in a balanced, robust way. That diversity provides a fall-back position when injury or illness does occur. An athlete may not be able to row, but they might be able to cycle or swim.

For Masters, the sporting experience needs to be rewarding and fun. Thus, the social environment that determines how athletes interact with other athletes, coaches and support personnel is important. Equally important for retention is a social environment where Masters athletes are validated and valued by the sport.

Masters scullers differ from their younger counterparts in other ways. They have a fully formed prefrontal cortex. They learn differently. They choose differently. They behave differently. Learning strategies that work for child, youth and younger elite rowers (primarily directive approaches used with a captive audience) either will not work or, as for new learner Masters, will work only for a short time. Skills acquisition strategies need to be different with a focus on independent learning. Few, if any, Masters scullers have the luxury of a full-time coach, a part-time coach or any coach at all. The challenge to their progressing athletically becomes how best to provide information to a skilled and experienced adult who can then apply that information effectively to their own sculling practice.

Masters scullers come to the sport with robust lives: families, children, aged parents, jobs, responsibilities, travel plans, needs and opinions. They do not receive full-time scholarships to participate in the sport they love. They are self-funded. Their life/sport balance changes over the decades and, oftentimes, within the week. Because they are grown-ups, they have acquired a level of self-management skills that they can bring to their sculling practice. This aggregate of skills, experiences and personal resources can be thoughtfully levered in the process of helping these athletes to succeed in a single scull. As adults, they are capable of defining what success is for themselves. It may not be winning regattas. It may be joyfully sculling with friends on a pristine river with a picnic lunch.

THE SHIFTING WINDS OF ‘AGEING’

With regards to Masters, the elephant in the room is that somehow ‘ageing’ is a term synonymous with ‘middle-aged’, ‘old’, ‘elderly’ or ‘geriatric’. The latter tends to be pejorative, insinuating decrepitude, loss of mental capacity and need for assisted care. Ageing is a natural process that does not inherently incorporate any of these. The true ageing differentiator is ‘sedentary’ versus ‘active’. Emerging research is confirming that the longer an athlete remains active, the more irrelevant the pejorative perspective becomes. The Coaching Association of Canada states that there is no noticeable decline in physical abilities until about the age of seventy, as long as people stay active.2 And seventy is denoted only because there is so little research into the physical abilities of adult athletes beyond seventy. Realistic Masters athletic potential, particularly of older athletes, remains an unknown.

THE AGEING ATHLETE

Still sound depressing? Be assured there is very good news following in the Emerging Research section below. For now, this section is an important first step in our journey so, please, soldier on. If an athlete does not understand the ageing process, the potential for injury and illness is high. This includes musculoskeletal injury as well as systemic injuries such as overreaching and overtraining.

A word to younger Masters, too. In the age brackets from twenty-seven to thirty-nine, younger athletes may find they can continue the excesses of youth with some impunity. However, by the time forty arrives, ageing is well and truly relevant. Disease research indicates the staging for eventual non-genetic Alzheimer’s, bone density deterioration and cardiovascular disease amongst others begins in the late thirties and early forties. Some of these precursors are not reversible. They becoming ticking time bombs that explode decades later. Thus, good habits relating to sleep, nutrition, hydration, activity and stress are best formed as early as possible, as is an awareness of the ageing process.

Athletes who accept that ageing occurs are happier. This positivity gives them, on average, 7.5 more years of life.3 Because these athletes manage their athletic careers more effectively, those careers are more rewarding. By developing an informed view of the ageing process with an eye to understanding and managing it, one can benefit from the performance improvements and good mental health that can result.

Ageing. Simplistically, as one ages, physiological processes change. They slow down. They do not repair as quickly. Their efficiency decreases. Then they stop. Table 1 provides some highlights of what to expect.

Age-related change

Nutritional Implication

Decreased muscle mass

Decreased energy requirements

Decreased aerobic capacity

Decreased energy requirements

Decreased muscle glycogen (CHO) stores

Decreased energy requirements

Decreased bone density

Increased need for calcium and vitamin D

Decreased immune function

Increased need for vitamins B6, E and zinc

Decreased gastric acid

Increased need for vitamin B12, folic acid, calcium, iron and zinc

Decreased skin capacity for vitamin D synthesis

Increased need for vitamin D

Decreased calcium bioavailability

Increased need for calcium and vitamin D

Decreased liver uptake of retinol

Decreased need for vitamin A

Decreased efficiency in metabolic use of pyridoxal (one form of vitamin B6)

Increased need for vitamin B6

Increased oxidative stress status

Increased need for vitamins A, C and E

Increased levels of homocysteine (an amino acid related to heart disease)

Increased need for folate and vitamins B6 and B12

Decreased thirst perception

Increased fluid needs

Decreased kidney function

Increased fluid needs

Table 1 Major age-related changes that may influence nutrient requirements of Masters athletes. (Reaburn, P., 2019. Masters Athlete. Used with permission from www.mastersathlete.com.au)

There is good news. For athletes actively engaged in sport, the situation outlined in the table either does not apply at all or applies in a different way. This begins the revelation that some broad, overarching research-based statements may be wrong when applied to the ‘active’ as opposed to the ‘sedentary’.

