Welcome to the ultimate guide to long-distance training, both on the erg and the water. Here, we’ll look at how to get the most out of your UT2, including ideas for setting up for a session, technical changes to improve your training, and recovery and nutrition.
Why should you UT2?
UT2 training is all about building your base fitness, to increase your aerobic capacity and promote capillarisation around the muscles, leading to a healthier heart and more effective energy transfer. It’s long, continuous a-lactate training – meaning you don’t build up lactic acid in your muscles as a result of anaerobic energy production.
A common mistake made by those new to UT2 ergs is pushing too hard, which quickly leads to exhaustion and fatigue, or injury for the rower involved. A useful guide is to take the UT2 zone as 65-75% of your maximum heart rate. Essentially, you should be able to hold a conversation as you train in your UT2 zone.
A typical UT2 session will be around 40 minutes to an hour, rate 18 – 20, with a few short breaks to split the session up, preventing injury and allowing you to grab a drink. An example session could be 3×20’, with 90 seconds rest, or 2x 20’ for less experienced athletes. UT2 sessions are great opportunities to work on technique, whether you’re on the water or the erg. Although the sessions may seem long and arduous, it’s always important to focus on your technique to make the most significant gains possible.
What does a UT2 erg look like?
When most rowers think of a UT2 session, the erg will come to mind. As a good, minimal fuss way to build aerobic fitness, the erg is a friend to the UT2. Usually, it’s useful to lower the drag on the erg to between 90 and 110 to reduce the load and help prevent injury. It can also be helpful to consider your 2k when deciding your UT2 500m split times, as it’s often 20-25 splits higher than your 2k split.
The erg is also a great place to nail basic technique to help the boat move faster once your back on the water. Keep an eye on your separation (arms – body – legs ) and look at your posture – are you sitting up, rocking over and compressing fully up the slide?
What does a UT2 water session look like?
UT2 sessions on the water look very similar to those on the erg. However, there are a few more technical points to think about, both as a crew and as an individual. As a crew, consider the rhythm and timing – are you all dropping your blades, rocking over, and bending the knees as one? On a more personal level, make sure you’re rowing to the best of your ability. Thinking of every stroke as one you could take into a race; making sure that your catches are sharp, you’re sitting up and following the person in front of you.
An obvious difference between sessions on the erg and the water is the absence of split times. This can make it difficult for you to gauge how hard you’re pushing, so it might be worth bringing a watch/phone/stroke coach on the water with you that can connect to a heart rate monitor to ensure your heart rate is within 65-75% of its maximum. On-water sessions are also where perceived effort can come into play – does it feel like you’re pushing as hard as you would on the erg – do you feel like you could hold a conversation?
Recovery from a UT2 session
Recovery is often referred to as ‘the most important session’. It’s usually an overlooked part of rowing, particularly for junior rowers juggling academics and a social life alongside rowing training. However, it’s imperative to get it right, as recovering correctly will help you get the most out of your session; if everyone does the same session, the rower who has the best recovery will derive the biggest benefit from that session. Just as significantly for high-performance rowing, recovering properly will help to reduce your risk of injury.
Remember to eat something within the ‘20 minute window’, the 20 minutes after exercise when your body takes the most nutrient into the muscles from the food you eat. An ideal snack for young, on-the-go rowers could be a sandwich – using wholemeal bread, containing lots of protein. Alternatively, chocolate milk is a fast, easy and tasty way to put protein and sugar into your muscles.
Alex
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Photos by Fergus Mainland
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