Faster with Bill Chambers

Join me as I talk with highly experienced applied Sports Biomechanist Dr Conny Draper PhD about how what we can learn from how National Teams analyse the rowing stroke to go faster. Conny has a vast expertise in Rowing, Canoe Kayak (Sprint and Slalom), Para Sport, and a range of other sports including Diving, Swimming, Athletics. 

Conny was the Senior Sports Biomechanist for Rowing at the Australian Institute of Sport and now Consulting in Applied Sports Biomechanics, to National Rowing Teams, Universities and Masters Rowers interested in taking analysis and applied understanding of how to move the boat to the next level. 

Nick Lloyd is the woman's coach at the Swiss Rowing Federation, and the assistant coach to Ian Wright. Growing up in Sydney Australia, Nick has been involved in and led the coaching of some of the most successful school crews in Australia and New Zealand. Now assisting Head Coach Ian Wright in the Swiss programme, Nick shares his thoughts on what it takes to bring a crew together as one to go fast, and his approach to technique.

Books mentioned in the interview.

• True Blue
• Last of the amatuers
• Boys in the boat

Video mentioned in the interview.

Join my conversation with Dr Charlie Simpson about nutrition for rowers. 

• How to fuel for different training sessions
• What to eat and when after exercising or strength training
• Supplements (BCAA, Beta Alanine, Protein etc...)
• Are all calories the same
• What to watch out for in diets
• Options for vegetarians 

Excited to share this interview with Adrian Cassidy. Adrian has so much experience to share from rowing and high performance. Adrian rowed for Team GB winning world Championships from junior through to elite, before an accident that ended his rowing career. Adrian shares his come back story from a broken neck to a career as an international rowing coach. His experiences and insights from coaching at Cambridge University Boat Club, then British Rowing, and Rowing Ireland where he was chief coach.

Excited to share with you my latest podcast episode, where I interview the dual Olympian and 776BC co-founder Cameron McKenzie-McHarg.

Cameron has a great story to tell. From growing up in a small country town, to discovering rowing at school. The attraction of other sports like Australian Football and being so good he was recruited by the Western Bulldogs in 1999. Cameron returned to rowing in 2001 with the goal of representing Australia at the Olympic Games, and rowed for Victoria and Australia for over 12 years, winning multiple World Cup and World Championships medals. Cameron has also represented Australia at two Olympic Games; Beijing 2008 and London 2012, with his career highlight claiming Silver in the Men’s Four at the Beijing Olympics. Now an entrepreneur and co-founder 776BC Cameron shares some great insights and lessons learnt from high performance sport that translate to business and life. 

• 2012 London Olympic Games: 6th Men’s Eight
• 2010 World Championships: Bronze Medal Men’s Eight
• 2009 World Championships: Silver Medal Men’s Four
• 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: Silver Medal Men’s Four
• 2008 Lucerne World Cup: Gold Medal Men’s Four
• 2006 Poznan World Cup: Gold Medal Men’s Eight

Join Greg and I, as we discuss Greg's preparations for this years Head of The Charles Regatta. How he adapted his training through Covid-19 and what he has been experimenting with.

Greg Benning, who started rowing at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and has been engaged in the sport ever since. Greg is the Vice-Chair of US Rowing and a multiple winner of the Head of The Charles regatta.

Listen to my conversation with Istvan Nemeth, Managing Director of Bont Shoes and Bont Rowing, as we discuss the importance of having the right fit and connection through the feet, from the drive and through the recovery. Istvan will cover some of the key points you need to pay attention to when choosing your shoe along with the latest developments from Bont Rowing.

Istvan and the team at Bont have a long history in creating shoes for cycling and rowing. With top World Tour Cycling, Olympic cycling and National Rowing crews using Bont shoes.

In this episode I chat with the amazing masters crew that set the masters record at the Head of The Charles Regatta (HOCR). The Wallingford crew of Mike Edge, Pete King, Steve Pearson and stroke, Richard Smith – coxed by Sara Ball, won the 2016 regatta by 30-seconds, with a new course record of 17mins 5 secs. 

The crew share how they trained and prepared for the race. Everything from engaging a new coach, and partnering with an amazingly talented cox. How they used YouTube to get used to the bends and bridges, to mapping the race distance and course on their local stretch of water in Wallingford, Oxford.

My guest today is James Goodwin, Head of physical performance and science for the Swiss Rowing Federation. 

This episode is an extract from the Live Strength & Conditioning Masterclass, where James is presenting strategies and approaches to strength training for Masters Rowers.

Charlie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Oxford Brookes University and well known for his publications on Rowing. The Complete Guide to Indoor Rowing and Advanced Rowing.

Dr Valery Kleshnev, is a best selling author, 'Biomechanics of Rowing: A Unique Insight Into the Technical and Tactical Aspects of Elite Rowing', and considered an expert in Rowing Biomechanics, helping some of the world's best rowing teams to prepare.

