#smoljanovic

[mattcooper1997sc-blog]

Rowing, a training session for rowing plus a test battery with rationale

Power clean                        3 x 3 (3 minute recovery)

Leg Press                           4 x 6 (3/5)

Bench Pull                          4 x 6 (3)

Scapula Press Up               4 x 15 (1)

Individualised Core Conditioning              Once through (little to no rest) Training Session Rationale

Discussion

 Strength and Conditioning (S&C) plays a key part within rowing, whether that be low level, youth athlete physical preparation or high performance programmes aimed at producing Olympic level competitors. Rowing has long been a sport in which strength and conditioning practices have not only been crucial to success but also a played a major part within rowing culture. With a plethora of common injuries, a good physical preparation is crucial to achieving success. Furthermore, strength levels among rowers have been shown to increase throughout levels of rowing competency, with mid-level rowers being stronger than novices and elite performers even stronger. With advances in equipment and our deeper than ever understanding of physiology, now programming must be evidence based and effective in order to keep furthering levels of performance.  

Rowing events typically take place over 2km courses within and are competed over a timeframe of 6-10 minutes. Up to 70% of rowing power coming from lower extremities, leg strength is crucial to successful performances. Predominantly an aerobic event (De Campos Mello et al, 2009), rowing also has a need for high levels of strength due to the requirement to sustain a high level of wattage throughout to keep the boat moving at speed. For good rowing technique to be achieved, the prerequisite level of thoracic, hip and ankle ranges of motion are required (Baudouin & Hawkins, 2002). Rowing is a cyclical movement with eccentric forces being absorbed in the catch position and depending on the stroke rate, there can be a huge demand on trunk capacity during training sessions and competitive races. Athletes often exceed training mileage of 120km per week (Steinacker et al, 1998) and competitions such as championships can take place over multiple days. Because rowers are subjected to such large amounts of volume, movement patterns such as squatting and horizontal rowing may be used sparingly within strength and conditioning provisions as they are already receiving a large stimulus from training on ergometers and on the water. Rowers may have specific needs dependent on positions within boats, for example, Roth et al (1993) found that in the left deltoid muscle of stroke rowers, there was a higher FT fiber content and lower oxidative fiber capacity than bow rowers. There are also significant differences between sweep rowing and sculling. Strength has been shown to be an even more crucial factor for race performance when it comes to lightweight rowers as opposed to heavyweights. This means that the weight of the rower should be considered when planning strength training sessions. Environmental factors, changes in boat types and positioning, switching between land and water practice, sex and age have been shown to have impacts on injury occurrence and severity (Rumball et al, 2005). With 73.8% of reported injuries being down to overuse (Smoljanovic et al, 2009), volume and frequency of training are to be prioritized as concerns and should be considered carefully when planning training. Lower back injuries are by far the more prevalent, with ribs and wrists also common sights of injury (Smoljanovic et al, 2019; Wilson et al, 2010). Due to this, core strengthening should be a priority with rowing focused physical preparation training programmes (Willson et al, 2005). The table above shows a strength training session for an experienced rower on a GB recognized high performance programme. Due to training volume suggestions, this session is one of three S&C session the athlete will complete a week, on top of ergometer and water rowing sessions (Steinacker et al, 1998).   Gee et al (2011) showed the power clean to be the most popular strength exercise to be utilized among rowing and S&C coaches. The power closely mimics the same movement pattern as the rowing stroke. The starting position and transition of movement from lower to upper body means that there is a significant level of dynamic correspondence between the two movements. Power clean 1rm has been shown to be a good predictor of both 500m and 2000m ergometer performance (Lawton et al, 2013). The power clean encourages maximal intent to be used when completing the lift. This may help to increase motor unit recruitment and increase central nervous system drive, reducing strength deficits that athletes may have.   