Equally simplistically, but this time true, is that the human organism tends to sustain those patterns of behaviour that have got it this far in life. The primitive brain recognizes that doing things in a certain way has been evolutionarily successful for an individual. One has survived doing these things, no matter how annoying they are to family and friends. The basal ganglia, deep in the brain, manages much of unconscious behaviour, which is 95 per cent of what is happening to the human organism. This is where habits come from. And autonomic behaviour. And why most of what one does in a day is unconscious behaviour. The longer one lives, the more these habits become entrenched and more difficult to change. This aspect of the human organism has implications for an athlete’s self-coaching: how do I change that horrible wrist dropping at the release that I have just discovered and that has probably been there for ten years? If the athlete is lucky enough to have a coach, this habit-oriented behaviour has implications for them, too.

So, the body is deteriorating. The mind is on habit-driven autopilot. How does this affect an athlete’s sculling career? The answer is a function of: how well does that athlete manage the journey? One way to manage is to become informed. Another way is to target, prioritize and proceed slowly, incrementally and hierarchically. A third is to play and experiment. But first, let us review some current information and develop a fundamental understanding of what is possible.

USING RESEARCH INTELLIGENTLY

Research provides evidence-based information that informs and guides. The role of research is not to replace critical thinking, of which much is required when analysing its results. Research conclusions need to be assessed intelligently, particularly in light of how they apply to an individual. An elite Masters athlete is one who competes successfully at the national or international level. Little research exists on elite Masters athletes. In any sport. There is a virtual information vacuum for non-elite adult athletes, most of whom are dedicated and serious. Research remotely related to the non-elite targets, primarily, the question of what changes occur when the sedentary become active. For a serious athlete, this information can be grossly misleading. Regardless, all of this research is for other sports, not sculling.

The first challenge is how applicable to sculling is research from other sports? With 1,000m race times in the three- to seven-minute range, comparisons with cycling and triathlon need scrutiny. Swimming, without its loads, may be comparative timewise but not from a musculature demand. Used thoughtfully, other sport-specific research does have value. It provides insight, raises questions to explore in sculling and is leading the way with investigating adult athletic performance.

The next issue is the sample size of research studies. Elite sports studies frequently use small sample sizes because of the shortage of an available elite athlete pool. For example, one study had thirty-two male cyclists, aged thirty-five to seventy-three years, assigned to three comparison groups of fourteen, ten and eight, with the smallest group representing the fifty-five or older age group.4 This is not unusual. It does raise questions about validity and reliability.

The field of research compensates for this validity and reliability issue by building a body of studies that are confirmatory or negatory. However, because Masters research is such a new field, there are few comparable studies. Thus, one study’s conclusions may, or not, be replicated in the future. In general, sports-related research for Masters athletes, especially scullers, is an absolute frontier.

This leads back to the enthusiastically optimistic Canadian Coaching Association statement that there is no noticeable decline in physical abilities until about the age of seventy, as long as people stay active.5 This is an evidence-based statement, but the research supporting it is sparse. Thankfully, the increasing trickle of performance data and research on Masters athletes tends to support it.

THE EMERGING RESEARCH

The research for the general population, particularly the sedentary versus the active, is more available. Considered with a critical eye, it tells a different story than Table 1. For example, let’s take the first item in Table 1: ‘Decreased muscle mass’. A study questioning whether that conclusion was a result of using sedentary ageing adult subjects, as opposed to active ones, decided to use ‘masters athletes’ instead.

This study contradicts the common observation that muscle mass and strength decline as a function of aging alone. Instead, these declines may signal the effect of chronic disuse rather than muscle aging. Evaluation of masters athletes removes disuse as a confounding variable in the study of lower-extremity function and loss of lean muscle mass. This maintenance of muscle mass and strength may decrease or eliminate the falls, functional decline and loss of independence that are commonly seen in aging adults.6

That is, decreasing muscle mass is not a function of age. It is a function of chronic disuse.

Next, decreased aerobic capacity. One study across age groups for Masters-Level cyclists determined that maximal oxygen uptake, maximal heart rate, the first and second ventilatory thresholds and power output were significantly lower among subjects fifty-five and older.7 However, this is the study with only eight subjects in the fifty-five and older group. Also, these eight subjects were training 359km per week and 15.4 hours per day as compared with 283km and 9.5 hours for the forty-five to fifty-four year age group, raising the question of whether the recovery period for the older athletes was sufficient and provided an accurate comparison.

