Rowing Intervals

bostonwolf
bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
I have a decidely love/hate relationship with them.

I'm a good rower because I'm tall, long legged and have pretty good technique. Good coaching at our box and my wife was a collegiate rower at Syracuse.

However, rowing intervals might drain me more than anything we do in Crossfit, which I think is by design. I'm competitive enough that I always make sure my last 1 or 2 intervals are faster or at least close to my first ones. So those last 2 intervals are just pure pain, digging in and refusing to let the rower go any slower than a certain pace no matter how much it hurts.

All that said, I will NEVER miss a day when rowing intervals are on the schedule no matter what I have to do to get in.

Anyone else have any other love/hate exercises?
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Replies

  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    I happen to love the rower, at least when we’re going for 1K or less. A good coach in Calgary taught me a technique that helps more powerful folks work half as hard for even better results. For anything1000 meters or less, I’m right in there with the competitors at our box.

    There are so many things I cannot do but want to be good at, but I’ve narrowed my focus to three things: Thrusters, OH squat and pull ups. I want to get certified in 2015 and from what I’ve heard, they really push the OH squat (and I can barely do full range OH squat with a PVC pipe). Plus the workout they put all the candidates through is Fran. After I get through preparing for a tough mudder in early March, I’ll be going full bore on those three.
  • ttcbelieve
    ttcbelieve Posts: 181 Member
    edited January 2015
    Front Squat or anything that has to do with getting into a front rack position. I want so badly to get into a great front rack position so that i can lift heavier weights, because i am unable to, i keep carrying the weights on my arms rather than on my shoulders and this limits the weights i can lift. I know that mobility is the problem and i should be working more mobility drills to improve. i keep slacking until the WOD appears for something that needs the front rack and then i'm miserable cause i want to go heavier but my lack of front rack is killing me.
    hate/ hate relationship is Pull Ups...can't do it, hate to do it, avoid it if i can..on Pull on WOD days, i suddenly have shoulder pains :blush:
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Front rack is a big issue for me as well, one of many I need to start dedicating some time to fixing.
  • StephaniePaige1020
    StephaniePaige1020 Posts: 14 Member
    I LOVE to row! We had a team row a thon where we rowed 42000 meters as a team of 3 and it was SO fun. I am struggling with DU's right now, and I'm not sure I'll EVER get a pull up!!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    We did a half as a team of 3.... 21k or something like that? We did 1000m segments 7 times each.
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
    Would rather row than run. That's probably one of my goats actually. Running.

    The other thing I hate hate hate is kicking up into a handstand. I'm good while I'm there. I'm fine to headstand and kip HSPU into a handstand, but I hate kicking up. Seriously if I ever get to the point where my core is strong enough to just lift my legs I'll be happy.

    Nothing else I hate. There's things I can'd do, and I'm working on them, but I don't actively dislike them.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    ^Same here. DUs frustrate the hell out of me, but I don't hate them.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    ^Same here. DUs frustrate the hell out of me, but I don't hate them.

    Hard to hate something I’ve never experienced. ;-)
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    I can do one, I just can't do multiple ones.
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
    At that stage now where I can do double, single, double but it still isn't very consistent
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    And we're doing more rowing. 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m. Trying to increase pace each time. 2-3 minutes rest between sessions.
  • Jelymu81
    Jelymu81 Posts: 18 Member
    I love rowing! Thankfully that is, because I hate running and am terrible at it. Rowing can leave me winded and on some intervals, with the "fran cough" for the day.

    I hate most things overhead. OHS, full snatches, and HSPU. Goals of mine for 2015 are to perfect form in all 3 and not worry so much about weight.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    I did some rowing "sprints" yesterday for the first time. 250m x4. Finished each set in under a minute but it got tough and I was breathing hard when I was done.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    I love/hate rowing too! I am a good runner too but I'd choose rowing over running.
    I hate double unders (can string together 20 now) and also box jumps. For the life of me I can't bring myself to jump onto that box!!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    I enjoy running but my left knee does not, so rowing is a good alternative. If I just want to do low impact and burn calories I jump on the elliptical.

    Do you guys have a pad or mat you can put on the box? Another good trick I saw is to put a PVC pipe on top of the box with maybe a towel on it to hold it in place and jump over it. Once you get confident you can clear the height with no fear of ruining your shins the box jumps are easiest.

    I will also probably be buying some shin guards of some sort too. Because the thought of bleeding like a stuck pig all over the gym appeals to me not at all.
  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    I enjoy running but my left knee does not, so rowing is a good alternative. If I just want to do low impact and burn calories I jump on the elliptical.

    Do you guys have a pad or mat you can put on the box? Another good trick I saw is to put a PVC pipe on top of the box with maybe a towel on it to hold it in place and jump over it. Once you get confident you can clear the height with no fear of ruining your shins the box jumps are easiest.

    I will also probably be buying some shin guards of some sort too. Because the thought of bleeding like a stuck pig all over the gym appeals to me not at all.

    I can jump on the box holding someones arms. Its such a mental thing. I more then clear the box when I do jump. Shin guards could be a worthy investment.

  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    I happen to love box jumps (at least the jump up, I always step down). The only issue I have with them is that I have to really focus on each jump or else I’m going to miss. No zoning out like I do on a lot of other things.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Same here. It's good mental focus practice for me.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    [url="http://"]http://[/url]
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    I enjoy running but my left knee does not, so rowing is a good alternative. If I just want to do low impact and burn calories I jump on the elliptical.

    Do you guys have a pad or mat you can put on the box? Another good trick I saw is to put a PVC pipe on top of the box with maybe a towel on it to hold it in place and jump over it. Once you get confident you can clear the height with no fear of ruining your shins the box jumps are easiest.

    I will also probably be buying some shin guards of some sort too. Because the thought of bleeding like a stuck pig all over the gym appeals to me not at all.

    I can jump on the box holding someones arms. Its such a mental thing. I more then clear the box when I do jump. Shin guards could be a worthy investment.

    These are CF specific but I think the right pair of soccer (football) guards would do the same job for a lower price.
    http://www.amazon.com/Rx-Smart-Gear-Guards-Small/dp/B00MBTZ2OC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1423666110&sr=8-4&keywords=crossfit+shin+guards

  • ashleearoha
    ashleearoha Posts: 165 Member
    Haha I would probably buy some and never wear them too.
  • Curlychip
    Curlychip Posts: 292 Member
    I love rowing but running is a real struggle for me. I also don't like upside down stuff!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    So now you know the things you should be working on at least once a week.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    Or you can simply recognize that you're not going to be amazing at everything and realize that is perfectly fine. You don't always have to work your weaknesses just because someone says you should.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    ^true. But those two (IMO) are kind of fun to work on :)

    I can do walk walks like a champ but I haven't tried a handstand on the wall in a while. Might be time to get over myself.
  • leahkite
    leahkite Posts: 47 Member
    I love rowing! I hate wallballs, I just feel awkward and really struggle to get a rhythm going. However I have focused primarily on Met-Con and not so much Power-Strength stuff at this point, so I'm generally not faced with things such as HSPU's because I don't like them either.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    ^are you tall? Rowing and wallballs both favor us tall people, so I'm just curious.
  • kozinskey
    kozinskey Posts: 176 Member
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    ^are you tall? Rowing and wallballs both favor us tall people, so I'm just curious.

    This explains why they're basically the only two movements where I don't feel like a total noob :D
  • Curlychip
    Curlychip Posts: 292 Member
    Im short and I like rowing and wall balls :p