Customer Reviews

High Performance Rowing

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John McArthur is coach at a UK rowing club and has written a book for those who aspire to excellence in the sport. The book is up to date in areas of rigging, physiology, technique and training. What is more, McArthur explains the "why" and the "how" behind rigging and physiology - something usually skipped. This is not a book which will help beginners directly, but it will inspire and inform the beginner as well as the elite athlete. And I guess that's what I liked most about it: treating rowing as a form of athletic endeavour and giving the intelligent and committed rower enough information to enable him or her to understand every aspect of the sport and so to come to an informed, sensible position which suits their capacities and aspirations.

I am a rowing coach and instructor. I find this book to be an indispensible tool for athletes and coaches alike. Form the basics of the stroke to training for "high performance rowing," this book covers it all in depth. Everyone who rows should read this book. Buy it for your boathouse and pass it around!

I think one of the greatest contribuition of this book is that it covers so many aspects that the athlete must care about outside of water and that are as important as rowing techniques. It covers methodolgies to become disciplined, to analyze progress, enhancement and assiduity. Covers very well the practices that should be taken in gym (weight work and stretching) focused on rowing, as well as very interesting and easy to understand physiological aspects of human body during the practice. The book obviously covers very well the rowing techniques and competition strategies.

This book is primarily for those who row on water, rather than those who use an erg indoors, as I do. That being said it's a great book, crammed full of important and relevant information.

It has detailed tips on improving technique, comprehensive explanations of what kind of training to do to achieve a certain goal, description on how to write a training program, and competiton strategies. It gets very specific in several areas regarding strength, endurance, power, and how to increase all of these. There are charts and graphs, diagrams and photos, the works!

I only wish the author had given more focus to erg rowing, but even without that this is an excellent resource for anyone who rows, whether on land or on the water.