Another study compared Masters records in athletics, swimming, rowing, cycling, triathlon and weightlifting for ages thirty to the nineties and determined that record performance did decrease with age over longer distances. Rowing showed the least decline. For sprint events there was no greater decline with age.8

A comparison of athletic performance in older Masters athletes investigated performance in running and swimming at shorter distances. The findings were that all Masters age group records improved significantly over time.

While younger athletes’ performance has stagnated, Masters athletes improved their athletic performance significantly and progressively over the years. The magnitude of improvements was greater in older age groups, gradually closing the gap in athletic performance between younger and older participants.9

Some cardiovascular age-related effects are to be expected, but Masters athletes are impacted differently from sedentary peers.

Masters athletes who perform endurance training-based activities demonstrate a more favourable arterial function-structure phenotype, including lower large elastic artery stiffness, enhanced vascular endothelial function and less arterial wall hypertrophy. As such, they may represent an exemplary model of healthy or ‘successful’ vascular ageing.10

As for decreased muscle glycogen (CHO) stores, the issue may be more complicated. Protein synthesis becomes less efficient as athletes age. Protein synthesis affects the recovering of muscles damaged during training. Research indicates a need for increased protein intake, particularly immediately after exercise, with protein amounts for older athletes exceeding those of younger athletes.11 Coincidentally, muscles that are damaged may retard glycogen synthesis. Thus, insufficient protein to repair muscles may result in insufficient glycogen stores.12 That is, the issue may not be capacity to store muscle glycogen but, rather, the need to increase post-exercise protein to augment the glycogen synthesis process.13 Additional protein intake after exercise is relevant to the retention of muscle mass.

How about bone density? An article in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism investigated bone mass and bone metabolic indices in male master rowers of mean age forty-five years, comparing them to non-athletic body mass index matched controls.

… rowers also had significantly higher values of total and regional (left arm, trunk, thoracic spine, pelvis and leg) BMD [Bone Mineral Density], as well as higher BMD values for the lumbar spine and the left hip … In conclusion, the systematic training of master rowers has beneficial effects on total and regional BMD and may be recommended for preventing osteoporosis.14

The authors concluded that the metabolic findings supported the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases for the subjects.

Another study of 560 athletes recruited from the 2005 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh (US) analysed the bone mineral density of its participants, average age 65.9 years. Participants were grouped by high-impact sport or non-high-impact sport (rowing was not included). The study concludes that high-impact sports are a significant contributor to bone mineral density in Masters athletes.15 Athlete bone density does not necessarily decrease as a result of age alone, either.

The problem, however, is determining whether sculling is osteogenic (relating to the formation of bone). The study of rowers above would indicate … possibly. But with a mean age of forty-five and all men, questions remain. Osteoporosis Australia lists seated rowing as a resistance exercise but rowing, as a sport, at the same level of cycling, which has no osteogenic properties at all.16

Table 1’s remaining items can be grouped into (a) need for vitamin and mineral supplementation and (b) management of hydration, both topics that will be covered more extensively in Recovery in Chapters 10 and 11.

Ageing brings with it changes. It is unrealistic to believe that at ninety an athlete will have the same performance capabilities as at thirty. But how will those changes unfold? What the research is telling us is that participation in sport has significant protective factors and the rate of change can be attenuated by being active.

SUMMARY OF EMERGING RESEARCH

As an adult athlete, sport participation is a huge protective factor and contributes to some of the following:

•Prevention of one type of Alzheimer’s disease and delay of the onset of genetically related Alzheimer’s17

•Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease18

•Lower risk of diabetes19

•Improved cognitive abilities20

•Improved sex life21,22

•Better mental health23

•Reduced risk of osteoporosis24,25

•Reduced brain tissue loss26

•Longer lived with better quality of life27

The single biggest result of adult sports participation is a significant delay in the ageing process, with ‘use it or lose it’ a fair characterization.

Thus, the research conclusions related to active adults, generally, as well as elite adult performance are that:

•Being active provides a cornucopia of benefits with ‘active’ defined in Australia as (a) 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or (b) 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week – or a combination of the two. That’s the minimum.28

•Aerobic physical activity should be accompanied by two resistance training sessions per week, be that high-impact sports, resistance weight training, or combined with the aerobic activity above; with basketball, impact aerobics, tennis and jumping rope being some of the highly osteogenic examples.

•To accrue long-term benefits from aerobic and resistance physical activity that can slow age-related decline, this aerobic and resistance activity needs to be in place lifelong. That is, from twenty-seven to death for all Masters scullers, with emerging research indicating an increased urgency at forty and beyond.

•The research on adult athletes in all sports is showing significant performance improvements, particularly for older athletes.