In this brief chat with Valery, he talks about what you can expect to learn from attending his Master Class. How different technique and different boat set-up can help you to be faster and more efficient. Valery is going to share his 30-years of insights and observations of what is is that the world's best do to go fast, and practicle applications for you to apply to your own rowing. Including demystifying some of most common rowing myths: “boat check & do not stop the boat”, as well as “blade inefficiency at the catch”. Valery will also cover, boat velocity efficiency, blade propulsive efficiency, inertial efficiency, and rower’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Excited to share my latest episode of the Faster Podcast, this time with Dr Charlie Simpson.

Charlie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Oxford Brookes University and well known for his publications. The Complete Guide to Indoor Rowing and Advanced Rowing.

In this episode, Charlie and I talk about how masters can train with intensity to improve their 1k sprint and head distance racing. Why strength training is important and how to go about it. Supplements and nutrition, what works and what doesn't. And a lot more... It's a long episode, and perfect for a long indoor endurance session.

• Defining training intensity
• The holy trinity in training intensity; heart rate, RPE and power
• Key training zones to pay attention to
• Lactate testing
• How to set up your season and week for training
• Nutrition and hydration strategies
• The Big 5 supplements that can make a real impact on performance

Thank you to our Faster podcast supporters: Precision Hydration, Bont Rowing, Filippi Boats and Citius Remex seat pads. These companies want to support Masters Rowers to go Faster and offer exclusive benefits to my newsletter subscriber. To gain access to exclusive bonus offers, ensure you subscribe to my newsletter.

My guest today is well known in the world of sports science and considered an expert in this subject. Originally born in Harare, Zimbabwe, he grew up in South Africa, studying Medicine and Exercise Science.

He is the author of several books on exercise and nutrition, including the Lore of Running and Challenging Beliefs and has over 750 scientific articles, being cited over 19,000 times.

In 2008, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (UK), and in 2015, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in recognition of his involvement in the field of Sports and Exercise Medicine. My guest has run over 70 marathons and has enjoyed rowing, whilst at university in South Africa.

My guest today is Prof Tim Noakes.

Books recommended by Prof Noakes

• The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz
• Boat race: The Oxford revival, by Daniel Topolski
• The White Spider, written by Heinrich Harrer

YouTube Links

Peter (Pete) Hardcastle, is well known in Australian and World Rowing. Pete represented Australia at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympic Games in different boat classes. After the olympics, Pete moved to the UK in 2008, where he coached at Dulwich College, Emanuel School and London Rowing Club, and coached the men's four at the Coupe de la Jeunesse in 2014.  In 2017, Pete joined Imperial College as the Head of Rowing and in his first season at Imperial, he coached the crew that won the Prince Albert Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

Pete is an amazing athlete, and still continues to amaze mere mortals, with his Ironman Triathlon exploits, and marathon running. In this episode, Pete and I explore what got him into rowing, and how he progressed to the U23 World Championships and then the Elite team under 4-years. We talk about personal motivation, and challenging others to explore what is possible. We review what is really going on with some of the rapid crews we are watching today, and he shares his tips on how to get yourself ready to race as well as preparing your race mindset.

My guest today is James Goodwin, Head of physical performance and science for the Swiss Rowing Federation. In this episode, James and I will be answering questions related to strength training for Masters Rowers.

• Best exercises for Masters Rowers
• Benefits of strength weights vs. light circuit style training
• How to best recover after weights training

Anne-Marie Howald is well know in the rowing world, having represented Switzerland at the 1987 & 88 World Championships as a lightweight, and now as the Head Coach of the U23 and Junior Squad.

In 2018, Anne-Marie was awarded the “Swiss Olympic Coach Award” for the impressive achievements of the junior national team at the European Championships in Krefeld and the World Championships in Trakai.

Anne-Marie leads the talent identification of young rowers in Switzerland, with the 'Future Rowers' programme that takes promising young athletes through to the Elite level. In this episode, Anne-Marie covered how she first started in rowing and how that love for rowing, and high performance, has taken her on her own journey to coaching and inspiring others. Plenty of inspiration for the listener, some ideas and tips on how to move the boat faster, along with some nice insights into her time training with the legendary coach, Harry Mahon.

This podcast is supported by, Precision Hydration, Bont Rowing, Filippi Boats and Citius Remex seat pads. For more information about our supporters, please ensure you subscribe to my newsletter (whchambers.com) to gain access to exclusive bonus offers.

Former FISA Secretary General, Director of Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and CEO of the Australian Sports Tribunal shares his thoughts on what rowing needs to do to stay relevant and thrive vs. survive.

John Boultbee AM, is well known in Australian as a lawyer and leading Australian sport administrator, particularly in relation to rowing and football. In 1990, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to rowing as an administrator. Between 1989 and 1995, John was Secretary General of the International Rowing Federation (FISA). John was a board member of the International Rowing Federation, Rowing Australia and Steward of the Henley Royal Regatta.

In part 2 of our 2 part interview, John shares his ...

