EXCLUSIVE: 'I was determined to get stuck into the challenge'
Shakila Barabhuiya • Published 9 Feb 2012 10:30
0 Comments
Chronicle reporter Shakila Barabhuiya gets aboard the ergo to start her rowing trial
I'M not going to beat about the bush, my first effort at a 2,000km ergo trial for GB rowing's Nation On Trial initiative was hard work.
Having never attempted such a distance, I was unsurprisingly daunted by the task. I wasn't helped by the fact I was still aching from my first hockey session since Christmas.
However, I was determined to get stuck into the challenge ahead but made doubly sure that I was warmed up.
After a 10 minute jog on the treadmill and plenty of stretching I sat down on the ergo, trying to recollect
the various bits of advice I had been given.
Contrary to popular belief, the word 'ergo' is not the Latin for therefore, but comes from the Greek ergon, meaning work or energy, hence the word ergonomics - the study of people's efficiency in their working environment.
I found the first 1,000m extremely difficult and I soon began to have pain across my shoulders and my back.
I discovered that the principle reason was because I wasn't using the momentum in my legs to push backwards, which put extra pressure on my arms and back.
So, I had a short break to stretch it out, which was factored into my final time, and as soon as I started using my legs I noticed the difference immediately.
It was so much easier to establish a rhythm and that was reflected in the quicker time I set for the final 1,000m.
My first effort was 6 minutes 22 seconds while the second improved to 5:48, making for an overall time of 12:10, exactly double lightweight fours rower Rob Williams' personal best.
l THE Nation On Trial initiative, sponsored by the GB rowing team's high-performance partner Siemens, pits the public against each other and the clock to mark the build-up to the senior trials in March by inviting them to get fit, get on a rowing machine and take their own 2km trial.
Two kilomertres is the distance GB's top stars will race on the water at the Olympic Games this summer, but for anyone aspiring to join the GB team the year-long selection process begins with a 2km test on a rowing machine.
All participants in The Nation on Trial will be entered into a prize draw to win a behind-the-scenes trip to the culmination of that process, the Senior Trials, at the Olympic rowing venue, Eton Dorney, and are encouraged to raise money for the event's charity partner The Stroke Association by getting sponsored to complete a training plan or hit a target.
Former lightweight men's four champion Rob Williams, who trains in Caversham but began rowing at Maidenhead Rowing Club, said: "It's definitely worth people going out there and having a crack. You never know how good you're going to be until you give it a go.
"I find it a very sociable sport, that's what really got me into rowing.
"I think it's very hard for people to go to the gym with the intention of just getting fit and the good thing about this initiative is that it gives people something to aim for."
Anyone of any ability aged 16 and over can register at www.nationontrial.org and can record multiple times until February 29.
The trial could also throw up the next generation of GB rowers as the times for those aged 16-24 will be assessed.
TELL US HOW YOUR TRIAL IS GOING AT sport@berksmedia.co.uk or on twitter @rdgchronicle
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 09 Feb 12
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
-
******
May 9, 08:14
Report commentThis comment has been removed by a moderator
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.
