There are normally 4 training sessions per week for each group. The training type will depend on the time of year. During Spring and Summer the intention is to be on the water as much as possible, weather permitting of course.
When the weather takes a turn for the worse our members will do “Bank training”. Bank training is a mix of Ergs (Concept2 rowing machines), core fitness, running and for the J16 and upwards groups, weights as well. Our younger crews will not work with weights until about the age of 15/16.
So from about the start of April until the end of October training sessions will predominantly be on the water. From November to March we will do bank training during the week and then hopefully weekend training will take place on the water.
Definition of the Age categories can be found on our site here
April – October 2023 Training Sessions
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior 13 Junior 14 Junior 15 | 17:30-19:00 | 17:30-19:00 | 10:00-12:00 | 10:00-12:00 | |||
| Junior 16 Junior 18 | 17:30-19:00 | 17:30-19:00 | 08:00-10:00 | 08:00-10:00 | |||
| New J13/J14 Members | 17:30-19:00 | 17:30-19:00 | 10:00-12:00 | 10:00-12:00 |
Club Training Programme: April/May
As it’s getting towards the sharp end of the season, this phase includes a reasonable amount of anaerobic training. This will prime the anaerobic system, allow rowers to get used to finding good rhythms at higher rates and also allow crews/scullers to start developing race plans and strategies. It also requires rowers to be more skilful when the boat is moving faster. The long 3k piece is designed to help you sustain race pace for a significant period of time so that you can hold form when it comes to 2k races. Weights take a bit of a back seat at this point in the season but those who want to race at a higher level should ensure that they are doing some gym work to keep themselves moving in the correct way and to keep themselves ‘switched on’. The sessions might drop to two per week, remain reasonably short and contain some power or plyometric-based work to complement the higher rate on-water loading.
Club Training Programme: February/March
These are the final months of pure winter training and should be the peak months in terms of mileage and scores etc. You should feel like you have now built a really good aerobic base, ingrained some solid technical form and built good structures in the gym. If everything has gone to plan this month should see you pb on the 5k ergo and see you finding some of your best paddling speeds. During this period, as mileage is high, the gym work should be solid but not pushing the body to max lifts.
Club Training Programme: December/January
This will be similar again to November but starting to push some of the step rate work up (see example programme for details). Athletes should be starting to see some really good progress in their aerobic development as long as they haven’t been over or under-doing the intensity. It’s a time when people might be disrupted due to illness or Christmas so any breaks should be returned from carefully. The focus in the gym continues to be on functional strength with a change in lifts to challenge the body in a different way, e.g. an athlete might start doing front squats instead of back squats, or deadlift instead of lunges.
The Irish Indoor Rowing Championships will be held on the 24th January. Those doing it should replace their U1 work the weekend and in the week in the run up to the test with some specific prep, e.g. 2x1000m pieces at race pace with a full break, or 4x500m, or a 1250m and a 750m. The focus should be on finding the best rhythm at the right pace for the rower’s physiology.
This is only a suggestion and individual coaches should tailor the programme to make it suitable for their athletes.
Club Training Programme: November
November’s training will be similar to October’s but with an increased focus on strength in the gym and good, solid miles on the water. You may also choose to do an ergo test during this month so the programme may contain a small amount of preparation for this. However, the key focus for this part of the season should still be aerobic development and the ergo test should be a reflection of your current state of training for the season, so there’s no need to over-do the preparation. If there’s no ergo test the rower may choose to race at a head race and this is a great way to break up the training but shouldn’t be done too often, maybe once every three weeks.
Athletes should also be trying to move on now with both paddling speeds and U1 speeds to start seeing the first two months of training paying off. Please see the spreadsheet for an example of the kind of volume that is recommended for different stages of development or age etc.
This is only a suggestion and individual coaches should tailor the programme to make it suitable for their athletes.