It’s awards season already and having sworn I wouldn’t enter any this year, I seem to have found myself entering The Myprotein Fitness Awards, just because I could. Which is why I’m unashamedly (OK, a bit ashamedly) on the hunt for your votes. I’ve entered the endurance category, which they describe as “running, cycling, swimming, etc.”…
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You hear a lot about marginal gains in elite sport. Top class rowers, cyclists and runners all jostle to get that tiny edge over their competitors that will nose them over the line in front. But it always feels a little silly and self-indulgent to be bothered about that kind of thing when you’re an…
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I’ve had my eye on a Vitamix for a while, ever since I interviewed someone a few years ago who swore by theirs. For those of you not in the know, Vitamix make top-of-the-range, fearsomely powerful blenders. They are the Ferrari to the Nissan Micra of most blenders on the market. Until recently, the major…
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“You must be bonkers,” said our juniors’ coach cheerfully, when I told him on Friday night that my sculling (and steering) debut was to be at Evesham Regatta. “Tiny, narrow lanes and a hairpin bend…” There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it, and he did later admit he’d been exaggerating, but…
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I’m always looking for my next challenge. I’m happiest when I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone (hence my last post on learning to steer!) In recent years most of my new endeavours have been fitness related, but my latest venture isn’t taking place on the river. It’s mostly happening at my desk with…
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(Pic by Ben Rodford, ridiculous editing by me) With just two Vets’ Heads under my belt, I’m hardly a world-weary, battle-scarred war horse. I do, however, remember vividly what it’s like to race on the Boat Race championship course for the first time. The Tideway is a strange and confusing environment for anyone who doesn’t…
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It’s fair to say that my student days, back in the dim and distant past, were not spent pursuing a healthy lifestyle. I did devote a reasonable amount of time to poring over dusty legal textbooks, it’s true, but the rest of my waking hours were mostly occupied with socialising and drinking, and not always…
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I’m very excited to announce that the Girl on the River Rowing Photography Competition has officially launched, with two super-prestigious judges presiding over the entries. In my travels on social media I’ve seen hundreds of stunning images by and of rowers, taken both on and off the river. Light breaking over mist-shrouded water during dawn…
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On a chilly morning on the river, there’s a bunch of rowers and coxes who suffer more than most – those who, like me, have Raynaud’s phenomenon. This is a bizarre circulatory disorder, affecting about 10 million people in the UK. It interrupts the blood supply to the extremities in a dramatic way that doesn’t…
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Lots of you have told me how useful you found the hip flexor stretch video I posted yesterday, so here’s a video demonstrating a hamstring stretch for rowers. Rowers tend to have very tight hamstrings and it’s not great for your technique, so it’s worth spending some time on this. I’ve added subtitles for anyone…
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