•It appears that with age, endurance-based performance over long distances decreases. However, over shorter distances, the same does not appear to be true.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS FOR MASTERS SCULLING

Performance implications for adult athletes are less well understood, particularly with a dearth of research for Masters scullers (or rowers). Fortunately, robust Masters performance data exists from sanctioned regattas. It’s time to begin investigating whether the performance improvements observed in other sports are also happening in sculling. That is exactly what Rowing Australia has done.

The Rowing Australia Masters Commission, Handicap Sub-Committee studies

In 2013 the Rowing Australia Rules handicaps were twenty years old. Accompanied by diverse and intensifying discourse, older rowers seemed to be gleefully dominating the handicapped competitions. In 2013 Rowing Australia (RA) through its Masters Commission, Handicap Sub-Committee responded, observing that:

There has been increasing evidence in recent years that, while performance of masters crews in the younger A and B grades has been relatively consistent, performance in the middle age grades, C to G, has been steadily improving … The apparent improvement in performance in the middle grades has increasingly meant that racing between younger and older crews using the RA handicaps is not as close as originally intended. Younger crews seem to find it increasingly difficult to make up the time allowances in the RA tables.29

This observation coincides with the research into Masters performance over short distances in running and swimming.

FISA (World Rowing) maintains detailed performance records for its annual World Masters Rowing Championships. These events are well attended by elite athletes from many countries, providing an excellent pool of data for analysis. Using that data, the RA Handicap Sub-Committee undertook a comprehensive analysis using the FISA World Masters Regattas of 2011, 2012 and 2013 for the purpose of determining changes needed in RA Rules Masters handicapping. The final report recommended substantial changes in Australian handicaps that were quickly adopted in 2014.

In 2018 the WA Handicap Sub-Committee undertook a follow-up study. The primary motivator was to provide handicaps that aligned with the new FISA grades: J (80–82), K (83–85), L (86–88) and M (89–91). However, a review of the performance data from the FISA World Masters Regattas of 2015, 2016 and 2017 disclosed that the performance of rowers eighty and older continued to improve.

… since 2014, more data for older rowers has become available. The evidence was that rowers in age grades over 80 were achieving times better than the prognostics derived from the 2013 analysis and that therefore their time allowances (handicaps) were a little generous.… These categories require close observation in coming years to ensure the handicaps appear fair.30

Somewhat surprisingly given only five years between studies, the performance times for men’s grades E through K and women’s grades D through K were improving as well.

These studies have two important dimensions. First is the conclusion that older Masters are indeed getting faster. Figs 1 and 2 from the 2013 study provide a comparison of the M8+ and W8+ times, with analysis across all boat types and grade showing similar improvements.

Fig. 1 W8+ handicap comparison study. (Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee November 2013 Report and Recommendations, Mark Mussared, 31 October 2013, published by Rowing Australia)

Fig. 2 M8+ handicap comparison study. (Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee November 2013 Report and Recommendations, Mark Mussared, 31 October 2013, published by Rowing Australia)

The 2018 study provides a new comparison of M1X and W1X handicap as revised between 2013 and 2018 (Figs 3 and 4). Both figures show decreasing handicaps, a function of improving performance times.

Fig. 3 W1X comparison of 2013 and 2018 handicaps. (Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee July 2018 Review and Recommendations, Mark Mussared, 31 July 2018, published by Rowing Australia)

Fig. 4 M1X comparison of 2013 and 2018 handicaps. (Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee July 2018 Review and Recommendations, Mark Mussared, 31 July 2018, published by Rowing Australia)

The second dimension of the studies is that the RA Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee’s studies provides contemporary FISA (World Rowing) Masters prognostic speeds by boat class, age grade and gender. That is, the speeds that represent the best winning time for still conditions. (Although the report observes that times do not tend to vary more than 10 per cent even in stiff headwind or fast tailwind conditions.) The 2018 study also added an inaugural 1,000m mixed prognostic speed table derived mathematically.

Tables 4, 5 and 6 contain the winning prognostic speeds by boat class, age and gender (Table 6 is an average of 4 and 5). The information about other boat classes is presented here because Masters rarely compete in only a 1X. However, from this point forward in the book only the 1X times will be discussed.

The times within the tables are in metres per second (mps), a speed value that will be used throughout this book because, quite simply, it is easier to average and analyse a number (X.XXX) than a time (XX:XX:XX). Table 2 shows a sample of how to convert between time and metres per second (mps) over 1,000m. Table 3 shows a sample of the reverse process.

Distance (m)1,000Time4:40.6Convert time to seconds280.6Calculation1,000/280.6Metres per second (mps)3.564

Table 2 Sample calculation for converting 1,000m time (minutes: seconds) to metres per second (mps).

Distance (m)1,000Metres per second3.564Calculation1,000/3.564Seconds280.584Convert time to minutes04:40.6Metres per second (mps)3.564

Table 3 Sample calculation for converting 1,000 metres per second (mps) to time (minutes: second).

