#50 Rowing Strength with Blake Gourley

Check out this week's podcast episode featuring Blake Gourley.

With a Masters Degree in Sports Performance, 12+ years of experience in competitive rowing, 10+ professional certifications, and several published articles under his belt, Blake's goal is to help as many rowers as possible. 

For the past 12+ years, he has been working with clients ranging from high-performing athletes with no limitations to clients transitioning out of injury. He strongly believes that no matter where you are currently, there’s always a way to improve. You aren’t broken.

Blake has held internships with Stanford Sports Performance and Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (voted the #1 gym in the USA). He spent 9 years coaching high school rowing and was the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Santa Clara University Men's Crew Team for 2 years. He is currently the Injury & Performance Management Consultant for the Los Gatos Rowing Club, and a board member & associate professor for the Personal Training Certificate Program at West Valley College.

 

In this podcast we discuss:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 02:59 - Competitive rowers - A growing demographic
• 05:30 - Rowing applications - Sculling and Sweep
• 08:48 - Programming for rowing clients
• 12:04 - Stick Mobility for improving rowing pelvic positioning and stroke
• 13:59 - Rowing - much more than an upper-body exercise.
• 15:08 - Measuring leg strength as a performance indicator
• 16:56 - Coordination
• 19:28 - Grip strength and rowing technique
• 26:15 - Tips and advice for beginner gym rowers
• 28:28 - Proper rowing back positioning 
• 29:22 - Foot sequencing for efficient rowing
• 31:06 - Recommended strokes per minute ranges
• 32:48 - Breathing patterns and bracing
• 35:32 - Testing anaerobic capacity on a rower
• 36:32 - End range rowing mechanics
• 37:49 - Current projects
• 38:57 - Recovery

 

More from Blake:

https://www.instagram.com/rowing_strength/

https://www.rowingstrength.com/

https://scienceofrowing.com