Recovery is training — treat it with the same respect

A hard gig session or race leaves more than tired arms. Over 20 to 40 minutes of committed rowing, you drain muscle glycogen, create micro-damage in the fibres of your lats, glutes, quads and forearms, and fatigue the nervous system that coordinates six rowers and a cox into one efficient machine. Add a choppy sea state, a headwind off the Black Rock, and the cold spray that comes with it, and the cost rises further.

That cost is the point — it is the stimulus that makes you faster. But adaptation happens when you are resting, not when you are pulling. If you row three times a week and never plan the recovery, you are training hard and improving slowly. Treat recovery as a session in its own right: scheduled, deliberate, and non-negotiable.

Refuel inside the first hour

The window after a hard row is real, though less magical than it is sometimes made out to be. If you are back on the water or in the gym within 24 hours, aim to eat within 60 minutes of finishing: roughly 1.0–1.2 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight alongside 0.3 g of protein per kilogram.

For an 80 kg rower that means around 80–95 g of carbs and 25 g of protein. Useful, easy options:

• A large carton of milk or a banana and a flapjack on the slipway
• A cheese or chicken sandwich plus a yoghurt and fruit
• Rice, potatoes or pasta with beans, fish or meat if you are home within the hour
• A handful of nuts or a boiled egg if you genuinely cannot face a meal

If your next hard session is more than a day away, total daily intake matters far more than perfect timing. Eat properly, eat often, and do not use a hard row as an excuse for a takeaway every week.

Hydration: the loss you do not notice

Rowing on cool water in a sea breeze, you sweat less visibly than you would in a gym — but you still lose fluid, and the wind and spray hide it. Weigh yourself before and after a long session. Every kilogram lost is roughly a litre of fluid, and you should replace 1.25 to 1.5 litres for every kilogram over the following few hours.

• Drink steadily rather than in one go, with a pinch of salt or an electrolyte drink after long or very sweaty rows
• Check urine colour: pale straw is the target, dark amber means you are behind
• Take a bottle in the boat where your club rules and the conditions allow, or leave one at the slip for the moment you land
• Be honest about alcohol — it slows rehydration and wrecks sleep quality, which is where the real repair happens

Mobility work that suits a rower's body

Gig rowing shapes you: hips flexed, spine slightly rounded, shoulders and lats working hard through a long pull. The result is usually tight hip flexors and lats, a stiff upper back and glutes that have gone to sleep. Ten minutes after a session beats an hour once a month.

• Hip flexor and quad stretch, holding 30 seconds each side
• Thoracic extensions over a foam roller or rolled towel — good for the twist and reach
• Lat and shoulder stretches — hang from a bar or reach across your body
• Glute work: bridges, clams, a simple banded walk
• Forearm and wrist stretches, which most rowers neglect until their grip aches

Keep dynamic movement — leg swings, arm circles, easy paddling — for the warm-up. Save longer static holds for after rowing, and avoid deep stretching in the hour before a race.

Sleep, rest days and the art of doing less

Nothing you eat or drink competes with sleep for recovery value. Aim for seven to nine hours, and if you can, a 20-minute nap after a long Sunday row. A dark, cool room and no screens for the last half hour make a bigger difference than most supplements.

Build one full rest day into every week, and an easier week every third or fourth — cut volume by roughly a third. On rest days, gentle movement helps: a walk on the coast path, a sea swim, an easy paddle in a stable single. Cold water dipping is popular in Cornwall and many rowers swear by it for feeling fresher, though the evidence for speeding muscle repair is mixed. Do not plunge straight after heavy strength work.

Planning recovery into your season

Look at your club calendar and work backwards. A winter of steady miles, spring speed work and a taper before the championships all need recovery built in, not squeezed in afterwards.

• Never stack two hard sessions back to back unless you have planned an easy day after
• Log each session with a simple effort rating and note how you slept; patterns show up fast
• Share the lift, share the flask — crews that eat together on the slipway recover better than those who drive home hungry
• If your morning pulse is up, your grip feels weak and everything aches, that is data, not weakness

Recover well and you will row better. It is as simple, and as demanding, as that.