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Purpose: This review presents a perspective on the expansive literature on rowing.Methods: The PubMed database was searched for the most relevant literature, while some information was obtained from books.Results: Following the life span of former rowers paved the way to advocate exercise for health promotion. Rowing involves almost all muscles during the stroke and competition requires a large oxygen uptake, which is challenged by the pulmonary diffusion capacity and restriction in blood flow to the muscles. Unique training adaptations allow for simultaneous engagement of the legs in the relatively slow movement of the rowing stroke that, therefore, involves primarily slow-twitch muscle fibres. Like other sport activities, rowing is associated with adaptation not only of the heart, including both increased internal diameters and myocardial size, but also skeletal muscles with hypertrophy of especially slow-twitch muscle fibres. The high metabolic requirement of intense rowing reduces blood pH and, thereby, arterial oxygen saturation decreases as arterial oxygen tension becomes affected.Conclusion: Competitive rowing challenges most systems in the body including pulmonary function and circulatory control with implication for cerebral blood flow and neuromuscular activation. Thus, the physiology of rowing is complex, but it obviously favours large individuals with arms and legs that allow the development of a long stroke. Present inquiries include the development of an appropriately large cardiac output despite the Valsalva-like manoeuvre associated with the stroke, and the remarkable ability of the brain to maintain motor control and metabolism despite marked reductions in cerebral blood flow and oxygenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the effect of sample site (earlobe vs toe) and incremental exercise protocol (continuous vs discontinuous) on training zone prescription in rowing. Methods: Twenty-six rowers performed two incremental exercise tests on an ergometer: (1) a five-step discontinuous test with 4-min stages and 30-W increment, with blood samples taken from the earlobe and toe at the start of the 1-min break between steps; (2) a continuous test, with 2-min stages and 30-W increment, with blood samples taken from the right first toe at the end of each stage. Blood was analyzed for lactate concentration. Results: At a lactate concentration of 2 mmol·L-1, the mean (95% CI) power output was 8.1 (± 15.4) W greater for the continuous protocol, the random error between the methods (1.96 × SD of differences) was ± 58.8 W, and there was no evidence of any relationship between power output and error between methods. At a lactate concentration of 4 mmol·L-1, the mean (95% CI) power output was 24.2 (± 17.0) W greater for the continuous protocol, and the random error was ± 64.8 W. At 4 mmol·L-1, systematic bias between methods increased with high power outputs. Conclusions: The continuous protocol with toe sampling led to higher power outputs for a given lactate concentration compared with the discontinuous protocol with earlobe sampling. This was partly due to the choice of sample site and largely due to the choice of protocol. This bias, and also random variability, makes direct comparison of these tests inappropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the effects of a short-term, strength training intervention, typically undertaken by club-standard rowers, on 2,000 m rowing performance and strength and power development. Twenty-eight male rowers were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. All participants performed baseline testing involving assessments of muscle soreness, creatine kinase activity (CK), maximal voluntary contraction (leg-extensors) (MVC), static-squat jumps (SSJ), counter-movement jumps (CMJ), maximal rowing power strokes (PS) and a 2,000 m rowing ergometer time-trial (2,000 m) with accompanying respiratory-exchange and electromyography (EMG) analysis. Intervention group participants subsequently performed three identical strength training (ST) sessions, in the space of five days, repeating all assessments 24 h following the final ST. The control group completed the same testing procedure but with no ST. Following ST, the intervention group experienced significant elevations in soreness and CK activity, and decrements in MVC, SSJ, CMJ and PS (p < 0.01). However, 2,000 m rowing performance, pacing strategy and gas exchange were unchanged across trials in either condition. Following ST, significant increases occurred for EMG (p < 0.05), and there were non-significant trends for decreased blood lactate and anaerobic energy liberation (p = 0.063 - 0.086). In summary, club-standard rowers, following an intensive period of strength training, maintained their 2,000 m rowing performance despite suffering symptoms of muscle damage and disruption to muscle function. This disruption likely reflected the presence of acute residual fatigue, potentially in type II muscle fibres as strength and power development were affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The aim of this study was to examine the dependencies between support