Reaching a Personal Best
January 10, 2009
This past year I along with the entire US Olympic Men’s Heavyweight Sweep Team worked with Bob on strength and conditioning. I found Bob’s knowledge of the sport of rowing, biomechanics, physiology and overall demeanor to be most impressive. Bob’s program helped improve my power and mechanic coordination and as a result I was able to pull a personal best on my 2k erg score this year and I did so while wearing a V02 mask. Obviously it is up to you to put in the work and fulfill your end of the bargain but in terms of teachers Bob is one of the best.
Tyler Winklevoss, Olympic Finalist 2-
Benefits of Strength Training
January 10, 2009
Transitioning indoors onto the erg has never been easier for me as it was after this past fall of rowing and your lifting program. As I mentioned in our conversation yesterday the first recognition of improvement for me came during steady state workouts. Every time I sat down on the erg, even if my legs were still sore from the previous days lift, I had confidence that I would be able to press out better splits than I had in previous years of training. The intensity of the lifts was easily identifiable, however the compressed duration of the circuit method I felt that a high level of focus on the work at hand was able to be maintained. That reality is the one that I feel provided the most impetus for physiological improvement. I always had a clear idea of the benefits of the exercises (since so many of the movements mimic rowing) without the “brain fade” realized during most lifting programs.
Truth be told I never put much stake in “cross training” or “lifting” previous to this year. I think the reason was simply that I had never been able to see results from long, slow, and often boring workouts in the weight room. But in your workouts, with the rapid progression, and the ability to really exhort yourself throughout the condensed circuits, I found a platform from where I could maintain a high heart rate, exhaust my body nearly to failure, yet be able to recover efficiently enough to train on the erg, and water at the level necessary for the US National Rowing Team.
Winter Erg scores compared to previous bests
October : 30 minute Erg Test @ 24 SPM
Average Split – 1:39.2 / 500 meters (previous best – 1:39.4)
December : 6K Erg Test Open Rating
Average Split – 1:36.1 / 500 meters, Total Time – 19:13 (previous best 19:23)
February: 2K Erg Test Open Rating
Average Split – 1:28.9 / 500 meters, Total Time – 5:55.8 (previous best 5:58.0)
Paul Daniels – Men’s 8+ World Champion , 2005
Client Success: Michael Stolper
January 10, 2009
“I didn’t discover sculling until I was in my mid-thirties. I rowed in the Head of Charles over the next 15 years off and on mostly as an “also rowed,” never breaking into the top 3 finishers. Last year I finally came in 4th place but I was still a very distant 34 seconds out of first. I was introduced to Bob Kaehler in June of ’08. I was nursing a bad back and I had just 4 months to get myself ready for the Charles. Bob did a full assessment of my strength, cardio and flexibility. Then he worked up a detailed plan that included stretches to rehabilitate my back and an exercise regimen to strengthen certain rowing specific muscle groups. He also designed a day-by-day schedule of land and rowing workouts designed to maximize my race readiness for the Charles. During the summer and fall he made adjustments to the program based on my progress and even worked around my busy family, business and travel schedules. Throughout the process he never once seemed to doubt that he could help me overcome those 34 seconds. By race day he had completely transformed my approach to racing: he brought my stroke rating up over 15%; dramatically increased my flexibility at the catch; and, gave me the endurance to sprint the last quarter of the race.
I went to Boston the underdog behind a former Olympic Medalist, a former U.S. National team member and a Crash B hammer winner. All three of them had long and successful rowing careers with multiple head race wins including the Charles. In contrast, I had never won a major head race in a single. Nevertheless, I won the Charles by 5 seconds and was decisively faster than the entire field in the final quarter of the race. When I saw Bob after the race he didn’t betray even a hint of surprise. Besides getting married and having four girls, I can’t recall a more satisfying experience in my life than winning the Charles and I don’t believe I could have done without Bob’s help.”