Spring - Week 1

An extraordinary first week of the spring season in so many ways!

Let’s start with Mother Nature, who saw to it that Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were sunny and close to 70 degrees; most of the athletes were just wearing unis! And although they donned many more layers on Thursday and Friday, the temperature was still much warmer than what’s expected of mid-March! The weather was definitely more welcoming than it was last year, and hopefully helped remind everyone how great spring rowing can be!

The beautiful weather and water also served us well for mixing lineups and putting out several smaller boats. This week was meant to serve as an equal playing field for everyone – to identify each rower’s talent – and to help our less experienced rowers hit the ground running by putting them in boats with the more experienced group.

Shaking things up a bit helped to familiarize the rowers with our band of new coaches as well, who had the chance to work with several different crews throughout the week. Our three new coaches - Previn, Melissa, and Andrew - bring with them a wealth of knowledge and many different rowing backgrounds and experiences that will help PCRA flourish as the club expands.

Despite all the changes and fluidity of the lineups, this first week saw phenomenal attitudes coming from all different sides of the varsity program. The rowers showed up to practice ready to work and with smiles on their faces! Their positivity echoed through the novices, who were tremendously respectful of all the coaches and older athletes as they went through their boat handling clinics.

On the water, the athletes were able to show off their technique and newly earned fitness, moving the boats along fantastically well. The various boat speeds were remarkable, especially for the beginning of the season. It will be exciting to watch this spring unfold!

Our athletes had the remarkable opportunity to train with two Jr. National Team rowers; Hannah Solis-Cohen (stroke of the 4x in 2010 and stroke of the 2x in 2011) and Abbie Young (stroke of the 8+ in 2011). Their being at the boathouse was inspirational and helped set a tone of expectation for what will be an extraordinary season for PCRA. Their presence and advice certainly helped two our own female athletes, Yas and Lily, who participated today in one of the ten nation wide Jr. National Team Identification Camps. Both Yas and Lily hope to be invited to Selection Camp, from which they would either be chosen for the team that will race at the World Championships in Bulgaria this summer or for the World’s Development Team that will scrimmage the German Junior National Team in Germany.

Exciting things are happening at PCRA! Our boats are gaining speed and should be very competitive this spring. Stay tuned for more updates!

Test Results!

Thursday saw the girls’ teams go through their second battery of testing to see what progress has been made thus far in our winter training season. I will go through the boys this afternoon, but given that I will be headed out on the road straight afterward, I did not want to wait to update you on the exciting progress, which I am confident will also be reflected in the boys’ results.

As you all know, December’s focus has been purely about strength work. Weight lifting and erging at very high resistance levels. We measured strength as a an absolute power output (Watts test) and as a function of 1’ sustained strength test (1’ Test). Picture shot put and 400 yard dash.

The watts test has the rowers simply do a “power 10” and see what the highest output they can achieve on a single pull, measured in watts. I had hoped that the rowers would improve in the 15 – 20 watt range and was thrilled and impressed when they blew that apart with Team Vesper averaging a 30 watt improvement and Team Bayer an outstanding 35 watt average improvement.

The changes in the 1’ test are more subtle, but just as important. A rower’s score is measured as a function of speed… how long it would take to row 500m at the current effort (referred to as their “split”). Each 1 second drop in their average split, theoretically relates to 4 seconds dropped in a 2000m test (though of course stamina and mental toughness play their parts then too). I was hoping for an average drop of 1 second in the girls’ splits and was thrilled when Team Vesper doubled that with an average drop of 2 seconds and team Bayer and astonishing 6 seconds!

It is important to keep the following in consideration:

These strength tests greatly favor the big and the tall.

Don’t read too much into one test, the trend through January and February is more important.

Some rowers were struggling with a cold and as such not able to perform to their best.

It is much easier for rowers with low to average scores to show improvement than those who already had outstanding results, as I discussed with one parent already, once a rower is performing at a high level we look for improvements that are incremental – not monumental, as I expect they will all be from here on in.

It was great to see that both teams made strides in their average body fat%, with Team Vesper dropping an average 2.5% (which is an 11.25% realized improvement!)

These results are extremely encouraging and a testament to a lot of hard work. Just as important as the actual improvements in strength, these results also point to a lot of athletes learning how to push themselves harder – how to dig deep into their inner resolve and to discover just what they are capable of. The latter, perhaps, more important than the former.

Here are the test results, check the bottom tab for your athlete's team.

I hope to update the boys' results on Saturday.

Rowers who were not present for testing were marked as unchanged so as not to skew averages.

It is not helpful to compare or contrast your athlete's results with anyone else's rather than their own. Differences in size, shape, experience, attendance and current health play enormous factors into these figures.

Spring Schedule Change ?

