Three more drills to learn sequentially which will improve your recovery. These will help fix balance issues.
Timestamps
00:45 Finesse really helps in the recovery
Crew alignment, bladework skills and body movement. The benefit is that the boat slows down less when you achieve these. The biggest gains in boat speed can be achieved here (assuming you aren't going to get much fitter/stronger).
By keeping the same peak in the power but slow the boat down less on the recovery, the average speed of the boat each stroke will be higher, and you will go faster.
Our teaching method: do one drill and then layer another drill on top of it - making it progressively harder. this allows you to build your skill and also crews of different ability can row together.
04:00 Skimming drill
Understand the impact your hands and handle heights have on boat balance.
On the recovery - let your oars run along the surface during the recovery. This teaches where the oar handles need to be relative to each other. The water is level - so your handles reflect the correct height during the power phase. In sculling this also helps to recognise the left hand over the right hand differential. Check the "nested" versus "stacked" hands demonstration at the crossover position.
Then add progressively deeper tap downs on the recovery - 1 cm, 2 cm, 3, cm. Can you keep the boat level?
It can be hard to keep your left hand higher than the right from half slide to the catch (the left hand is always higher than the right).
08:45 Pauses drills
From hands away / body over / quarter slide. Advanced rowers can also pause at weight on the feet. This is explained in the drills compendium.
Build on the skimming drill - now check your hands and body posture at different stages of the recovery. Watch the elbows of the person in front for timing.
10:15 Reverse ratio drill
The idea here is to arrive at full compression with your blade already in the water. Time the movement so the blade placement is before you change direction on the seat. Go fast up the slide and then drift your oars through the power phase. This helps you to make handle movements fluid.
Buy the Drills Compendium (24 drills and 3 bonus ebooks)
https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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13:51
Progressive drills for stroke power
How to increase stroke power using three layered drills.
Timestamps
00:45 Drills for power
These are all part of the Drills Compendium (24 drills + 3 ebooks bundle).
Masters rowers tend to row a good leg drive and arm draw but neglect the back swing. The back is crucial to joining the leg drive and arm draw. How to ensure back swing adds to the speed of the boat.
03:15 The body sequence
From the catch (where boat is slowest) the stroke power takes the boat to its fastest speed. After the leg drive is half completed you need to start to layer the back swing so it overlaps with the end of the leg drive. Later the arm draw overlaps with the end of the back swing.
Learn how to use each body part in turn without dropping boat power at the changeover.
04:30 Body swing only drill
This is the least intuitive part! Start with legs straight and arms straight with blade in the water while leaning forwards. Swing your back to take the stroke and take the oars out when your. back swing is completed. Do this square blades and then once confident, add power to the stroke by engaging your core and glutes.
06:00 Body and arms and half slide rowing are the second and third parts of this drill. The glutes provide the connection between the legs and back. By building up the stroke progressively you should feel the spoon of the blade accelerate through the water - as you add in more body parts this must continue. The arms have to pick up already moving water (from your back swing) and make it faster still.
In a crew add in more people so the boat goes faster - notice how your body movements have to change to take account of the boat moving faster. If you aren't adding to the acceleration you should feel that you have no pressure on the end of the blade.
Try an exaggeration rowing at half slide and finish your legs/back/arms at the same time.
10:30 Our teaching method
The way we teach is designed to work for adult learners. We teach how we row and then make it progressively harder so you can continue to challenge yourself, continue to experiment with ways to make the movement and lastly check your experience with your crew mates - am I getting the right feeling here? Even the most experienced rowers can do these alongside the less experienced.
Do the drills at least 3 times in a single practice so you're familiar with the drill and can see your progress as you do it better each time.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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12:45
Faster Masters Intro 6 with AI
Learn steps towards getting a good catch using drills.
Timestamps
00:45 Am I done learning the stroke yet? Asked an athlete…. only once!
The catch is challenging to learn – supporting your learning with drills means you can self-coach as well as getting coached.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/
Michael sends his crews the drills video the night before practice.
Athletes need to know what to do in a drill and (importantly) why they are doing this drill. There are two main types of drill – exaggeration drills and isolation drills.
02:15 Handle height
This is where learning the catch starts – the height of the handle has to be understood so you know how high/low the handle needs to be. Describe the stroke cycle in high/low handle heights including the “ramp up” towards the catch position.
Learn this stationary in the boat. When the oars are flat on the water at the catch, the handle height is the same as when the oars are squared. Teaching how to arrive at this height the drill is “Slap Catches” so the athlete knows the precise moment their handle reaches the correct catch height – and the aural sound helps to align timing on both sides of the boat. Learn when to go up “the ramp”.
04:30 Making a shape
You have to actively lift your hands to make the catch ‘shape’ with the handle. Learning when and how to do this is the next stage in progressive learning. After squaring the blade, if you make the catch shape too early, the oar hits the water. If you square and your handle is too high on the recovery the oar will hit the water. An early square helps and you can figure out how high (low) the handle needs to be on the recovery so as to not hit the water.
When to make the shape? Use the second drill – backsplash drill – so the lower edge of the oar hits the water just as the handle lifts. You can hear and feel the backsplash.
06:20 Catch timing
This is relative to your body movement and the seat. Your seat is a good proxy for body movement because there’s a short moment when the seat rolls forward and stops as it changes direction. That’s when you need the oar to already be under the water.
The third drill (sweep) is to row with inside hand holding the back of the seat so you can tell when it changes direction. In sculling row with one oar only (someone holds the boat level). Watch the height of your knees too as this is also a good visual marker.
