Rowing is not a solo sport; despite everyone taking accountability for their training, what makes it so special is the fact that no matter whether you’ve had the worst or best session of the season, there’s always the support of your crew and coaches to fall back on. Striving together to achieve both common and personal goals is part of the daily experience of training, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s even more important that we hold onto that sense of community and continue to take care of friends, family, and crew.
In the current climate, looking after both mental and physical health is of the utmost importance. There are plenty of amazing resources available online promoting ways for us to look after our mental health (Young Minds, the BBC, and our very own articles on the topic are great places to look for some tips), but it’s just as important to make sure we’re still checking in with friends and family to let them know that someone’s looking out for them too. In such turbulent times, it’s important that we keep building our communities, particularly as we don’t yet know when all this will end.
Here are a few suggestions for ways to make sure we’re still taking care of the people who are important to us:
Social Media to the Rescue
Despite social media often getting bad press for its insincerity and promotion of unrealistic ideals, when self-isolating it’s a lifesaver! As we can’t meet up with friends, crewmates or extended family members in person, one of the most important things to do to make sure people still know you’re there is to check in on them. Though naturally some days we won’t be feeling so good, even something as simple as sending a message, suggesting a video call or just sharing a funny post can really make a difference to someone who may be feeling down, anxious or downright bored! Social media has also proven useful for new training ideas – for example, Vicky Thornley has started erging live on Instagram at 8 am so that no one has to erg alone – worth suggesting to friends to get a group going!
Squad Goals
On a more training-specific note, staying accountable is super important! It can be hard to stick to a training schedule alone, especially now that regatta season is effectively cancelled, so making sure you and your squad are staying in a positive mindset regarding training is a priority. Though short-term goals may no longer seem so relevant, there are always ways to improve, and discussing long-term aims with your crew is a great way to make sure everyone still has something to strive for. Scheduling sessions to do over FaceTime together is also a good idea.
Tracking Training
My squad has set up a crew Instagram account where we all post daily training ideas and achievements which illustrates how social media can be used as a tool to ensure accountability. It’s been so helpful to see what other people are doing and to inspire us all to switch things up a bit – doing the same circuit four times a week for two weeks started to get boring really quickly! Having a club Instagram or Strava (or any place you can all track progression) is so useful, especially when you can congratulate your teammates on PBs and share innovative training ideas – sometimes just a like or comment can be a great way to boost motivation.
In Moderation
Just as it’s important to know when to give people space in ‘real-life’, the same applies to virtual contact. Though having regular video calls and chats with friends is important, knowing when to give someone their own space is also paramount. If someone doesn’t want to join, respect that decision and don’t try to force them – after all, we don’t always feel social all the time!
Real-Life Relationships
Sharing skills is another way of showing people that you’re there for them. It could be something as simple as getting your family involved with your training schedule – sibling circuits and family walks always go down well – or even deciding amongst friends that you’ll set each other daily or weekly challenges to complete. Letting people know that there are people out there who want to do things with them and retain a sense of community is vital to ensuring that mental health doesn’t plummet.
One of the most important things for everyone to remember is that though it can be easy to get carried away thinking about all the negatives and lose motivation, the Covid-19 pandemic won’t last forever and when it’s over we all want to be in as strong a place as possible to make next season as successful as we can. Don’t let all those long months of winter training be for nothing! Set yourself a routine, stay in touch with friends and coaches and keep re-evaluating your goals together as a crew – it won’t be too long until we’re back on the water together!
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