The first thing I have been trying to tackle in my nutrition ‘review’, in part because it is the easiest, is hydration. It hasn’t involved any radical changes, but just a slightly more diligent approach to my drinking. I was already quite good at remaining hydrated, but less so at drinking close to and around my training sessions. The most crucial change I have made is taking an additional bottle of water in the car on my way of training. …

I went back to basics and did a good old Google search for ‘Rowing fitness’. One of the first things which came up was this word document from the Department of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Sports Institute. It’s quite an old document (from 2006) but the fundamentals of rowing do not change, at amateur level anyway, so it was quite a good find for one of the first things I looked at. Now I don’t normally rely solely on …

The new season has started and we are half-way through week 4.  The first week was an odd one because we were on holiday (doing some treacherous and traumatic hill walks in the Lakes!) but since then I have been trying to get back in to my routine.  It has been holding-up quite well, with me managing to do 6 sessions per week over 6 days.  This week I was unfortunately hindered in training yesterday due to work, but I intend to …

In my last blog post, I mentioned briefly that I was trying to re-work my diet a touch due to a heavy reliance on carbs. In this month’s Rowing and Regatta magazine, a twitter friend of mine featured in the nutrition section. Interestingly, unlike me and most other rowers / endurance athletes I know, she ate almost no carbs. It was interesting to see how most amateur athletes struggle with their diet in one way or another. She suggested I …