Our discussion continued around ways to keep handle moving towards the stern while placing the oar at the catch.
This series can be learned in a few practice – do two each time you go on the water. Take care that you understand the why as well as the how.
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0:39
Progressively learning the catch
Learn steps towards getting a good catch using drills.
Timestamps
00:45 Am I done learning the stroke yet? Asked an athlete.... only once!
The catch is challenging to learn - supporting your learning with drills means you can self-coach as well as getting coached.
https://fastermastersrowing.com/member-register/drills/
Michael sends his crews the drills video the night before practice.
Athletes need to know what to do in a drill and (importantly) why they are doing this drill. There are two main types of drill - exaggeration drills and isolation drills.
02:15 Handle height
This is where learning the catch starts - the height of the handle has to be understood so you know how high/low the handle needs to be. Describe the stroke cycle in high/low handle heights including the "ramp up" towards the catch position.
Learn this stationary in the boat. When the oars are flat on the water at the catch, the handle height is the same as when the oars are squared. Teaching how to arrive at this height the drill is "Slap Catches" so the athlete knows the precise moment their handle reaches the correct catch height - and the aural sound helps to align timing on both sides of the boat. Learn when to go up "the ramp".
04:30 Making a shape
You have to actively lift your hands to make the catch 'shape' with the handle. Learning when and how to do this is the next stage in progressive learning. After squaring the blade, if you make the catch shape too early, the oar hits the water. If you square and your handle is too high on the recovery the oar will hit the water. An early square helps and you can figure out how high (low) the handle needs to be on the recovery so as to not hit the water.
When to make the shape? Use the second drill - backsplash drill - so the lower edge of the oar hits the water just as the handle lifts. You can hear and feel the backsplash.
06:20 Catch timing
This is relative to your body movement and the seat. Your seat is a good proxy for body movement because there's a short moment when the seat rolls forward and stops as it changes direction. That's when you need the oar to already be under the water.
The third drill (sweep) is to row with inside hand holding the back of the seat so you can tell when it changes direction. In sculling row with one oar only (someone holds the boat level). Watch the height of your knees too as this is also a good visual marker.
Our discussion continued around ways to keep handle moving towards the stern while placing the oar at the catch.
This series can be learned in a few practice - do two each time you go on the water. Take care that you understand the why as well as the how.
Want easy live streams like this? Instant broadcasts to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Faster Masters uses StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5694205242376192
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11:02
Rushing and Shoulder Lifting
What you do on the recovery affects what you do on the power phase.
Timestamps
00:45 What you do on the recovery
What you do as you approach the catch is likely the first thing you do on the power phase. Any errors get transitioned to the next stroke. Three common things happen - shoulder lifting, rushing the slide and the oar going too deep at the catch.
01:30 Shoulder lifting
This is putting the oar in the water by lifting your shoulders to feel the oar connection to the water. To prevent this, start at the finish of the prior stroke. By getting the arms/body transition (pre-stretching) correct on the recovery you can improve your catch and remove the shoulder lift.
One of the reasons we rock forward later in the recovery is that it feels like you're getting more length. But this makes you focus on the handle so when you take the catch, you're still focused on the handle and so you pull (not push) to make connection with the water.
Goal is to connect with minimal body movement - ideally only your knee to ankle moves.
compounding - reaching more at the catch slows it down because your body weight causes the stern to push down into the water and you have to lift the handle to make the placement but you're working against yourself because you're also leaning and create a greater height the handle has to move to get the spoon under the water.
If you don't shoulder-lift you are more likely to be on time at the catch.
05:30 Rushing the slide
By accelerating the slide in the second half of the recovery this causes rushing. The pre-stretch gives you time on the recovery - you can work out how quickly you want to arrive at the catch. You don't need to move anything except bend your knees. Weight on the footstretcher gives you the feeling of control of the slide speed.
Check your handle speed at the finish compared to the person in front of you to ensure you are in time with them.
If you row longer than anyone else (long legs) you have to slide because you're taller. Starting to roll up the slide before completing the pre-stretch gives a false timing signal to the people behind you.
Ratio is another cause of rushing especially if you're doing a one to one ratio. Insufficient power through the water causes 1:1 ratio and makes it hard to do the recovery without rushing.
A lack of awareness can also cause you to rush - is your body weight on the back of the seat (your bum side not your legs side). You should feel your body weight under where your thighs join your bum on the recovery (after the rock forward).
Let your hamstrings relax more on the recovery so the forward momentum of the boat pushes you up the slide (with weight on the footstretcher).
11:30 Going too deep
When the oar goes into the water it goes too deep initially. Starting on the recovery, if you don't push down on the handles to get the oar spoon clear of the water before you feather you will probably carry the handles too high on the recovery. The compounding issue is that in order to square without hitting the water, you have to push your handles down. You over-do the lift and so the oar goes too deep into the water.
Pushing down to square also causes you to drop your shoulders and then when you get to the timing of the catch you lift your hands and also lift your shoulders (they're tense) and this causes you to go deep because your whole body block lifts up. The catch should only be done by the arms to lift the handle and the knee to ankle to push on the foot stretcher. Make a small upward movement on the handle to place the oar only using your arms.
So squaring late can cause you to mis-time the catch as well. If your oars go too deep - take a look at what you do at the finish and see if that causes you to mis-time the catch as a compounding technique error.
Solutions come from video - three strokes of yourself from 90 degrees square off - slow it down to watch as you compare it to a model of good rowing / sculling.
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