Hi there everybody, I couldn't resist chipping in.
I was a relatively high standard rowing up until a year ago. I went to the Junior and Under 23 World Championship, and trained pretty hard since I was about 15.
Now, the thing with rowing is that beacuse of the duration of most races (Olympics, World Champ) is between 5 1/2 and 7 minutes, you can't really classify it as a sprint or endurance sport. Indeed, it is both.
A rower's training is made up of long steady sessions and short, bursty ones. It ranges from a 120 minutes ergo to 3x10x20 second bursts, depending on how close a race is. Furthermore, you use many, many muscles in your body. Only swimming uses more muscles than rowing, and that is if you swim all types of strokes. If you are a specialist, say freestyle, you would use more muscles during the rowing movement.
During my years I have tried many sports as part of my rowing training. That is how I got into cycling!! These included: running, cycling, cross-country skiing, footbal (soccer) basketball, and many more. All as part of my training!! Also, golf was on the card during the summer months to just relax and have a break.
Now, there are two issues with rowing. Like not many sports, rowing has its pinnacle in the Olympics. While World Championships are held every year, winning an Olympic gold is the ultimate goal. It follows that if you commit to rowing as a full-time athlete, your chance to prove you're worth something only comes once every four years and it only lasts 5 1/2 to 7 minutes. And trust me, everything in those 5 1/2 to 7 minutes has to go to absolute perfection. There is no room for errors.
The other issue is the high standard of most rowers. You would agree with me that cycling is something everyone can do as a week-end outing once a month. Rowing isn't like that. The essence of rowing is competition. And even at the novice level, people train up to 15 hours per week. I used to train 30 hours a week. People like Redgrave or Pinsent are around 40-45 hours per week. That is a lot of effort and you don't get very much in return.
Having said this, I respect any sportsman for what they do. To be the best at anything you need practice, dedication, commitment. I admire anyone who's at the top of their game. At the same time, I admire people who are passionate about a sport, even though they only practise it sporadically.
It's not a question of the toughest sport. It's a question of how far people are willing to go to succed.
I was a relatively high standard rowing up until a year ago. I went to the Junior and Under 23 World Championship, and trained pretty hard since I was about 15.
Now, the thing with rowing is that beacuse of the duration of most races (Olympics, World Champ) is between 5 1/2 and 7 minutes, you can't really classify it as a sprint or endurance sport. Indeed, it is both.
A rower's training is made up of long steady sessions and short, bursty ones. It ranges from a 120 minutes ergo to 3x10x20 second bursts, depending on how close a race is. Furthermore, you use many, many muscles in your body. Only swimming uses more muscles than rowing, and that is if you swim all types of strokes. If you are a specialist, say freestyle, you would use more muscles during the rowing movement.
During my years I have tried many sports as part of my rowing training. That is how I got into cycling!! These included: running, cycling, cross-country skiing, footbal (soccer) basketball, and many more. All as part of my training!! Also, golf was on the card during the summer months to just relax and have a break.
Now, there are two issues with rowing. Like not many sports, rowing has its pinnacle in the Olympics. While World Championships are held every year, winning an Olympic gold is the ultimate goal. It follows that if you commit to rowing as a full-time athlete, your chance to prove you're worth something only comes once every four years and it only lasts 5 1/2 to 7 minutes. And trust me, everything in those 5 1/2 to 7 minutes has to go to absolute perfection. There is no room for errors.
The other issue is the high standard of most rowers. You would agree with me that cycling is something everyone can do as a week-end outing once a month. Rowing isn't like that. The essence of rowing is competition. And even at the novice level, people train up to 15 hours per week. I used to train 30 hours a week. People like Redgrave or Pinsent are around 40-45 hours per week. That is a lot of effort and you don't get very much in return.
Having said this, I respect any sportsman for what they do. To be the best at anything you need practice, dedication, commitment. I admire anyone who's at the top of their game. At the same time, I admire people who are passionate about a sport, even though they only practise it sporadically.
It's not a question of the toughest sport. It's a question of how far people are willing to go to succed.