Reply From Scott Smith

Jay:

Thx for the world quad champs video and your observations on the importance of aerobic and free weight work-outs. As to the workouts, I agree entirely. We're in Venice FL for the winter and I try to get to the local 'Y' 3 times a week for a weight workout, using a 'supersetting' routine which means that I choose 2 or 3 exercises, and run through them w/no break in between. I usually do 3 or 4 sets of each exercise, before going on the the next 2 or 3 types of lifts using the same style of routine. That way I do not exercise the same muscle group w/o some rest in between. It's extremely efficient. I do one routine the 1st day and a 2nd routine using exercises for different muscle groups the next day. I do abs in every workout. Now that I'm rowing, I do more back, lats, shoulders, and quads exercises than I used to do. For aerobics, I'm biking 35-40 miles 2-3 times a week, and walking 3 to 4 miles nearly every day. Retirement permits all of these aerobic activities that I used to be able to do only on the weekends when I was working.

Fortunately, I've found a rowing club in nearby Sarasota, much like Rock 'n Row. I've been working w/a retired Navy destroyer captain who was on a crew team in college. I've had 2 one on one training sessions w/him, and have learned a tremendous amount. I'll attend a small group class on Sat/morning for more instruction. I haven't met many of the club members yet, but ultimately, I will. We row on the intercoastal waterways between south Sarasota and Venice -- the water is always flat even w/the wind blowing 20+ -- much more like rowing on the Charles, and it's delightful. Unlike RnR, I can row by myself w/o another club member along, which is a great convenience because the boat storage and ramp into the water are only about 20 minutes from our house. The intercoastal water depth is relatively shallow, so if you tip the boat over, and can't reenter it, it's never very far to swim the boat to a water depth where you can stand and walk to shore. After the training and rowing experience here, I should have a much higher skill level for next summer's rows around the north shore.

My training experience in Sarasota leads me to make a suggestion for RnR to consider --have a serious and formal training program, taught by RnR experts, required for ALL new members, unless they were 4-year varsity crew members in college. I thought the RnR training I had received during my rookie season had taught me the basics, but I've learned in Sarasota that I'd barely scratched the surface of proper sculling technique. Perhaps the first session could be inside w/some training videos & the Polish quad video. I learned something from watching that video after my training down here that I would have never understood before receiving that training. Then the rest of the training would be on the water, much of it one-on-one. Food for thought.

Scott