Leg extension strength (1rm) has been shown to positively correlate high level 2000m ergometer performance and international rowers have been shown to on average squat 1.9x their bodyweight (Lawton et al, 2011; McNeely et al, 2005). The leg press is very similar biomechanically to the way rowers move in a boat, with deep knee flexion and similar requirements from the ankle and hip. Squats also mimic the way rowers move when rowing and both movements are seen to be staples in rowing programmes around the world. The ability to highly overload this movement pattern can only be achieved through land training and with the right intensity and volume, a huge carry over from gaining strength in these two movements can be seen on 2000m times and performances on the water. When deciding whether to use just leg extensions/squats or both, the training age and movement competency of the athlete should be considered. Because the leg press is machine based, there is far less room for error as it is relatively easy to perform when compared to a heavy back squat. The bench pull is used throughout rowing gyms and is usually a defining feature. Olympic level rowers have been shown to bench pull up to 1.3x their own bodyweight, with county rowers pulling up to 1.05x their bodyweight. (McNeely et al, 2005). The bench pull mimics the upper body pulling motion of a rowing stroke and is again a good opportunity to load up that movement pattern. It recruits the key upper body posterior musculature used when rowing and is relatively simple to perform. For this reason bench pulls are often staples within rowing gyms.   With the high occurrence of repetitive strain injuries within rowing, it is important that strength and conditioning sessions have movements that are there to create adaptations to prevent injury. Rib injuries have been shown to occur more often within female athletes and a higher rate of occurrence can be seen during winter months (Holden & Jackson, 1985). It has been theorized that inadequate strength and resistance training backgrounds lead to many rib injuries. Fractures tend to occur along the posterolateral segment where the bending stresses on the rib are greatest. Muscle forces are generated by the forced couple of scapular retraction and protraction acting through the serratus anterior. To prevent such an injury, the training plan above includes scapular press ups, where the athlete will be in the press up position and under control, will keep the arms extended and move through scapular protraction and retraction. The aim is to increase levels of scapular control and serratus anterior strength. Because of the repetitive nature of the injury, higher sets and repetition ranges have been used to increase general capacity for that area of the body. The last exercise of the session is also aimed at preventing injury. Lower back pain (LBP) has been shown to be responsible for most of the training missed due to injury (Smoljanovic et al, 2019; Wilson et al, 2010). Rowers have been shown to have markedly higher levels of trunk muscular endurance than members of the general population, this adaptation is likely due to the time spent resisting extension and flexion while rowing on ergometer and on the water (Chan, 2005). When programming for rowing teams, it’s important to individualize training for each athlete as much as possible. Here, the core conditioning circuit has been used as an example as means to accomplish some level of individualization within a team environment while keeping everyone on the same programme to encourage culture and unity. Core strengthening individualization should consider how strong an athlete is at resisting extension, flexion and lateral flexion. Considerations should also be made for if the rower is heavyweight, lightweight, sculler or sweep rower.   The use of these lower and upper body exercises will allow us to load the athlete to a higher level than that of which is achievable on the water or with ergometers, thus improving strength levels and increasing economy on the water by bringing down the rate of perceived exertion per stroke. As with any good S&C programme, the aim here is to both increase strength levels to aid performance and to create adaptations that minimize the risk of injury, thus maximizing the time that the athlete is available to train.  

