{"id":3268,"date":"2024-02-21T14:58:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/?page_id=3268"},"modified":"2024-02-25T02:33:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T02:33:19","slug":"senior-training","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/training\/senior-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The senior rowers \u2014 including \u201cformer novices\u201d after Christ Church Regatta \u2014 train year-round under the direction of the Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Captains and coaches. During Hilary and Trinity Terms, the crews are focusing on the major bumps races, Torpids and Summer Eights. In the holidays and Michaelmas term, seniors form ad-hoc crews to enter external regattas, keep in shape, and be ready to pounce when bumps season returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have crews available for any level of fitness or commitment. Our top men\u2019s and women\u2019s crews have six or seven intense training sessions per week, while our \u201clowest\u201d boats may only row once per week when the weather is nice. The only way to find out whether there is a crew for you is to come by the river and try it out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Boat Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The men\u2019s and women\u2019s first boats are Balliol\u2019s flagship crews. They are filled with athletes with the fitness, skill, and dedication \u2014 dare we even say obsession \u2014 not only to defend Balliol\u2019s place among the top collegiate crews, but to push ever higher. Though the top boat athletes are at the front of the Pack, rowing for the first boat is not an unattainable goal. Every year, we have at least a few complete novices \u2014 who had the dedication to build their fitness and technique throughout the year \u2014 race in top positions. Even more often, dedicated rowers will move up to the first boat after building their strength in the lower boats for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top boat training consists of about 5 training sessions per week during the academic year, building up to 6 or 7 sessions as the major bumps races draw near. The mix of water- and land-based training depends on the crew\u2019s availability and the coach\u2019s strategies. Over the past few years, the men\u2019s first boat (M1) had about four water sessions on weekday mornings and two evening erg sessions. The women\u2019s first boat (W1) found their schedule worked better with three land sessions (including weights at the Balliol Gym<\/a>) and three water outings on the weekends. These schedules are adjusted annually by the coaches and captains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mid Boat Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The middle boats are the core of Balliol\u2019s development. Some of the athletes in these boats are first-year rowers who need a bit more strength and technique before they burst into the first boats. Others are already at a high level, but don\u2019t have time to commit to the full training schedule. This mix of skill levels combined with effective coaching results in rapid improvement from all of the athletes and strong boats on race day. Balliol\u2019s second boats are always feared and respected wherever they appear on a bumps order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Second boats often train 3 to 4 times per week, building up to 5 times per week before the bumps races. Two or three water sessions and one or two land sessions are typical. Coaches will often arrange for combined outings between first and second boats, to provide race practice and try different combinations of rowers. Indeed, there is often quite a bit of interplay between the first and second boat squads until just a few weeks before major races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun Boat Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Balliol\u2019s \u201cfun boats\u201d are also a diverse and fun mix. Some are formed of rowers who really just want to get on the water once a week when the weather is good to get a bit of fitness, but don\u2019t have the time to dedicate to a crew. Others are local alumni who aren\u2019t interested in the full boat club programme, but like to get on the water now and again. Some of these crews enter the bumps races, others just like to have the occasional paddle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun boats may train once or twice a week, and often join the rest of the club for mixed circuits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training Sessions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unlike novice training, wherein the general goal of an outing is almost always \u201clearn to row\u201d followed by \u201clearn to row better,\u201d senior sessions are often a bit more focused. Entire water sessions are often spent on one part of the stroke \u2014 the blade\u2019s clean entry to the water at the catch, or the muscle mechanics around a strong finish. As routine tasks like balancing the boat become second nature, it is possible to put real mechanical work into outings. This leads to a differentiation between \u201ctechnique tasks\u201d, which emphasise position and rhythm, and \u201cwork tasks\u201d, which build strength and stamina. Our experienced coaches mix these outings to produce stunning results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erg sessions are similarly diverse. Repeated sprints of between 250m and 2000m \u2014 1 to 10 minutes \u2014 build anaerobic strength and muscle mass for big pushes during a race. Longer erg sessions, lasting about an hour, build aerobic fitness and oxygen carrying capacity while working on the \u201cother half\u201d of the power-to-weight ratio. Pyramids and other hybrid sessions, in which power and stroke rate are varied over a longer session, provide the physical and mental toughness needed to give a hard push even at the end of a race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight sessions, cross-training, circuits, and other exercises build strength without the constraints of the rowing motion, which can be protective against injury when done correctly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The senior rowers \u2014 including \u201cformer novices\u201d after Christ Church Regatta \u2014 train year-round under the direction of the Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Captains and coaches. During Hilary and Trinity Terms, the crews are focusing on the major bumps races, Torpids and Summer Eights. In the holidays and Michaelmas term, seniors form ad-hoc crews to enter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3264,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3268","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3268"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3282,"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3268\/revisions\/3282"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bcbc.ballioljcr.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}