• What John would do now to ensure rowing stays relevant
• How the exclusion of lightweight rowing is hurting the sport
• Why changing the format is not the answer to attract more people to rowing 
• What rowing can learn from other sports
• What led to the Australian Olympic team's success in 2000
• Vision of the National Sports Tribunal
  

In this episode I connect with Istvan (Steven) Nemeth of Bont Rowing. Istvan, is a masters rower and cyclist, Director at Bont Cycling & Bont Rowing, workaholic, designer of Bont Cycling and Bont Rowing shoes. Bont Rowing is committed to producing the world’s best rowing shoes. Built around innovation, research and passion for the sport of rowing. Bont rowing shoes are used by World Champions at the elite and masters level, as well as many National and University crews. 

• Importance of shoe fit
• Why anatomic shape of the shoe is so important in power transfer
• Correct foot stretcher angle
• The importance of materials for high-performance
• Why I personally use and recommend Bont Rowing shoes

Really excited to share with you, my conversation with Noel Donaldson. Noel is widely recognised, as one of the world's most successful rowing coaches. He has held posts as the head coach at the Victorian Institute of sport winning countless King’s Cup races, Elite Development, Head Coach and high-performance director at Rowing Australia, as well as the head coach for Australia and then New Zealand Rowing.

Perhaps best known as the coach of the “Oarsome Foursome” from Australia winning gold medals at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and coach of the outstanding 'Kiwi Pair'  to three consecutive Gold medals, including a double gold in 2014 in the M2- and M2+.

With so much experience and building winning teams, and crews over the years, I thought it would be nice to have a conversation with Noel and get his insights into how rowing has evolved over the years, across some different themes.

1. Technique
2. Approach to training and preparation
3. Equipment

Join Noel and I, as we talk about how rowing has evolved over the decades. Like and subscribe, so you never miss an episode.

Really excited to release my follow up interview with Greg Benning. With 19 wins at HOCR, 4 course records, and  7 wins at SilverSkiff,  I just had to get him back on the podcast, to share with us his approach to training and preparing for an event.

Anyone that wants to get insights and inspiration, into how a multiple champion athlete, prepares and trains to win, you will not want to miss this episode.

Highlights from my conversation with Greg

• How Greg plan's his season to key races
• How Greg measures and manages his training volume, intensity and recovery
• Rigging, catch angles and how to approach power application
• Key workouts and strength program
• What Greg has learnt from other sports and how these insights can be applied to rowing
• Coffee or tea? Coffee
• Racing or training? Training
• Crew or Single? Crew
• Favourite race? Head of the Charles Regatta & Heineken Roeivierkamp

Links to Greg's mentions

My guest today is well known in both World Rowing, US Rowing and business. He is a competitive master-level rower, with 19 wins at HOCR, 4 course records.  7 wins at SilverSkiff.  Half dozen FISA Veteran or US Masters Nationals with 6+ wins/regatta. He is the Vice Chair of US Rowing, captained the 1984 crew at the University of Pennsylvania, former President of Cambridge Boat Club and co-founder of the Boston rowing Federation. He is a highly successful Boston-based investment banker and an avid saltwater fly fisherman. My guest today, is Greg Benning.

Greg's mentions

My guest today is well known in Australian rowing and surf lifesaving, competing and winning over the last 40+ years in both still water and surf boats. He has served as the President of Mosman Rowing Club in Sydney. Along with his wife, and Olympic athlete Gillian, awarded coach of the year. He is a highly successful entrepreneur, owning the original RowPerfect Indoor Sculler and a highly successful vet practice on Sydney’s northern beaches. My guest today, is Dr Mark Campbell.

Links to Mark's mentions:

After hearing Drew Ginn OAM, talk about the GB 8+ approach to performance, and the simple rule that they created "Will it make the boat go faster", I was curious to speak with the man that brought the crew and the team together to win in 2000 and to uncover some of the insights and approaches that led to the crews success.

Martin McElroy is probably best known for guiding the British Olympic Team’s men’s rowing eight to gold at the Sydney Olympic games in 2000 and is credited with creating a simple yet insightful phrase that has become ubiquitous in sport and business “Will it Make the Boat Go Faster”, a simple question that focuses on what makes a difference. He has always been fascinated by the ability of people and teams to come together in the pursuit of extraordinary outcomes. He’s led sport and business teams on a daily basis, and supported other business leaders, teams and organisations as they’ve worked towards their goals. 

Martin works with sports and business organisations supporting their efforts to improve personal, professional and organisational purpose, still finding time to coach young athletes in his home town of Victoria in British Columbia. His lifelong interest in the topic of people and performance, experience of failures and successes, and a continuous desire to reflect on what he’s learned over the years leads to a fascinating conversation in this podcast.

Books and resources Martin mentioned in the podcast:

• Podcasts. Don't tell me the score, BBC
• Books, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge
• Power Breath 
• RP3 ergometre
• The 'black boat' was a Vespoli 8+

Connect with Martin