Heart Rate
It takes patience to build the aerobic base, yet the investment is worth it.
As the winter start to bite here in Switzerland, our crews are doing what they think think they need to do to prepare for the racing season that starts in May. Many are taking the approach of ‘no pain no gain’ yet I have always questioned this approach. At this time of year, I believe…
Read MoreMonitoring HRV to understand how you are responding to stress.
I have in the past experimented with monitoring HRV to understand both how I’m responding to training (stress) and recovery (rest) to optimise my training response and avoid overtraining. So far, I’m still learning and building up a baseline. I’m researching different sources of information and will share these with you. Sharing original article found…
Read MoreAthletes: Fit but Unhealthy?
Scientific article I’m reading and wrapping my brain around the paradox presented by Dr Phil Maffetone & Paul Laursen. “While the words “fit” and “healthy” are often used synonymously in everyday language, the terms have entirely separate meanings. Fitness describes the ability to perform a given exercise task, and health explains a person’s state of…
Read MoreSimple tip to help you avoid overtraining
Morning Resting Heart Rate (MRHR), when tracked regularly, is an easy method for monitoring fatigue levels, understanding how well you’re adapting to workouts, and can help prevent long-term overtraining. I like to keep an eye on my resting morning heart rate trends over time, and especially in the two or three days after a hard…
Read MoreTraining intensity for Masters Rowing with Dr Charlie Simpson
Excited to share this episode of the Faster Podcast, this time with Dr Charlie Simpson. Charlie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Oxford Brookes University and well known for his publications. The Complete Guide to Indoor Rowing and Advanced Rowing. In this episode, Charlie and I cover the following topics and…
Read MoreHow Alcohol Impacts Your Sleep
One of the things I’ve been experimenting with, over the last 8-weeks, is measuring and tracking my Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Morning Resting Heart Rate (MRHR). I’m doing this to understand how I am recovering from training and day-to-day stress. I’ve been really surprised at the impact of a couple of glasses of wine…
Read MoreWhat is Heart Rate Variability (HRV)?
Sharing exerts from original articles on HRV, published on Harvard University Health Blog (2017) and Oura website 2020. What is HRV? As popular as the metaphor may be, a healthy heart doesn’t beat as regularly as a metronome—it actually changes its rhythm with each beat. This constant variation in milliseconds between your heartbeats is known…
Read MoreThe Power and Importance of Mitochondria in Rowing
Original article published on Training Peaks, by Molly Breslin 2020 Rowing is predominately an endurance sport, and mitochondria play a fundamental role in your performance as a Masters Rower. Molly Breslin breaks down what mitochondria is, why it is important, and how you can increase it. Many of you may wonder what mitochondria are and…
Read MoreZone 2 Training For Masters Athletes. Why heart rate shouldn’t be ignored.
Premium access. Now some of the masters rowers that read this, may be thinking, what has a Tour de France cyclists performance got to do with rowing? They are not they same sports, and rowing is way tougher. They are not the same sports, yet both have similar demands on the body to produce enormous…
Read MoreHow to set up your heart rate training zones. (Premium access)
In this article, I’m going into more detail in how to set up your heart rate zones. I will give you all the information you need, to accurately set up your heart rate zones, to monitor and manage your training intensities correctly to train in a smart and intelligent way. If you are reading the…
Read More