The days are shorter, the commute to the rowing club is getting colder, and many clubs are heading indoors for the long-haul of the winter season.
But a bright light exists in the dark tunnel: the holiday period. Festivities galore, catching up with family and friends, and indulging in some good food and time for relaxation. The holiday period can also be incredibly stressful, especially for those juggling work, studies, socialising, as well as sticking to a training plan to keep the spring and summer racing season on track.
Even if you’ve had your fill of lists for the season, here are just a few tips to get the most out of the holiday period.
No water? No problem!
One of the biggest struggles can be balancing fitness while travelling or hosting during the holidays. For me, my training routine – two water sessions, two erg sessions, one S&C – was completely disrupted over the winter break, not least because I don’t have a local body of water to row on.
If you are lucky enough to have a body of water (and maybe even a boat to row on it), take advantage of it! See if there’s a club nearby that offers guest rowing, or return to a home club to catch up with some old friends. If you’re having trouble fitting rowing and socialising into a busy schedule, consider training together. In my experience, it was always easier to push myself when I had someone there to support.
For those who are boat-less for the holidays, sticking to some sort of scaled-back version of your normal training routine can still be beneficial. Replace a normal water session with an erg, or a weights training with a home workout. If you want an advent-style surprise each day (and if your captains don’t already have a training plan in mind), the Concept2 workout of the day can be a fun addition to your routine. The workouts can be adapted to the RowErg, BikeErg, or SkiErg, making them easily adapted to what equipment you have and what intensity you want to go for. You don’t necessarily need a BikeErg to do some cycling intervals.
Taking (mental) stock
Regardless of what level of fitness you want to build or maintain over the holiday season, it also presents a good opportunity to reflect and take stock of your mental space. While New Year’s resolutions are a classic end-of-year reflection activity, the brief pause in the training routine can also be a good opportunity to review progress towards goals you might already have.
Some questions to consider: What did you want to accomplish going into the season, and are you on track to get there? What are some challenges you’ve been facing, and are there tangible ways that you can address them in the new year? What small shifts can you make now that will get you to your end-of-season goals and beyond?
Most importantly, be kind to yourself and know that breaks are needed. For some, the idea of trying to fit training into a busy holiday season feels impossible, while for others the idea of not keeping up pace for several weeks is stressful in itself. I strongly believe that giving yourself the space to relax and de-stress is just as important as logging miles and miles on the erg.
Rowing involves both physical and mental fitness, so attending to both of those throughout the season means you can avoid burning out and hit the ground running when it really matters. Everyone’s idea of rest and relaxation will look different; a good break means getting back to it stronger and better than before, regardless of what that will look like for you.
