As COVID-19 continues to shape the year of 2020, it is time to start thinking about how we can best prepare physically for the New Year!
Most rowers will have some time off for Christmas; it is essential to enjoy this time, but also to consider the dip in training loads that can occur. A spike in training is one of the many factors that can lead to injury.
Consistency is vital – but should you be stressed about training as much during the Christmas week than any other ordinary training week? What is the minimum effort can you input to the system to avoid a shock to the system once training (or training camps) resume?
Relative rest is best – go for a walk or a swim, try yoga or pilates. Aim to train on the erg or water twice a week. Otherwise, a gym session and a run or bike ride may be a suitable alternative.
A key ingredient is to load up your chest wall! Running and cycling are excellent cross-training methods, but it is crucial to perform some upper body strength training to avoid rib stress injuries. Rib stress fractures are not particularly common in adolescent rowers, but they can be debilitating and can potentially end your season (with a 10-12+ week recovery).
Bone is continuously recycling, with old bone cells removed, and new bone cells laid. Training and recovery will affect the rate at which these processes occur.
Picture a see-saw – you have the training on one side and recovery on the other. For the most part, these may fluctuate slightly (small amounts of overload will strengthen the bone, much like a muscle). This enables stronger bone to be laid down by adaptation processes. If we have too much training, relative to the amount of recovery, the bone will not have enough opportunity to lay down new bone cells to replace those taken away. This causes the bone to deplete due to less bone being replaced, and if this process continues, a stress fracture (break) may develop.
How do you load up your chest wall? – Simple! Push-ups, Planks, Pull-Ups, Rows, Rowing, bench press, bench pull.
Despite the goal of two training sessions a week; if you are transitioning from two sessions a week to six or seven, that is a three to four-fold increase in the number of training sessions! This may be significant in developing lower back pain, rib injuries or forearm pain.
Top Tips:
- Aim to train 2x a week with some upper body/chest wall loading over the Christmas break, ideally by actually rowing itself
- Pick an activity that will benefit your mind, and also applies well to rowing, e.g. yoga, pilates, running, swimming, or cycling. Try something new!
- Progressively build up training in the lead up to January Rowing Camps, so your muscles and bones have an opportunity to adapt.
Otherwise, enjoy the festive season, and I wish you all the best for the New Year!
Matt
This article was written by Matt Anthis. To find out more about his work and story, head over to our content partners page, or read more of his work here.
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