speed
how can i make my 4+ go faster?
its has an novice cox but four seasoned rowers. we are juniors. our coach is of little help. i was thinking more on the line of motivation for us and maby if there are any secrets that any one would like to share (chances are we wont race eachother unless they are really good tricks.
Is there anyone you can race at your club? I always found that the best way to stay motivated in that boat was to have someone to go up against. It is always a help to know what you can do. And, its always good to have someone to train against.
Whenever I coached coxed fours it was very helpful to have someone to train against. That way you are able to keep it interesting with switches and different line-ups. If that isn't possible though just try to stay focused on a season goal and you can test your speed against the clock or on with the speedcoach (if you have it)
Coxed fours are tricky though, there really is nowhere to hide so it can go well or it can get ugly pretty fast.
I would work on getting trained technically so you row the boat well and try to get a lot of your conditioning in on the land (erg) until you can get really beneficial workouts done on the water. Then it's just a matter of keeping people motivated on the end goal.
Let us know how it's going.
the only boat to race against is a mens 4 but they practice while we are in school
although there is no harm in asking
weve put so much time into rowing that the other members ask us for advice so my next plan is to video tape when we get back on the water in the spring.
dose anyone know of any kind of faults that are hard to notice?
and how about race stragities
Just make sure that any changes to your technique just aren’t cosmetic but rather used to increase your boat speed. So make sure you look at your body in relation to the blade. I think many people get so caught up with how their bodies should look and feel that they forget to look to their blade to reinforce their technical change.
As for race strategies, you got to focus internally first before taking note of where the field is. However, remember, you got to be in the race to win it. So row your own race.
hey frank
Look at a book like Volker Nolte's Rowing Faster- or even better, John McArthur's High Performance Rowing (more uselful at your level). Make a plan: short, intermediate and long terms goals using the research you've done- and stick to them.
Just keep going. If you're still in school then all you guys need do is train hard (aka smart), race harder and be consistent with just about everything you do. Your coach might not be as useless as you think- he can hold a video camera can't he? I find that taping sessions should not be done too often as the crew starts focussing too much on what stuff should look like, but they do help.
I've rowed with Olympiac finalists who look ape-like and awkward while they're rowing, but they row hard and concentrate on their goasl all the time. The thing that counts most in a boat like a 4+ is rowing hard TOGETHER. Technique will come in small steps.
Read. Plan. Do.
Later
Ah, the straight four underhanded conversion technique! Add seconds instantly!
if the boat won't go fast with the cox, it's highly unlikely that the boat will go fast without the cox. for one, i bet your bowman has no experience steering...=P
Hi Frank. What kind of coxed four are we talking about here?