I want to invite discussion regarding the POSSIBILITY of changing the practice times / order for the programs for the coming Spring Season. The purpose of this is solely to utilize our coaching and equipment assets to their full potential. I know that there will be people for whom any change would be inconvenient, I ask them to keep in mind that the past schedule was inconvenient for others. That being said - none of this is being considered for the sake of anyone's convenience, it is purely for the purpose of exploring if there is a better way forward.

Why Bother?
The current schedule taxes our physical resources to the limit. Varsity athletes expect (and have earned the right) to use the best equipment in the boathouse. Despite our best efforts to share the equipment fairly, having both programs (boys and girls) on the water at the same time taxes these resources. That being said - some of the equipment is weight (and as such program) specific, though in reality the overall demand creates more problems than the actual physical limitations.


Coaching resources are challenged here too. Having both varsity programs at the same time limits my ability as Head Coach to spend quality time with both programs. Similarly, novice rowers require a smaller rower:coach ratio, and as such having all the novices at the same time affects our ability to keep that ratio low.

What should not be lost in the discussion, is the value of the camaraderie between the boys and girls, and the social value of that interaction. Having them train at different times will limit their exposure to each other and possibly erode their sense of team.

It is also understood that Varsity / JV rowers are more likely to have access to cars / carpooling and as such may find it easier to make it to the earlier practice than do the younger Novices.



What won't change:
We will still be splitting the youth program into 2 sessions. These sessions will likely run from 4:00pm - 6:00 pm and from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Each program will run 2 hours and all rowers will get 90 minutes per day water time.

What will change:
We will not be offering a Learn to Row program during the competitive Spring program. We will make sure that our current rowers have our full attention and access to enough equipment. Besides, the cold weather is really not conducive to learning to row. We will offer a Learn to Row program that begins in mid May, and will be primarily targeted at Middle School. Athletes that have not rowed but are currently enrolled in our winter program, will be eligible to head straight into the Spring Competitive Program as Novices. Recreational rowing will only be considered when we know our Competitive Program numbers.

For discussion:


Option 1. Leave things as they have been. Varsity Boys and Girls train in the first session, Novices train in the second. JV rowers will be moved to where it makes sense numbers wise, but at this stage it looks like they would train with Varsity (regardless of which option we go with).

Option 2. All Girls session 1, all Boys session 2.

Option 3. All Boys session 1, all Girls session 2.

Option 4. Varsity Girls and Novice boys session 1, Varsity Boys and Novice Girls session 2.

Option 5. Varsity Boys and Novice Girls session 1. Varsity Girls and Novice Boys session 2.

So... now that you know the "whats and whys" of the discussion, I am interested in your opinion. Don't be shy, please let us know what you favor - and preferably why. Please limit yourself to discussing how this affects you, rather than commenting on the validity of others'.

Calorie and Protein Targets

Perhaps the best place to start this whole sports nutrition gig, is to identify your main goal. Are you looking to lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight (for the lucky ones!). It really is then a simple matter of calculating your daily calorie goals and from that determining your protein goals. I do not recommend going more than 300 calories above or below your basic calorie requirements. Rapid weight loss often deprives your body of essential nutrients and can be less beneficial than helpful. Too great a calorie upload will gain in building body fat, not muscle.

So what's your basic daily calorie goal?

Multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 10, that's what a person with a typical daily routine burns - before any additional exercise. So a person who weighs 165 lbs should consume 1650 calories per day to maintain their weight. Add to that additional exercise which for most rowers works out at 600 - 900 calories per hour, depending on the intensity. Some of the fancy heart rate watches will give you your total calorie consumption for the workout.

The actual calorie burn per rower (across 105 athletes ranging in age from 12-19 and weight from 90lbs to 220lbs) will vary enormously.

The following is a best guess:
Team Oxford - 900 calories per hour
Team Vesper - 750 calories per hour
Team Kelly - 675 calories per hour
Team Bayer - 550 calories per hour

This is based on average size and typical intensity level. Make adjustments if your athlete is more or less intense than their peers.

Given rest breaks, assume that workouts at the boat house are 1.25 hours and workouts at the high school are 1 hour.

So a 145lb athlete in Team Vesper can expect to burn 1450+937=2387 calories on Mondays and Thursdays. If that athlete is trying to lose 5 lbs, then their day's intake should be 2387-200=2187 calories. This will provide the essential fuel for a great workout, but at the same time burn away a little of that body fat.

A 175lb athlete from Team Oxford can expect to burn 1750+900=2650 calories on Mondays and Thursdays. If that athlete wants to gain 10lbs, then their day's intake should be 2650+200=2850 calories.

Now let's take that calorie goal and divide by 25, that's our target protein requirement in grams. Keep in mind that you can add up to 50% to that number during our winter strength and conditioning phase, and revert back to the simple number during the rest of the year.

