Focus for the Year

Although we may have lost out on our regular racing season in 2020, we still have the opportunity to hone our craft. Gifted with the abundance of time, we take a breath to be more focused on the little things. Now you have the opportunity to dive into the minutia of your technique and ingrain more solid movements. Our next racing season may be further away than usual but we can embrace this time to understand our bodies better and prepare them.

CANADIAN INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
VIRTUAL - ONLINE in REAL TIME
​FEBRUARY 6-7, 2021

Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships is a virtual event in 2021. It coincides with my request for a 2000m submission. You can complete the assessment on your own or compete with other U23/Sr athletes across Ontario and Canada.
Entries open NOW until February 1. 

Weekly Update

• The latest week (January 25 - 31) is now published with the details of each workout.
• A Strength & Conditioning training program is now available and there is a printable version for you to download
• Strength training each week will be on Tuesday (i.e., Day 3-Wk 1) and Thursday (i.e., Day 1-Wk 2).
• ​If you are uncertain of the workload you can find the information by going to the Zones of Intensity page. The chart is based on the RCA Model.​​
• Below you will see an infographic that I've adapted from an article I recently read. it is titled, "Monitoring Training: Using Multiple Inputs to Track and Enhance Success". Relying on one method to monitor your internal training workload can be helpful, but this article suggests that using multiple inputs to monitor your training heath will enhance your training success.
  
• If you have any questions please contact me through email: anderss100@gmail.com (Scott Anderson)

To have something you have never had, you must do something you have never done!

- Thomas Jefferson

Monitoring Training: Using Multiple Inputs to Track and Enhance Success

Mood is a Great Indicator
The simplicity of looking at your own mood state and asking opinion from others often tells an athlete when they are tired. Listen to friends and family – their opinion on whether you’re over-training or fatigued may be very valid indeed.

Monitor Heart Rate to Recover Better
​Make a shift; Use a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) with the purpose it was intended – to dictate the training effort required for each session. This change of approach will help you track workload, recover quicker for the next session, and to also reduce injury and protect against illness.

Sub-Maximal Ability
​It’s very simple to gauge your heart rate against a set workload, such as treadmill speed, indoor cycling power, or rowing pace. Several increasingly harder efforts (but NOT maximal) can help you see just where your body feels good and when easy training feels harder than it should – e.g., rowing for 3 minutes at 2:20/500m, 2:10/500m, 2:00/500m, and 1:50/500m. Over time, you can track changes in heart rate at these speeds.

Read Your Environment
Listen to your body. For example, if life stress is up (work, family, illness, etc.) don't hesitate to miss a session, get rest and eat well! Sickness will set you back far more than missing a session.

Rate of Perceived Exertion
Often resting heart rate (RHR) is used to monitor internal training load. Many factors can affect your RHR. Instead, use the Rate of Perceived Exertion (CR10) Scale in low, medium and high intensity sessions. Low intensity (Category 6 [and C5]) work should feel quite easy. Conversely during high-intensity efforts you should feel strong and revel in the adversity. What you should not feel (regardless of your resting heart rate) is that you are not looking forward to either type of session, that you want them to be over, or that they feel more challenging than they should.

Keep a Written Diary
Keep a diary of your training sessions which contains: content, duration, intensity. Include notes on how you felt during the session (RPE) and what may have impacted the session (positive or negative). Did you have a poor night's sleep? Where you fueled appropriately? Were you well rested? A diary allows you to track patterns over time and monitor for overtraining (e.g., poor sleep quality, difficulty hitting pace or numbers in sessions, sessions feel harder than usual). A diary lets you review and learn what works for you.

Adapted from: Beer, J., "Heart rate variability – the new messiah for endurance athletes?", peakendurancesport.com

TRAINING CALENDAR

The following calendar can be opened as a google document. There are interactive elements included (i.e., notes) that should help to clarify the workouts. ​Training Calendar

View January Calendar

Training Calendar

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DETAILED WEEKLY TRAINING

Zones of Intensity

Strength & Conditioning

Core + Mobility

Archived Training

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< Previous Week

January 25 - 31

Next Week >

Date	Primary WO	Secondary WO	Notes
Monday, January 25	1x 60' @C6	1x 30' @C6	The first choice for this workout is on the rowing ergometer. If that is not possible or you need a break from the erg, you can shift to a Cross Training (XT) method for this workout. The workout is at an intensity of category 6 (@C6) so it is an aerobic workout. On the ergometer set a Stroke Rate (sr) of 18 - 20 spm. Aerobic continuous training is the opportunity to perfect and hone technique and perform technical exercises. Alactic sprints (6 - 10 strokes) can also be done to help fire neural pathways and make the aerobic training more interesting!
Tuesday, January 26	1x 75' @C6	Strength & Conditioning Day 3-Wk 1	The first choice for this workout is on the rowing ergometer. If that is not possible or you need a break from the erg, you can shift to a Cross Training (XT) method for this workout. The workout is at an intensity of category 6 (@C6) so it is an aerobic workout. On the ergometer set a Stroke Rate (sr) of 18 - 20 spm.
Wednesday, January 27	1x 45' @C4	Core + Mobility	Complete a good warm-up 3-5 km; For 45' complete 40sON/20sOFF 40s at 25 spm @C4 pace; 20s at 18-20 spm @C6 pace; repeat for time designated; Cool Down 3km+
Thursday, January 28	2x 40' CON(24) @C6	Strength & Conditioning Day 1-Wk 2	This workout requires a continuous (CON) pace at the same rate (sr 24 spm). Rest is 5' between each set. Remember to complete a good WU and CD!
Friday, January 29	1x 70' @C6	Core + Mobility	The first choice for this workout is on the rowing ergometer. If that is not possible or you need a break from the erg, you can shift to a Cross Training (XT) method for this workout. The workout is at an intensity of category 6 (@C6) so it is an aerobic workout. On the ergometer set a Stroke Rate (sr) of 18 - 20 spm.
Saturday, January 30	8x 2' ON/ 4' OFF @C2	1x 60' @C6	Make certain to be very well warmed up for this High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Work completed at RR (race rate) 2 minutes of HIIT work followed by 4 minutes of active rest (repeated 8 times).
Sunday, January 31	OFF	AR	AR is Active Rest or Active Recovery... This is optional and Sunday can remain a completely OFF day. If you are active we would like no more than 20 - 30 minutes of Active Rest or Recovery to be completed. Examples are Walking, Skating, Hiking, Biking. The intensity level is very low (i.e., less than C6)

Training Calendar

Next week

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