Rowing: The Essential Guide to Equipment and Techniques (Adventure Sports) [Paperback]

This is a decent, if basic, introduction. I've just become interested in rowing and was looking for a good beginner's overview. This book served that purpose, but feels a bit lightweight nonetheless. For one thing, it's a slim book, coming in at under 100 pages with just seven succinct chapters. There are also quite a few pictures, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because the pictures are often helpful in illustrating points in the text (as they should), but bad because sometimes it seems like the book lacks substance due to the high proportion of photos. Also, sometimes the pictures feel a bit like fluff, where they take up a lot of space without adding a great deal to the value of the text. However, having said that, a lot of these pictures are just plain pretty. In summary, the book has the overall feel of a library book, which is fine if that's what you're looking for. Below are details on its contents.

The seven chapters cover the key points to give the reader a decent overview. Chapter 1, The Lore of Rowing, gives a perfunctory history of the sport, also covering the "spirit and ethos of rowing". The history basically consists of a few pictures from the early days of rowing (which are pretty cool), an acknowledgment that people have been rowing for centuries, and recommendations for a couple books for more details. It then contrasts racing versus recreational rowing, and addresses some of the most famous aspects of rowing racing, Oxford-Cambridge and the Olympics. The chapter is wrapped up with a section called 'The need to row', where some of the motivations people have to row both as individuals and as part of a team.

Chapter 2, Know your Boats, covers the basics of rowing boats, including sweep versus scull shells. This chapter wouldn't be sufficient if you were wanting to find out enough to buy a new boat, but it does cover the parts of shells, materials, and maintenance. The sections on riggers/rigging and oars are both pretty good, going into a fair amount of depth. There are also some good tables and diagrams in this chapter that summarize the different types of shells and illustrate their composition and layout.

Chapter 3, Safety and Clothing, at first seems dull, but ends up having some decent information. Specifically, it describes how to get back in the boat after falling out, and how to right it if you flip it. There are a few points regarding safety, and some guidelines for appropriately dressing for rowing, weather considered.

The next three chapters deal more specifically with actual rowing, addressing technique. Chapter 4, The Basics, starts with a discussion of the ergometer, clearly advocating that getting some mastery over the stroke before even getting into a boat is a good idea. There are several photos used in this chapter to demonstrate the various stages of the stroke, and they are pretty good. The rest of the chapter covers getting the boat from the boathouse to the water and getting in and setting the boat up.

Chapter 5, On the Water, takes the reader from the "just in the boat and set up" point at the end of Chapter 4. Issues relating to what to do with your hands, how to maintain balance in the boat, stopping, turning, reversing and steering the boat are all addressed. Then it goes into starting off rowing one stroke at a time, and then moving into multiple strokes. It concludes with information about how to dock and get out of the boat.

Chapter 6, Essential Techniques, is the longest chapter and is the heart of the book. It explains all the basics of the rowing stroke (blade placement, leg drive, arms, recovery, controlling the seat, and catch), including pictures for each. Then it includes some exercises for working on specific techniques. These are decent and standard, and should especially help the learner who has little chance for instruction from a coach (but of course could help anyone). Finally, it discusses the role of the coxswain.

Chapter 7, Training for Rowing, gives a very basic overview of training plans, including aerobic, flexibility and weight training. The focus is towards younger rowers. The basics of anatomy and physiology as they pertain to rowing are also covered. This chapter would really be insufficient for anyone trying to come up with a training plan, as it just glosses over the best activities, but it does give a good idea of what such a plan would be like.

At the end of the book, a 2-page glossary of rowing-related terms is included, along with a list of national rowing organizations for many countries. There also is an index.

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