Developing prognostics by rating

This prognostic information is incredibly useful for self-assessment and training. Assume that the time of 3.564 mps in Table 2 is for an H grade woman in a 1X. She is sculling only slightly slower than the World Masters Championship Regatta prognostic winning time for her age grade (3.564 versus the 3.607 in Table 5). Her training programme is working well. Alternatively, if that time is for an experienced D grade man, his training programme may need refinements. Later chapters will guide the reader through assessment and training that uses this information including, if the athlete competes, how to adjust the prognostics for their country of interest.

The problem is, of course, that the speeds in Tables 4, 5 and 6 are the winning speeds. What about lower ratings? The prognostics speeds have allowed for the calculation of extrapolated prognostics, by rating, for single scull (1X) performance by Masters grade. That is, by using a formula that estimates the approximate speed for various stroke ratings, the athlete can incrementally measure their progress through the ratings against an international standard. Even at low ratings. Thus, if one is sculling for fitness and not competition, a lower rating may provide a more useful target. For competition, the highest rating provides the FISA (World Rowing) winning time.

Table 4 Men’s prognostic speeds by boat class, age and gender. Numbers in metres per second (mps).

Table 5 Women’s prognostic speeds by boat class, age and gender. Numbers in metres per second (mps).

Table 6 Mixed prognostic speeds by boat class, age and gender. Numbers in metres per second (mps).

(Tables 4–7 from Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee July 2018 Review and Recommendations, Mark Mussared, 31 July 2018, published by Rowing Australia)

Table 7 is a sample of a set of these extrapolated prognostics for ME1X and WE1X. That is, an E grade man sculling at 23 strokes per minute (spm) at 3.63 metres per stroke (mps) is performing at the prognostic for that rating. At 3.63mps, an E grade woman would be performing significantly better than the 23spm prognostic (3.22) for E grade.

Table 7 Prognostic speed by rating for E grade 1X calculated using Tables 4 and 5 prognostic speeds as 100 per cent.

These prognostics speeds will reappear in the chapters on self-assessment, training and performance assessment. By way of caution, while these prognostics by rating have proven extremely useful for training and performance development, they are not inviable. For example, if a performance sculler cannot rate 34–36spm efficiently, the assumed rating for that winning speed, that sculler will need to recalculate the required speed at their optimal rating.

A debate may ensue about the precision of the rate of speed drop-off due to drag. The meticulous scientists will advocate for a better level of precision in how these lower rating speeds are calculated. The data and methodology are provided so that the scientists can refine as needed. Given the current alternatives, though, this approach is a good starting point. In addition, the prognostics are for ‘still’ conditions meaning: not applicable to 99 per cent of real world conditions. But useful, nonetheless.

AN EXPERIMENT OF ONE

A healthy level of suspicion about the conclusions of research studies, performance reports, the blanket statements of others or book content (including this one) is a good protective characteristic in an adult athlete. The primary reason is: no matter what, each athlete is an experiment of one.

Refer to the sample scattergram of Fig. 5. The data show results for thirty mythical athletes. The data demonstrate a distinct upward trend and a statistically significant result. But, which one of those little dots is you? Is it the dot that showed a negative change? Or is it the dot that showed a large significant positive change? The conclusions of the study will be aggregated into a summary conclusion based on the statistics and trends, a conclusion that may not apply at all to that little individual dot that is you.

Fig. 5 Sample scattergram for discussion purposes.

Thus, research and someone else’s personal experience have a place. They provide information or new ideas to try. However, how research or someone else’s experience applies to an individual athlete is an enduring question. The responsibility falls to the adult athlete to navigate these troubled waters and, first and foremost, to conduct their own experiment of one as they progress along their sculling journey.

CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT OF ONE

This book is all about individual experimentation. Each athlete is so unique that blanket directive statements (do this, do that) are unhelpful. The strategy contained herein is a lifelong learning approach (try this, try that). Because even if an approach works this year, five years from now and with the same athlete, it may no longer work.

For example, the information about the nutritional needs of adults is indicating that those involved in activity, particularly new activities, need more protein. (The needs for beginners often outweigh that of experienced athletes because the beginner’s metabolic processes are not attuned to the demands.)31 This information presents the question: how much protein does a unique individual athlete need? The answer is best answered by individual experimentation. In this case a simple experiment might be to try, for two weeks, various post-workout nutrition and hydration strategies that target protein.

The experiment: what works best for the athlete in terms of compliance and reduction in post-workout symptoms such as fatigue and muscle pain? Is it a 600ml carton of chocolate milk? Or, is a tuna sandwich on white bread more appealing? But the milk helps hydrate, too. Does that make hydration easier or more complicated because the athlete just drank 800ml of diluted electrolyte at the end of the training? When answered, an appealing aspect of individual experiments is that if an approach works, an athlete is more inclined to integrate it into their sculling practice. This as opposed to telling a group of adults they must all do the same thing in an identical way, an approach doomed to failure.

