When anyone announces that they are going to row an ocean, the first thought for most is of countless hours of training on an indoor rowing machine or ergometer (erg). Firstly, there are no right or wrong answers just opinions. Some opinions are based on their own experience of ocean rowing, but it’s worth remembering that no one crossing is the same.
The above statement is true for members even of the same boat, but for different reasons. These could be expectations, previous physical and mental conditioning or just their ability, or lack off, to deal with the many ‘moments’ every individual faces as part of the “World’s Toughest Row”. Whilst hugely important, they are not the topic for today’s blog.
Pros
The biggest pro for me is specificity, now I hear you all screaming “ergs don’t float!” And I agree they don’t, but by practicing the movement patterns I can begin to understand some of the issues I may face by prolonged activity in the same position. I can get this exposure anywhere with the use of an erg, I can use this practice to address the right type of clothing to reduce unnecessary rubbing or chaffing; I can firm up my hands through repetition and calluses and I can ensure I have suitable footwear.
These are arguably the 3 main contact points and whilst an hour row pales in comparison to 40+ days on the Atlantic Ocean rowing for 2 hours on 2 hours off. But we can build on this without hooking up trailers, launching the boat, etc. As we develop our volume, we’ll begin to recall the same emotions that everyone faces when rowing past 20 minutes or 30 minutes for the first time. Which brings me onto the fourth and most important contact point, the mind. The erg is unforgiving, naturally it has no emotions but it invokes different emotions in everyone who takes the seat and begins to strap their feet in. Scenery doesn’t change and watching the numbers can challenge the mind, but it can be a friend, it doesn’t need to be a foe. To weather the mind, we must face challenges and experience levels of discomfort that align us to our goal, not to hurt us, but to build resilience. Stealing a quote from David Goggins, “You have to build calluses on your brain just like how you build calluses on your hands”. This builds success; this builds resilience; this builds an acceptance that you are in control; but you don’t own it, you’re only present in that moment!
The other pro that stands out during this year especially has been dealing with the pandemic. I physically can’t row a 4 man boat on my own; we can’t meet up as a team and rowing clubs have been open and then closed. The erg had allowed me to continue to get weathered to the challenge whilst building physical and mental resilience all on my very own at any time of the day or night.
Cons
Repetition can build resentment, doing the same thing all the time is not always a positive outcome. Each individual will have a different level of tolerance to repetition, naturally, but it is recognised and has been accepted for generations with the saying “variety is the spice of life”.
The very nature of this task means we will become more and more conditioned as we progress, as we adapt and as our mind and bodies settle into the daily grind. Once we go past the shock of capture and our homeostasis begins to level out or performance will improve. Just because I know this, doesn’t mean I want to reach that point too soon or even at all in training, but I definitely want to stretch my potential and raise my performance ceiling.
By training always on the erg, it doesn’t necessarily make me better on the erg. My body demands I look after myself by strengthening the muscles supporting the joints and ensuring the joints are supple. I get this result by NOT being on the erg all the time and by carefully selecting my exercises to support the strength, flexibility and functionality of my body.
The Blended Approach
I ensure the erg is a staple in my programming but not at the sacrifice of my strength work. Out of the 6 days a week I train, the erg will factor in 3, not all low and slow because again I too want a bit of variety. But I do recognise the value in the low and slow as I need to be conditioned both physically and mentally to row (albeit in stages) for 12 hours per day, every day for 40+ days.
How do you plan for this? I deliberated over this for some time at 12 months out from the start but I always came back to my original question “how do you row an Ocean?………the answer, by one stroke at a time!” So that was it, I wanted milestones with variety. Each quarter has a slightly different focus, but each will build separate components that I can use as Lego bricks to build my ocean rowing foundations. Some may have seen my 4, 5, 6, 8 and 12 hour rows, these were part of phase one and perfect during national lockdown version 3. These were always supported with weekly strength training and on reflection for all purposes, they challenged me both mentally and physically in the way that I had hoped. Phase 2 is to prepare for our on the water training week, which has seen me drop the volume of rowing with an increase in functional strength training. This was identified as a weakness that I felt within my body through 12 hours of rowing. My next phase will see me amend my current training based on my functionality (results) from our training week and may well see an increase in erg training. The erg is another tool in my toolbox to prepare me sufficiently for rowing the Atlantic Ocean. It’s certainly not the singular key to success, the key will come from how well all the separate components combine to make me strong, flexible, mentally agile while being exposed and conditioned to the harsh realities of competing in the World’s Toughest Row.
Project Lead,
Capt Scott Pollock