Here is the program for this week.  Things to note:  1) The 3:40PM ergs so far (the second sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday), are all wide open.  I expect all experienced/seniors ro have completed ALL missed ergs by end of day Thursday (by then, completed ergs for me will be 3 x 30 minutes as well as a 2K test).  Please don’t fall behind.  2)  Some of you have asked me about training over the holidays.  Mike, Peter and I will have a discussion about that, but the short answer is, yes there will be some structured training during that time.  You will be given a program with options–some days will be “Own Training”, while other days will likely include something at Leander as a group.  We will let you know.

MONDAY, NOV 30:  WOMEN: Weights Day 2.  MEN: Land Fun

TUESDAY, DEC 1:  30′ erg, same as Thursday (2 x 5’@18, 4’@20, 3’@22, 2’@24, 1’@26).  Focus on POWER.  PER.  STROKE!!  Try to improve your number of metres!!!  Please be there at 6:20 to set up the ergs so we can start right away.  Group not erging will do the 300, then we will switch.

WEDNESDAY, DEC 2:  WOMEN: Team Run.  MEN: Weights Day 2.

THURSDAY, DEC 3:  30′ erg.  Same as above.  Please be there at 6:20 to set up the ergs.  Following tis erg, I will crunch some numbers and at some point in the following few days after that, give you an individual target of what I think you can hit for your pre-break 2K test.  I will not give out predictions based on anything less than the three 30′ pieces plus a 2K score, so if you want to know a target, you have to give me the data!

FRIDAY: WESTDALE TEAM CHALLENGE!!

Here is our list for week one of the extra erg sessions.  Note for seniors–I was planning on doing a session at 3:40 on Monday and Wednesday, but so far nobody has signed up for those—therefore if you wanted an erg session, there should be some available then).

MONDAY, NOV. 30 at 3PM:  Lexi, Grace, Maria, Morgyn, India, Madeleine, Sabrina, Addy, Chloe, Ahmed, Alex, Elias

Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 3PM:  Erin, Alaysia, Dima, Alex, Zac, Taylor, Chloe, Shrishyla, Jared, Graham M, Steph C (senior)  (2 novice spots open)

Thursday, Dec. 3 at 3PM:  Abbey, Zaiga, Ruby, Pamela, Madeleine, Graham W, Lauren, Zarha, Derek, Elizabeth, Liam, Kai

There is no “official” stair run at Chedoke on Saturday at 7:30am.  You are encouraged to do 45 minutes of vigorous cross-training during the day Saturday (which could very well be a stair run, or a bike, swim, run, or stationary bike).

Also, note that the date for the City Erg Championships are likely to change to SATURDAY, JANUARY 16TH.  This will be confirmed in the next couple of weeks.  If so, our 2015-2016 2K erg testing dates will be as follows:

Monday/Tuesday December 7-8:  (NOVICES ONLY) Practice 2K, done is four groups, two groups on each day.  To be assigned.

Week of December 14-18:  Pre-Break 2Ks for all.

Saturday, January 16:  Hamilton City Erg Championships (at, I believe, Leander BC)

Sunday, February 7:  Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships at the Hershey Centre, Mississauga (part of RADAR week for those athletes participating)

Saturday, March 5:  Ontario Erg Championships at Ridley College, St. Catharines

We STRONGLY encourage you to compete at all indoor “Ergattas”.  They are a GREAT place to pull a test because the provided adrenaline will help you achieve!  We understand that some of you work on weekends and that family commitments may keep you away, but hopefully with this much notice, you will be able to arrange your lives to do it.  If you can’t, you will still be required to test and those will be held very close to the competition dates.

Some of you already owe me ergs and my expectation is that they will be completed before the groups change coaches again on Monday, December 7th.  For those owing me either a 2K or a 30-minute, the following options are available:  1)  if you have an erg at home, do it there and take a picture of the screen and e-mail or text it to me; or 2) you can do it during one of the extra sessions next week if an erg is available.   Blank spaces on my data sheet won’t help you claim a seat in the spring!

Please refer to the November 19 post about dates for extra erg sessions in the afternoons.  We are prioritizing novices for these sessions, however if there are any ergs free, seniors/experienced rowers are welcome to use them.  I will be doing a sign up Friday and Monday and will have a schedule for next week.

Structure of these sessions will be as follows:  3:00-3:10:  Group 1 sets up the ergs.  3:10-3:30:  Technique and drills.  3:30-3:40:  short 10-minute low rate piece to “put it all together”.  3:40-4:00:  Group 2 technique and drills.  4:00-4:10:  short 10-minute low rate piece to “put it all together”.  4:10-4:20.  Put ergs away.