Then, five years (or months) later when a food allergy to milk (or bread) unexpectedly presents itself, the athlete now has the experience to replicate the previous experiment and develop a new tactic. Perhaps their more mature palate decides: fruit, soy yoghurt and nuts. The available research information can guide, experienced information can inform, but only the athlete can decide what truly works for them, especially in changing conditions.

This model of experimentation carries through rigging, technique, training, assessment, performance, nutrition, supplementation and so many other topics in this book. The expectation is that each athlete is empowered to explore and learn. When incredibly diverse individuals aged twenty-seven and onward consider information that may apply to them, the hope is they will do it with a critical mind. Their discoveries will add to the body of knowledge about the sport with everyone joining this journey into the frontier of possibilities.

Endnotes

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3302.0 – Deaths, Australia, 2010.www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Products/57E4ADF3F2034BCECA-257943000CEE0B?opendocument

2 Coaching Association of Canada. Coaching Masters Athletes.www.coach.ca/files/Coaching_Master_Athletes_FINAL_EN.pdf.

3 Levy, B.R., Slade, M.D., Kunkel, S.R., Kasl, S.V., ‘Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging’, J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002 Aug; 83(2): pp.261–270. PubMed PMID: 12150226.

4 Peiffer, J.J., Abbiss, C.R., Chapman, D., Laursen, P.B., Parker, D.L., ‘Physiological characteristics of masters-level cyclists’, J. Strength Cond Res. 2008 Sep; 22(5): pp.1434–1440. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318181a0d2. PubMed PMID: 18714246.

5 Coaching Association of Canada. Coaching Masters Athletes, www.coach.ca/files/Coaching_Master_Athletes_FINAL_EN.pdf.

6 Wroblewski, A.P., Amati, F., Smiley, M.A., Goodpaster, B., Wright, V., ‘Chronic exercise preserves lean muscle mass in masters athletes’, Phys Sportsmed. 2011 Sep; 39(3): pp.172–178. doi: 10.3810/psm.2011.09.1933. PubMed PMID: 22030953.

7 Peiffer, J.J., Abbiss, C.R., Chapman, D., Laursen, P.B., Parker, D.L., ‘Physiological characteristics of masters-level cyclists’, J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Sep; 22(5): pp.1434–1440. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318181a0d2. PubMed PMID: 18714246.

8 Baker, A.B., Tang, Y.Q., ‘Aging performance for masters records in athletics, swimming, rowing, cycling, triathlon, and weightlifting’, Exp Aging Res. 2010 Oct; 36(4): pp.453–477. doi: 10.1080/0361073X.2010.507433. PubMed PMID: 20845122.

9 Akkari, A., Machin, D., Tanaka, H., ‘Greater progression of athletic performance in older Masters athletes’, Age Ageing. 2015 Jul; 44(4): pp.683–686. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afv023. Epub 2015 Mar 8. PubMed PMID: 25753790.

10 DeVan, A.E., Seals, D.R., ‘Vascular health in the ageing athlete’, Exp Physiol. 2012 Mar; 97(3): pp.305–310. doi: 10.1113/expphysiol.2011.058792. Epub 2012 Jan 20. PubMed PMID: 22266948; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3303941.

11 Doering, T.M., Reaburn, P.R., Phillips, S.M., Jenkins, D.G., ,Postexercise Dietary Protein Strategies to Maximize Skeletal Muscle Repair and Remodeling in Masters Endurance Athletes: A Review’, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2016 Apr; 26(2): pp.168–178. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0102. Epub 2015 Sep 24. Review. PubMed PMID: 26402439.

12 Murray, B., Rosenbloom, C., ‘Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes’, Nutr Rev. 2018 Apr 1; 76(4): pp.243–259. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuy001. PubMed PMID: 29444266; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6019055.

13 Betts, J.A., Williams, C., ‘Short-term recovery from prolonged exercise: exploring the potential for protein ingestion to accentuate the benefits of carbohydrate supplement’, Sports Med. 2010 Nov 14 40(11): pp.941–959. doi: 10.2165/11536900-000000000-00000. Review. PubMed PMID: 20942510.

14 liwicka, E., Nowak, A., Zep, W., Leszczy ski, P., Pilaczy ska-Szcze niak, Ł., ‘Bone mass and bone metabolic indices in male master rowers.’, J Bone Miner Metab. 2015 Sep; 33(5): pp.540–546. doi: 10.1007/s00774-014-0619-1. Epub 2014 Sep 16. PubMed PMID: 25224128.

15 Leigey, D., Irrgang, J., Francis, K., Cohen, P., Wright, V., ‘Participation in high-impact sports predicts bone mineral density in senior olympic athletes’, Sports Health. 2009 Nov; 1(6): pp.508–513. doi: 10.1177/1941738109347979. PubMed PMID: 23015914; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3445153.

