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The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of anthropometric and strength determinants of 2000 m ergometer performance in traditional rowing. Nineteen rowers competing at national level participated in this study. Anthropometric characteristics, vertical jumps and bench pull tests were assessed to determine conditional factors, whereas the 2000 m test was used to set rowing performance. Pearson correlation coefficient, linear stepwise and allometric regression analyses were used to predict rowing performance (R2 > 50%). Height, body mass and body muscle correlated with rowing performance in male and female rowers. Similarly, power output for squat jump and countermovement jump power correlated with performance. Finally, mean propulsive velocity, mean power and maximum power in bench pull also correlated with the test. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified body mass (R2 = 0.69, p < 0.001) and mean propulsive velocity in bench pull (R2 = 0.76, p < 0.001) for male rowers and body muscle (R2 = 0.89, p = 0.002) and maximum power in bench pull (R2 = 0.62, p = 0.036) for female rowers as the best predictors of rowing performance. These results determine the relevance of anthropometric characteristics and, in contrast to Olympic rowing, support the greatest importance of upper body power in traditional rowing training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. 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]

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The article presents the results of a study which investigated the strength and conditioning exercise programs taught by coaches of competitive rowing athletes in Great Britain. 32 coaches were surveyed. Over 80 percent used a periodized schedule and Olympic weightlifting exercises, such as the clean. Roughly half used plyometrics.

The article looks at a study which evaluated the effects of the time of day on the performance of an experienced collegiate rowing crew. The circadian rhythm of crew members is taken into consideration, as their performance was evaluated during morning and evening hours. Results indicate that knowing personal tendencies of athletes can help them arrange their training schedule to counteract circadian influences.

The purpose of the study was to assess whether postural stability in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) could be affected by training. Ten post-rehabilitated persons with thoracic SCI performed 30 sessions of kayak ergometer training during a 10-week period. The ergometer was modified with a balance module adjustable in the medio-lateral direction. Before and after the training period, horizontal support-surface translations were presented randomly, either in the forward or backward direction, or to the side, while subjects sat in their own wheelchairs. The platform perturbation consisted of an unpredictable initial acceleration, followed by a constant-velocity phase and a predictable deceleration. Markers were applied on the trunk and movement data were recorded in 3D. Four kinematic responses of trunk angular and linear displacement were investigated. In general, postural stability was improved after training with smaller rotational and linear displacements of the trunk observed during both predictable and unpredictable translations in all directions. Thus, the training was able to improve the ability of persons with long-standing SCI to maintain an upright sitting posture in response to externally generated balance perturbations, which should imply an increased capacity to master similar challenges to balance in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]