These sessions will be VERY important to us.  Technical proficiency is vital, and the more coached strokes we can give our novices, the more ingrained a proper rowing stroke will become.

Note from Tristan:  Theme Thursday this week is “Hawaiian Style”.  Come dressed looking like a bouquet of spring flowers!

Good morning, Seniors and Experienced rowers….

Thursday morning, please arrive at 6:20 and set up the ergs.  I will be there at 6:30, which is when we will start our warmup run.  You will be split into two groups, with group 1 starting their erg at precisely 6:40 and Group 2 doing the “300 Circuit”, which is posted elsewhere under “Athlete Training Resources”.  I’ll take 5 minutes at 7:10 to mark down the numbers, then group 2 will start the erg at 7:15 and group one will do the circuit.  I’ll mark down scores as quickly as I can at the end and then ergs can be put away.  Time is of the essence if we are to get these done.

The workout is 5’@18, 4’@20, 3’@22, 2’@24, 1’@26, then go straight back down to 18spm and repeat.  Your “rest” time is the first part of the 18spm, with active recovery.  The wheel continues to spin and you’re creating metres during your recovery. The purpose of this workout is to emphasize POWER PER STROKE.  We need to learn how to generate boat speed at lower rates.  There should be a distinct difference between your split at 18spm and your split at 26spm!  (You would be surprised at how many people DON’T have a difference in the split!)  Your next question, if you haven’t done this one before is, “what should I be aiming for?”  I won’t answer this before your first one, but I will say you should get more metres with each successive one you do.  Think of it in terms of reaching “levels”.  If you pull 6330 metres tomorrow, then your next “level” of achievement is 640o.  Then 6500, etc.  Just keep improving.  Metres are made by how much speed is generated on the handle and the chain….not on how fast the slide is going, so a quicker drive time with power helps IMMENSELY!!

Finally, I’m sure you ALL want to improve your 2K scores.  In the Fall season at Leander (and any of our rowers will confirm this), we saw a number of significant PBs (16 of 17 Fall rowers emerged with a PB), in some cases, by more than 10 seconds and by as much as 20.  A very big reason for these PBs were an emphasis on “POWER PER STROKE” that these 30′ ergs bring—we did 6 of them in the last three weeks of the season–two per week.  We also did some at the end of last season with the afternoon group and there were two cases where, by the end of May, girls were holding splits over 30 minutes that were faster than 2K splits done only a couple of months earlier!!!  So it makes a HUGE difference!!!!

See you at 6:20, and be prepared to amaze yourselves!

Given that the men did weights on Monday, they will do the Team Run on Wednesday morning.

Hi everybody.  A neck chain was lost by one of our rowers this morning.  If found, please return to either Sadie or one of the coaches, please.

We will split up into two groups.  Men and women.  In addition to what is below, I will require one more weights session to be done on one day after school at 3PM.  You pick the day, but suggested NOT the night before the 2K Test!  RULES FOR THIS ARE:

• There must be people training/playing and school coaches present in the lower gym;
• MINIMUM of three seniors or 4 juniors training in there at a time.  In other words, NOBODY does weights alone!!!;
• MUST use spotters for free weight lifts

MONDAY AM:  Women:  Weights.  Men:  Land Fun.  (SEE ATTACHED PROGRAM)

Weights            LAND FUN!

TUESDAY:  2K Erg Tests for all non-Fall Program rowers.  Those from Fall wishing to re-pull have the option of doing so.  If not, then Land Fun.

WEDNESDAY AM:  Women:  Run with the rest of the team.  Men:  Weights.

THURSDAY AM:  MEN & WOMEN:  30′ ergs emphasizing POWER.  PER. STROKE!!  Session will be 5’@18, 4’@20, 3’@22, 2’@24, 1’@26, then drop right back down to 18spm and repeat.  18spm is your active recovery.  Emphasis will be on power and pressure, especially at the lower rates.  Those who have never done this workout, please don’t fool yourself into thinking that 18spm means easy rowing.  Speed is created by power and pressure and if we want meaningful speed changes when we lift the rating later in the season, then we need to create an element of speed at lower rates.  Please show up 10 minutes early to set up the ergs.  We will do our 10′ warmup run, then get right into these pieces.  Those not erging will do a solid stretching session combined with a short circuit.

FRIDAY:  Men & Women:  Westdale Team Challenge

SATURDAY: Men & Women:  Chedoke Stair Run