16 Osteoporosis Australia. Exercise. www.osteoporosis.org.au/exercise.

17 Chen, W.W., Zhang, X., Huang, W.J., ‘Role of physical exercise in Alzheimer’s disease’, Biomed Rep. 2016 Apr; 4(4): pp.403–407. doi: 10.3892/br.2016.607. Epub 2016 Feb 22. PubMed PMID: 27073621; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4812200.

18 Carnethon, M.R., ‘Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease: How Much is Enough?’, Am J Lifestyle Med. 2009 Jul; 3(1 Suppl): pp.44S– 49S. doi: 10.1177/1559827609332737. PubMed PMID: 20419076; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2857374.

19 Aune, D., Norat, T., Leitzmann, M., Tonstad, S., Vatten, L.J., ‘Physical activity and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis’, Eur J Epidemiol. 2015 Jul; 30(7): pp.529–542. doi: 10.1007/s10654-015-0056-z. Epub 2015 Jun 20. Review. PubMed PMID: 26092138.

20 Gomez-Pinilla, F., Hillman, C., ‘The influence of exercise on cognitive abilities’, Compr Physiol. 2013 Jan; 3(1): pp.403–428. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c110063. Review. PubMed PMID: 23720292; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3951958.

21 Stanton, A.M., Handy, A.B., Mestoncm. ‘The Effects of Exercise on Sexual Function in Women’, Sex Med Rev. 2018 Oct; 6(4): pp.548–557. doi: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2018.02.004. Epub 2018 Mar 30. Review. PubMed PMID: 29606554.

22 White, J.R., Case, D.A., McWhirter, D., Mattison, A.M., ‘Enhanced sexual behavior in exercising men’, Arch Sex Behav. 1990 Jun; 19(3): pp.193–209. PubMed PMID: 2360871.

23 Penedo, F.J., Dahn, J.R., ‘Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity’, Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2005 Mar; 18(2): pp.189–193. PubMed PMID: 16639173.

24 Borer, K.T., ‘Physical activity in the prevention and amelioration of osteoporosis in women: interaction of mechanical, hormonal and dietary factors’, Sports Med. 2005; 35(9): pp.779–830. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200535090-00004. Review. PubMed PMID: 16138787.

25 McMillan, L.B., Zengin, A., Ebeling, P.R., Scott, D., Prescribing Physical Activity for the Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis in Older Adults. Healthcare (Basel). 2017 Nov 6; 5(4). doi: 10.3390/healthcare5040085. Review. PubMed PMID: 29113119; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5746719.

26 Colcombe, S.J., Erickson, K.I., Raz, N., Webb, A.G., Cohen, N.J., McAuley, E., Kramer, A.F., ‘Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans’, J. Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2003 Feb; 58(2): pp.176– 180. doi: 10.1093/gerona/58.2.m176. PubMed PMID: 12586857.

27 Lear, S.A., Hu, W., Rangarajan, S., Gasevic, D., Leong, D., Iqbal, R., Casanova, A., Swaminathan, S., Anjana, R.M., Kumar, R., Rosengren, A., Wei, L., Yang, W., Chuangshi, W., Huaxing, L., Nair, S., Diaz, R., Swidon, H., Gupta, R., Mohammadifard, N., Lopez-Jaramillo, P., Oguz, A., Zatonska, K., Seron, P., Avezum, A., Poirier, P., Teo, K., Yusuf, S., ‘The effect of physical activity on mortality and cardiovascular disease in 130,000 people from 17 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: the PURE study’, Lancet. 2017 Dec 16; 390(10113): pp.2643–2654. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31634-3. Epub 2017 Sep 21. PubMed PMID: 28943267.

28 Australian Government Department of Health, Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Adults (18–64 years).www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines#apaadult.

29 Mussared, M., October 2013. Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee November 2013 Report and Recommendation. Rowing Australia: Canberra.

30 Mussared, M., July 2018. Rowing Australia Masters Commission Handicap Sub-Committee July 2018 Review and Recommendation New Masters Age Grade Brackets Above Age 80, and Revised Handicaps. Rowing Australia: Canberra.

31 Phillips, S.M., Van Loon, L.J., ‘Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation’, J Sports Sci. 2011; 29 Suppl 1: pp.S29–38. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2011.619204. Review. PubMed PMID: 22150425.

THE SCULLINGSYSTEM: BOATAND OARS

Sculling on a lake above the Arctic Circle, on the Blackwood River in Western Australia, or on a buoyed course at a regatta, most scullers pursue the sport because it involves the joy of being on the water. This requires equipment. The equipment acts as an extension of the athlete, whose purpose is providing propulsion. To scull well means understanding the systematic relationship between that equipment and the athlete.

