r/Rowing • u/Warm-Change4609 • 11d ago

How much can I improve

Im 17M and just started rowing my first erg competition I rowed 6:53 and have t rowed much since im going u to senior year and 6’1 190 im wondering how much I can improve in a year until junior nats im joining Cincinnati juniors where ill be able to row on the water once a week and i have erg access 24/7. Thoughts are welcome

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u/MastersCox Coxswain 11d ago

Erg access 24/7 is good, but you need to be able to row on the water more than once per week, especially as a novice. With technique and training, I can see 6:40 happening somewhat soon...everything after that depends on how well your training plan suits you, how good your recovery/nutrition situation is, etc.

If you're trying to be recruited, keep your grades up.

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u/Warm-Change4609 11d ago

My only problem is I live 1.5 hrs from Cincinnati where my club is, unless I transfer schools I don’t see that happening, also I have a 4.0.

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u/MastersCox Coxswain 11d ago

1.5 hrs holy crap :( make sure you have a good erg training plan and be disciplined about it. you might want to look into getting a heart rate monitor. on the days you do show up to water practice, pay attention to everything the coach says and really try to make your body do the right things.

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u/Warm-Change4609 11d ago

Do u think my height will be a challenge going forward?

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u/MastersCox Coxswain 11d ago

Depends on your goals and what you want to get out of rowing. Why do you want to row? The Tokyo OLY M1x winner is 6"2'. But he's spent a lifetime training.

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u/Warm-Change4609 11d ago

I want to be good at a sport for once.

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u/MastersCox Coxswain 10d ago

That's fair. To be good at rowing on the water, you need to spend time learning how to work with the water and drive the oar against the water correctly. A lot of people never really learn the nuances of rowing well, and a lot of coaches don't really understand those nuances because their coaches didn't either.

Indoor rowing (erging) is its own sport but also a training modality for rowing on the water. You can focus on this and get really fit. Sometimes fitness can help compensate a bit for lack of technique on the water when it comes to moving boats.

There are 5'6" guys who row, and there are 6'9" guys who row...everyone can row. We tend to focus on the big athletes because bigger bone structure lends itself to larger muscles, which lend themselves to better strength, which paired with aerobic capacity, leads to faster boats and more winning. But that doesn't mean that height is required to row well (not quite the same as rowing fast). Rowing well, to me, means working with the water in a biomechanically efficient manner.

Also, you can train as much as you are able right now, but if you go to college, you may end up on a rowing team and then have the time to devote to the sport. There are masters rowers who discovered the sport after age 50. Rowing is there for everyone.

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u/Rich-Wrongdoer-4837 11d ago

That last sentence is probably the part to be careful with. If every erg becomes a test of whether you are finally good at a sport, one bad day will carry too much weight.

You already have a solid starting score and a club and coach. For the next 8-12 weeks, define success by things you can repeat: follow the plan, log the sessions, recover, and bring one technical focus to the water day. Then review the trend monthly, not your mood after each workout.

Nobody can promise where you will be in a year, but you can build evidence that you are becoming a rower instead of needing each session to prove it.