scull kinematics and body stability in the vertical position. Methods. The study involved 16 synchronized swimmers. Twelve markers were placed on the pubic symphysis, head, middle fingers, and transverse axes of upper limb joints. Support scull trials were recorded at 50 fps by cameras placed in watertight housings. Calculated measures included: excursion of the sculling movement; flexion and extension angle of the elbow and wrist joints; adduction and abduction angle of the shoulder joint; adduction and abduction angle of the forearm to/from the trunk; ranges of movement of the wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints; range of movement of forearm adduction towards the trunk; and the range of movement of shoulder adduction towards the trunk. Results. The length of the trajectory taken by the marker on the pubic symphysis was longer if the range of movement of the wrist joint was larger. The movement of the body in the right-left and upwards-downwards direction increased together with a greater range of movement of the wrist joint. It was also found that a greater sculling angle produced greater body displacement in the forwards-backwards direction. The head marker was characterized by a significantly larger range of displacement in the forwards-backwards and right-left directions than the pubic symphysis. Conclusions. The findings indicate that the ability to maintain body stability in the vertical position is associated with the range of movement of the radial wrist joint, angle of forearm adduction, and a newly-introduced measure - sculling angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Available data finds that for schoolboy rowers the 2000 m on-water or laboratory rowing distance causes fatigue and depresses their ability to train during the following days. Thus, looking for a less demanding test we evaluated the relationships between 500 m and 2000 m laboratory performance in schoolboy rowers. Basic procedures. A total of 10 boys participated in the study. All of the subjects simulated rowing "all-out" in either the 500 m or 2000 m rowing distance using a Concept II ergometer (Morsville, VT, USA). The tests were performed in November (transition phase), in January (general preparation phase), in March (specific preparation phase) and in June (competitive phase) throughout three successive years of training. Main findings. The mean power output during the 2000 m row gradually increased in the second year of training vs. the first one, and in the third year of training vs. the second one ( p < 0.001). The times markedly improved in each year of training ( p < 0.001). The mean power output and the time of the 500 m distance improved significantly in each year of training. In each training phase during the three years of training there were significant correlations between the rowing times in the 500 m and 2000 m distances. The coefficients of determination (r2 ×100) in the first year varied from 66.9 to 85.6%, in the second year - from 62.0% to 92.3%, and in the third year - from 76.4 to 89.5%. Conclusions. The relationship between the times measured in the of the 500 m and that of 2000 m one is affected by both the annual training phase and training experience. Thus, the 500 m laboratory rowing test may be useful in assessing the ability of schoolboy rowers to perform a competitive distance, but the results require careful interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on research conducted to examine the anthropometric and metabolic determinants of performance during 6,000 meters of rowing on an ergometer. Researchers evaluated 25 internationally successful male heavyweight rowers. They found that rowers competing over a 6,000 m distance on a rowing ergometer should devote their training time to the improvement of lean body mass and to the improvement of power output corresponding to ventilatory threshold.

The article presents a study on the effects of sustained training session on plasma visfatin and ghrelin concentrations in trained male rowers. The study involves nine national level male rowers who have undergone two hours training followed by a 30-minute break. Venous blood samples were gathered from the male rowers before and after the training. The control trial of the investigation is comprised of rest and blood collection synonymous to the exercise trial. It determined that plasma visfatin and leptin concentrations were decreased while the ghrelin concentration was increased after the 30-minute break. The study suggests that plasma visfatin, ghrelin and leptin concentrations were affected by prolonged exercises and may be regarded as metabolic reaction signals.

The article presents a study which examines the impact of low-intensity and a mixture of low and high-intensity training on physiological and performance responses in rowing training. The subjects of the study were eighteen experienced rowers that undertook a 12-week program of lactate threshold (LT) training (LOW) in which the responses were assessed by a progressive exercise test to exhaustion. Results indicate that LOW training programs improved performance and attenuated the blood lactate response to a given exercise intensity.