The sculling system includes three components: a single sculling boat (1X), oars and the athlete. Each component of the sculling system has its own individual characteristics, which differ at rest and in motion. The working relationship amongst the static components, with the later addition of propulsion, reveals a highly complex system. The athlete who understands each component at rest and in motion, as well as how the components interrelate, will be able to make an intelligent assessment of how best to optimize their sculling system.

This chapter discusses the single scull and oars. It introduces concepts that will be used in later chapters to explore technique. It begins the discussion of how the sculling system works, with underpinnings of physics and fluid dynamics. The focus is on how this information can be more easily understood and practically used.

THE SINGLE SCULLING BOAT

A boat is designed by balancing two factors: stability and speed. Boat designers pay special attention to a boat’s purpose when engineering to these factors. For example, an ocean-going barge needs to carry large loads in rough weather. It is designed to be stable. The design trade-offs are that hull efficiency and speed are reduced. In comparison, a scull is designed for speed, while stability is reduced. Designers explore the limits of how to achieve speed. One result is a narrow, long boat. Scull design is further refined based on the skill level and weight of the intended athlete. Novice boats are designed to be more stable. They are wider than elite boats and sometimes shorter. Boats for heavier athletes are wider and/or longer. World Rowing (FISA) provides additional design limits stipulating a 1X minimum weight of 14kg and minimum length of 7.2m (Rules 39 and 41).1 The weight includes all essential items: rigger, stretchers, shoes, slides and seat.

The design of a single scull has not changed substantively in decades. The materials used to construct the scull have been more influential. Nothing on the horizon indicates that significant performance improvements through boat design are in the offing. The current reality is that scull designs are only slightly nuanced. The most realistic way of improving sculling performance is not through the equipment but through the athlete’s fitness and technique.

The single sculling boat at rest

Stability is a function of a boat’s width, height and depth of hull. An optimally stable vessel will have a ratio of width to length closer to 1.00, almost square, and a hull depth that supports the design load, much of that load being below the waterline. A boat designed to go fast, such as a 1X, will have a much lower ratio of width to length, closer to 0.05. This means the vessel is long, narrow and less robust in its load-carrying characteristics. The low width to length ratio means that, when loaded, the boat is less stable.

Without wind or waves, a scull (without its riggers) will float comfortably in the water (Fig. 6). It is buoyant because of its concave shape, which displaces an equivalent weight in water. This is because the centre of mass of the 1X is in the same place as the centre of gravity. With wind and waves, the 1X may roll a bit, but even in this rolled position will resume its original position when the wind and waves abate.

Fig. 6 Single sculling boat (1X) without its rigger showing stability of hull design.

The boat will not remain flat and balanced when the rigger is added. The rigger raises the centre of mass and, because the rigger extends out from the hull, gravity becomes a factor. Assume the 1X has no decking and is only the hull. The centre of mass is that point at the bottom of the hull where the boat could be balanced on a single point. When decking is added, the centre of mass is raised. When the rigger is added, the centre of mass goes up again. However, because both the rigger and decking are only small proportions of the mass of the hull, the total effect of these additions to the hull on the centre of mass of the athleteless system is small. The boat rides a little lower in the water, but not much.

Then a small ripple or breeze comes up. The boat moves and the centre of mass and the centre of gravity, which were in perfect alignment before, shift. Because the centre of mass and the centre of gravity are not the same, gravity attracts the rigger on the side of the boat to which the centre of mass has shifted. The rigger on one side lowers and, because it is attached to the boat, the boat rolls (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7 The effect of adding the rigger to the single sculling boat (1X) and the effect of the higher centre of mass and change in centre of gravity.

The effect of adding an athlete is not small. An athlete of 75kg in a boat of 14kg comprises 84 per cent of the total mass. This 75kg sitting on a seat raised above the deck means: the centre of mass of the system has been raised by orders of magnitude. The boat plus athlete, without oars, is now inherently unstable. When the mass of the athlete is in perfect alignment, and the centre of mass and gravity are the same, the boat will ride in the water the same as if it had no athlete or rigger (albeit lower). If the centre of mass shifts, gravity takes over. With such a high centre of mass, and with a mass that shifts because humans are mobile, it is very difficult to sit in a 1X without oars and not capsize.

Gates: the connecting point with oars

The gates (oarlocks) at the end of the rigger are the sculling system connection point for the boat and the oars. Gates provide several functions. Even though they swing, gates provide a stable connection point. To facilitate this, the gate is laterally flat on its inboard side. The oars are likewise flat at the button (collar). The two surfaces are flush when connected, requiring a small amount of outward pressure to make that connection. When the oars are connected at the gate/button interface, the scull characteristics change from those of the boat alone to that of a boat with, essentially, outriggers. The increase in system stability is significant. A gentle outward thumb pressure on the oar handles achieves this connection, allowing the hand and fingers to remain loose on the handles.

Fig. 8 Thumb position with slight outward pressure and relaxed hands.

The single sculling boat in motion

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