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Saturday, September 16
THE POWER GAME: HOW REDGRAVE MUSCLES HIS WAY TO GOLD
TOUGH GUYS: the difference between Steve Redgrave and Maurice Greene
Oarsmen are among the fittest athletes in the world, although not necessarily the strongest, according to American scientist Dr Stephen Seiler, one of the worldŐs leading authorities on the physiology of rowing.
Rated as human machines to consume oxygen and turn it into energy, the bodies of international rowers are near the peak of what is possible in sport.
Only the world's best racing cyclists
are in the same league.
"The very best rowers in the world have shown oxygen consumption figures of seven litres per minute in laboratory tests," reported Dr Seiler, who works at Agder College in Kristiansand, Norway.
By contrast an averagely fit, but untrained adult male, would return figures of around three litres per minute. The only other sports people in this league of anatomical efficiency are cross-country skiers, but being far smaller than rowers or cyclists the absolute amounts of oxygen they consume are much smaller.
Ironically, one of Dr Seiler's papers makes the point that there is very little statistical data on rowers over 35, being such a rare group. Steve Redgrave, of course, is 39.
Apart from brief breaks and international regattas, Redgrave and Co trained from four to six hours a day, seven days a week, 49 weeks a year.
Morning sessions at the Leander Club in Henley usually involved low-intensity but long sessions on ergometers (rowing machines) for endurance, with weight-training for strength. Twice a week, 'killer' weight-training circuits had to be endured.
Afternoons were generally spent rowing set-pieces on the water. Training sessions had to be tailored to Redgrave"s six daily injections of insulin, and his calorie-intake was significantly increased.
Redgrave on the effects of the training regime: "I feel knackered all the time. I have no energy and I'm fighting the margins of being ill and not being ill. I go to dinners and fall asleep. I"m pushing back the boundaries all the time, and training so hard it takes a toll on the body. If you feel fit and strong there"s something wrong. You're not training hard enough."
Redgrave"s physique, at 6ft 4in and 16st 7lb, and exceptional heart and lung capacity, were made for rowing. He has the perfect combination for rowers: long levers and a big engine
TOUGH GUYS: the difference between Steve Redgrave and Maurice Greene
In layman"s terms, there are two types of muscle fibres - strength or fast-twitch fibres, and endurance or slow-twitch fibres. A sprinter, such as Maurice Greene, would have predominantly fast-twitch fibres, which fatigue quickly. They require small amounts of oxygen and are associated with short, high-powered events. A 100m sprinter will only take two or three short breaths as he powers his way to the line.
An endurance athlete relies on slow-twitch fibres, which are low-bulk, low-strength fibres which rely upon oxygen intake to produce energy. They take much longer to fatigue and
are associated with aerobic respiration and longer events.
Rowers such as Redgrave, on the other hand, are the ultimate hybrid between the two: they combine low-intensity training, to build up endurance, with weights work for the explosive part of their sport. The coxless four"s race strategy could best be described as like running a 5,000m race with a 200m sprint at the beginning and end. The difficulty is avoiding 'oxygen debt', when the build up of lactic acid causes the body to close down as co-ordination and muscles fail.
Sunday Times