A person looking to consume 1600 calories should also be looking to consume 64 grams of protein. If they are working out intensely they will want to add 32 grams of protein, for a total of 96 grams. Thats a lot of protein and why we recommend protein supplements and foods very high in protein like Chobani, tofu and tuna fish.

There is no real danger in too much protein - its just the amount of calories that typically come with protein you have to worry about.

Yes counting calories / protein is a pain, but the scientific approach to healthy eating teaches us how to fuel our bodies and is a great life habit. You will be shocked when you start really looking at the nutritional information of the foods we typically eat, and realize just how much junk we eat on a daily basis.

Recap:
calorie requirements = body weight x 10 + exercise calories
protein requirements = calories / 25 + 50% during intense workout phases

These days there are great Apps to help you with nutrition information and calorie counting, like this one: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calorie-counter-by-caloriecount/id367018196?mt=8
or their easy to use website: http://caloriecount.about.com/

Remember to reduce your caloric intake on Wednesdays and weekends!

Sports Nutrition

I have no doubt that parents will have noticed that their kids are coming home sore and exhausted from winter training, it is incredibly intense. The winter program is principally about strength and conditioning, and your athlete will become the most spectacular version of themselves, that they have been. Of course for each person the goals and motivation - and as such the outcome will be different.

Some athletes have been signed up by their parents and are just attending to keep busy during the winter. Some signed up because they row and its the thing to do, and they might as well put in some effort whilst they are there. Some athletes are determined to become serious, ripped athletes - giving themselves every chance to get into a higher ranked boat in the spring, and for a select few their efforts will put them in National Team contention.

Please keep all of this in mind as you follow these posts. Parents are the best judge of their athlete's desire / potential and health - and ALWAYS have the last say. No rower is allowed to use the phrase... "But coach said...", what a parent says, goes!

The information in this and following posts is more of a "go to" for ideas and suggestions. A lot of research has gone into compiling the information, and former athletes have used it with spectacular results. I am sure that many parents will incorporate much of the information for the entire family.

Today - Lets talk PROTEIN.
Protein intake is absolutely essential during this strength and conditioning phase. Proteins help to heal damaged tissue and to build muscle mass. No we are not talking about bulking up, but we are talking about getting stronger.

Generally speaking when we think of protein we think of meats, these are the most obvious source of protein, but protein is also found in yoghurt (especially greek yoghurt), all dairy products, soy products (tofu), nuts and whole grains.

I encourage athletes to look at the calorie to protein (in grams) ratio in their food serving. Any food group that has a ratio greater than 30:1 is not a valuable source of protein.

foods in the 25/30 : 1 ratio are satisfactory
20/25:1 are decent
15/20 : 1 are good
10/15 : 1 are really healthy
<10 :1 is athlete fuel!!!

Foods that have a great calorie:protein ratio include -
shrimp
scallops
fish
greek yoghurt
turkey and chicken (without the skin)
pork (lean)
beef (lean)
tofu / hummus
nuts / peanut butter - especially almond butter
eggs
whole grains - like oats

Of course you have to remember that how you prepare these foods can drastically change that. Shrimp sauteed in light olive oil is far better than shrimp drenched in garlic butter! Here is another interesting food factoid. Generally speaking, foods that HAVE to be cooked to eat, are generally less healthy than foods that can be eaten raw. That doesn't mean you have to eat them raw, its just a question of could you eat it raw. Example - peas / potatoes. You can eat peas raw but you cant eat potatoes raw... and generally speaking peas are far better for you than potatoes.

You would be really shocked to learn how unhealthy much of our breakfast cereals are, most are just sugar bombs.

Athletes should eat 5 times per day. 3 main meals and two snacks. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest. Follow this saying:
Breakfast like a King (Queen), Lunch like a Prince (Princess) and Dinner like a Pauper.
The snacks should be had mid morning and mid afternoon.

Here is a sample daily meal-
Breakfast:
Bowl of Oatmeal
One slice of toast with one boiled egg
Protein smoothie with fruit

Snack:
Peanut butter / honey and banana sandwich

Lunch:
1 can Tuna fish with lettuce, light mayo
Chobani (greek yoghurt)
Banana / Kiwi / Apple / Orange (only one)
Handful roasted sunflower seeds

Snack:
Nutri - grain bar

Dinner:
Fillet of Tilapia (broiled or pan seared), over rice or couscous
Asparagus
Small bowl fruit salad or try green grapes mixed into low fat vanilla yoghurt!

For the serious athletes I highly recommend adding a protein smoothy to your breakfast regimen. Stores like GNC sell a whole host of protein supplements. I recommend asking which ones can be mixed with milk rather than water, and have had great success with the AMP brand of Whey protein supplements. You may want to consider a daily multivitamin too!

My next entry will be about target protein and calorie consumption and I'll try and throw in a couple of recipes too!