 Test Battery Rationale

Discussion Due to most of the literature supporting the notion that lower body strength is a key performance determinant of rowing performance, the test that will be used to assess the athlete is a 6-repetition max leg press. For the test to be administered, athletes must be warmed up appropriately and consistently in the same way throughout different testing sessions so that data is accurate and reliable. The athlete will then have 5 sets, using ascending weight, to achieve the heaviest possible 6 repetitions of the leg press. It should be made sure that the athlete achieves the same degree of knee flexion on each repetition, and this should be the deepest degree of flexion that is anatomically possible for that individual. The leg press is simple in execution and requires little skill or understanding from the participant to be performed correctly. This limits the potential for training bias, where one participant may be more proficient in the movement than the other, leading to a less true test of strength and more one of skill within the movement. The leg press is a common piece of equipment within rowing gyms and so this test is easily accessible for most clubs and athletes. From our understanding of the rowing stroke, we can ascertain that the leg press mimics the drive phase of the stroke more closely than any other movement within a gym setting. Strong performance with the 6rm leg press has been shown to correlate positively with both 500m and 2000m ergometer performance (Lawton et al, 2011). 1rm leg press has also been shown to be an accurate predictor of 2000m ergometer performance with other forms of leg press testing also showing strong corretions between leg press and ergometer rowing performance (Huang et al, 2007; Jurimae et al, 2007). Other performance-based tests that should be considered are 1-6 repetition max squats and bench pulls, as well as tests aimed at indicating levels of muscular endurance such as maximum number of supine rows. Tests centered around an athlete’s capacity to withstand training loads without injury often include trunk capacity testing such as prone, supine and lateral isometric holds for time. When choosing other tests to perform outside of the leg press, the needs of the team, individual athletes, time of year and time of season should be considered so that efficacy is maximized. If athletes are returning from rehabilitation, extra care should be taken when performing these physical tests. References Baudouin, A., & Hawkins, D. (2002). A biomechanical review of factors affecting rowing performance. British journal of sports medicine, 36(6), 396-402. Chan, R. H. (2005). Endurance times of trunk muscles in male intercollegiate rowers in Hong Kong. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 86(10), 2009-2012. De Campos Mello, F., de Moraes Bertuzzi, R. C., Grangeiro, P. M., & Franchini, E. (2009). Energy systems contributions in 2,000 m race simulation: a comparison among rowing ergometers and water. European journal of applied physiology, 107(5), 615. Gee, T. I., Olsen, P. D., Berger, N. J., Golby, J., & Thompson, K. G. (2011). Strength and conditioning practices in rowing. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(3), 668-682. Geraci, A. (1988). U.S. Patent No. 4,743,010. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Holden, D. L., & Jackson, D. W. (1985). Stress fracture of the ribs in female rowers. The American journal of sports medicine, 13(5), 342-348. Huang, C. J., Nesser, T. W., & Edwards, J. E. (2007). STRENGTH AND POWER DETERMINANTS OF ROWING PERFORMANCE. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 10(4). Jürimäe, T., Perez-Turpin, J. A., Cortell-Tormo, J. M., Chinchilla-Mira, I. J., Cejuela-Anta, R., Mäestu, J., ... & Jürimäe, J. (2010). Relationship between rowing ergometer performance and physiological responses to upper and lower body exercises in rowers. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(4), 434-437. Lawton, T. W., Cronin, J. B., & McGuigan, M. R. (2011). Strength testing and training of rowers. Sports Medicine, 41(5), 413-432. Lawton, T. W., Cronin, J. B., & McGuigan, M. R. (2013). Strength, power, and muscular endurance exercise and elite rowing ergometer performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 27(7), 1928-1935. McNeely, E., Sandler, D., & Bamel, S. (2005). Strength and power goals for competitive rowers. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 27(3), 10. Roth, W., Schwanitz, P., Pas, P., & Bauer, P. (1993). Force-time characteristics of the rowing stroke and corresponding physiological muscle adaptations. International journal of sports medicine, 14(S 1), S32-S34. Rumball, J. S., Lebrun, C. M., Di Ciacca, S. R., & Orlando, K. (2005). Rowing injuries. Sports medicine, 35(6), 537-555. Steinacker, J. M., Lormes, W. E. R. N. E. R., Lehmann, M. A. N. F. R. E. D., & Altenburg, D. I. E. T. E. R. (1998). Training of rowers before world championships. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 30(7), 1158-1163. Smoljanovic, T., Bojanic, I., Hannafin, J. A., Hren, D., Delimar, D., & Pecina, M. (2009). Traumatic and overuse injuries among international elite junior rowers. The American journal of sports medicine, 37(6), 1193-1199. Wilson, F., Gissane, C., Gormley, J., & Simms, C. (2010). A 12-month prospective cohort study of injury in international rowers. British journal of sports medicine, 44(3), 207-214. Willson, J. D., Dougherty, C. P., Ireland, M. L., & Davis, I. M. (2005). Core stability and its relationship to lower extremity function and injury. JAAOS-Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 13(5), 316-325.

[multisportlife-blog]

This weeks’s legend - TOMISLAV SMOLJANOVIĆ - Croatian Olympic Medalist in Rowing and renowned Medical Scientist, Physician and Head of the Orthopaedic Polyclinic Department at the University of Zagreb!!! Read the interview here ▶️ http://projects.multisportclubs.eu/edoc/2019/05/27/tomislav-smoljanovic-legendsforever/ #legendsforever #edoc #eucommission #erasmusplus #rowing #sydney #olympics #scientist #doctor #dualcareer #nevergiveup #zagreb https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx9VAO2C8mY/?igshid=1wnzo9jh44bje

[gtaradi]

Dario Smoljanović: Na krilima Zmajčeka Pozojčeka

Moje selo Veliki Poganac dobilo je ime 1610.god. po ugarskom vlastelinu Poganyu  čije je to bilo zemljište. Sam Zmajček Pozojček bio je njegov savjetnik koji mu je predložio to ime.

Jednog jutra na moja vrata je pokucao nepoznati gost. Bio je to Zmajček Pozojček. Rekao mi je da bi htio obići moje selo i da bi volio da idem s njim. Zanima ga kako selo danas izgleda, što se promijenilo, kako ljudi žive i ima li još djece osim mene. Rekao je da nije vidio djecu kad je dolazio. Ako me zanima ispričat će mi kako je nastalo selo Veliki Poganac. Pristao sam.

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