While conditioning, technique, and equipment are key factors for success in rowing, the importance of mental factors is often underestimated—perhaps because mental training is so individualized and its effectiveness so difficult to measure.
We can record a video to assess technique and conduct an ergometer test to evaluate physical ability but we don’t have such simple and accurate tools for measuring a person’s mental state. Nevertheless, good coaches understand the importance of mental readiness and work with athletes on their mental preparation as an important component of overall performance.
In this context, a matter deserving special attention is sleep, which can have a major impact on both mind and body.
Sleep problems often arise when traveling, crossing time zones, or having to sleep in an unfamiliar bed or a different climate. Training camps and regattas pose an additional challenge to getting a good night’s sleep when rowers have to get up earlier than usual or prepare for important races and training sessions such as seat racing.
At such times, anticipation and excitement can cause rowers to worry about what lies ahead and to have trouble sleeping precisely when a restful night’s sleep is needed most urgently.
Just one night of poor sleep can impair cognitive performance and cause daytime sleepiness and increased stress as well as slower reaction time and reduced alertness, research conducted by Elizabeth Blake Zakarin of Columbia University shows.
A bad night’s sleep may not affect oxygen uptake or muscle strength appreciably, but tossing and turning all night because of worry is bound to affect how you perform on the water the next day. Because they need to be so alert, coxswains seem especially vulnerable to the toll of poor sleep.
In The Netherlands, Michelle Darvill, successful coach of Dutch and Canadian national teams, worked with Kelly Dekker, a mental skills coach who advocates an approach called “accept and commit.”
“She explained to the athletes that you don’t always have to feel great to perform well,” Darvill said. “The athletes accept how they feel, and even if the circumstances aren’t ideal, they understand that they’re still capable of performing at their best.
“I also think it’s important to have a solid plan, so that topics like sleep are discussed well in advance of the main competition.
“Sleep is important in the long run, but rest and relaxation—or a positive mindset—are just as important the night before a race. When you work with athletes to figure out what helps them recover and what they can do if they can’t sleep, they stay confident—instead of worrying about not being able to sleep.”
Volker Nolte, an internationally recognized expert on the biomechanics of rowing, is the author of Rowing Science, Rowing Faster, and Masters Rowing. He’s a retired professor of biomechanics at the University of Western Ontario, where he coached the men’s rowing team to three Canadian national titles.
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