Crew Girl Problems

Life of a Rower

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The smell of the erg room brings back horrible memories.

I walk in there and it all comes flooding back.

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I made a personal blog!

I'm home sick on a Friday night (lovin life) and I decided to make a personal tumblr.  This one was always an anonymous crew blog, but I wanted to make one where I can post non-crew things/personal things/etc.  Unfortunately I'm horrible at tumblr even after a year so now I have 2 blogs on 2 separate accounts, running on 2 different browsers.  My laptop is not happy.  So, if you want, you guys can follow my new blog (caroline223.tumblr.com).  I have to figure out what I wanna keep doing with this blog.  I definitely wanna keep posting and answering questions on this one but I'm not sure how frequently I'll be here.  Right now my new blog just has a crap ton of pictures I reblogged just to have something there haha but I'm gonna be posting and stuff, and maybe trying to do some crewgirlproblems stuff on there... Just like a normal tumblr I guess, although I don't think I'll ever understand this thing.  We'll see what happens.

And just wanna say thanks to everyone who's followed me in the past year.  You all make me really happy that you want to hear what I have to say.

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The Regatta Central iPhone app made my day.

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Trying to explain regatta culture to a non-rower is like trying to teach your dog math.

No one understands.

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Firstly, I love that you love Giuseppe and secondly, do you have any tips for lowering your erg score by a lot? I have a pretty good score because I'm tall but I know I can do better.

A lot of hard work- the best thing you can do is rowing/erging, and because I'm really bad at erging on my own I train at a nearby club in the winter.  I go there 3x per week and then I run another 3x per week and lift 2-3x per week, and both times I've done that my 2k has dropped 20 seconds over about 6 weeks (after going up 10 seconds in the off season, so about a 10 second PR).  Another really helpful thing is to do a circuit of jumpies/lunges/pushups/burpees/cruches or some combination of those every day.  It's quick, and really helps.  I try to get myself really motivated to make a certain boat or get a result on a certain race, because then I'm motivated to put in the work, and the coaches also take notice.  Rowing is really great in that if you put in the work, you'll definitely see results.

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If I'm not sore everywhere, I'm not satisfied.

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Rowing, I missed you.

Love/hate that my sculling bruises are back.  Can't wait to be rowing again soon!

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Sorry!

Sorry I've been so completely gone from tumblr but I've never been so overwhelmed as I am right now with school and college.  Hopefully once this miserable process is over I'll pick up here again and I'll try to do as much as I can in the mean time!

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hey, my season doesn't start for a few weeks and i really wanna get in shape. unfortunately i dont have access to an erg, but is there anything you'd recommend for training?

I would recommend some combination of cardio and strength training.  Running is great and will help build muscle and aerobic capacity.  Lifting 3x per week, or at least performing strength exercises (jumpies, burpees, lunges, pushups, etc.) will help you build strength.  I would say strength training is one of the most valuable things you can do, but unfortunately many people neglect that so try not to fall into that category!

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hey, I happened upon your blog and I saw you were a rower. I'm also a rower and fairly new at it. I really like your blog and I was wondering what club you row for and where abouts you r located (you don't have to be specific) I am not a creeper, I promise... I think rowing is a really cool sport and I love getting to know others who enjoy the sport as much as I do.

Haha not creepy I wonder the same thing about everyone!  I won't say what team but I row for my high school in Northern New Jersey.

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hey! so ive been having trouble when we practice on the square. my coach tells me to get the handle higher at the finish, like touch my sports bra line. but then she'll say that i need to push my oar down quickly to get my blade out of the water faster (which i can only do cleanly when i keep my handle low throughout the stroke). when i finish high AND try to get my blade out quickly, it always ends in the oar shaking back&forth & creating splash. any tips on how to get these both done cleanly?

Keeping your handle height high at the finish is very important, because otherwise you "wash out" and lose a lot of power at the end of your stroke.  I'm no coach, but I think of the arms as sort of going around in a circle, really quickly- does that make sense?  Like a conveyer belt-shape, with both the arms coming in and out very fast to conserve momentum.  Trying something new in rowing will always feel weird at first, so it might just be that- the shaking might be because you're not used to it.  Keep working at it, and definitely ask your coach.  She'll be able to help you most, and it'll also show her you really want to fix it.

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love that crew is getting some preppy recognition, and I hate to be that guy, but come on.... where are the riggers?

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What are you packing for :o

I went to rowing camp for a week!

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I'm a novice, 5'1" and muscular, but I weigh 120 pounds. Even though my form has really been improving and I can keep up with the taller girls in my boat, my coach is making me cox. Any advice for ways I can keep my seat as a rower?

I would talk to your coach about why you want to row instead of cox.  If your coach sees that you're committed to rowing, he/she might agree with you and let you keep rowing.  Additionally, although you may be able to keep up with taller rowers in speed/power/technique, in a boat you'll probably have to change the way you row if everyone is significantly taller than you, so you should ask your coach for help with that.  But I do think you should also ask your coach why he/she thinks you should cox (aside from your size).  You never know, there might be other reasons that have less to do with your size and more to do with your ability as a coxswain.  I'm also pretty short, so I know how difficult that can be in this sport.

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Having to pack a million things for crew because you really just never know.

Will it be cold?  Will it be blazing hot?  Am I going to need more socks?  What if it rains?  What if I want to change anyway?  What if what I already packed doesn't match?

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Congrats to the USA W8+!

You guys are absolutely amazing, you set the standard of great rowing and you're an inspiration to rowers everywhere.

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My daughter is really interested in the women's rowing on the Olympics. She wants to try it, but she's too young for any of the teams in our area. What can I do to get her ready for when she is old enough?

She should definitely take Learn to Row to see if she likes doing it.  The age limits probably aren't too bad.  If you're looking at school teams, try looking at club teams in your area because they tend to have options for younger rowers.  See if she can at least take lessons (I don't think there will really be racing opportunities if she's young).  If she's too young even for that, the best way to be ready is to get into great physical shape, so just exercising regularly will help a lot.