February 2002
Weighty Matters
What to do about weight?
One of the first things folks forget when it is time to consider the topic of weight is that a pound weighs a pound wherever it may sit in the boat. Heavyweights should remember this fact the next time they try to restrict their coxswain’s diet. It does no good to have a ravenous light-headed cox (indeed, it will slow the crew down) if the four man is carrying a spare tire (which will also slow the crew down).
Lightweights, by their very nature, have an easier time understanding this concept. This may be why, from my observation, coxswains in US collegiate lightweight programs tend to outweigh coxswains in US heavyweight programs. When I was in college, for example, I noted that our heavyweight coxes tended to be in the 115-125 pound range and our lightweight coxes were in the 125-135 pound range (collegiate coxing weight in the US is 125 pounds). And I know I startled more than a few heavyweights in Britain when I first showed up there to cox heavyweights after my US collegiate career spent coxing lightweights, when I was weighing in at 130 pounds in a day when the coxing weight for men’s crews in Britain was still only 110 pounds.
When selecting coxswains, weight should not really be an issue, within reason. A few pounds here or there will not make a difference. Sure, every pound slows the crew down, but that extra pound could just as easily come off the fat guy as off the cox. And a good coxswain is worth more to boat speed than the weight differential. And coxing is a mental sport, so, once selected, if the weight loss comes from starvation, then a perfectly good coxswain goes to waste.
When selecting coxswains for crews I have coached, weight has been the last thing to enter my mind. I do not advocate fat coxswains, so a cox over the weight limit needs to see if there is a way to reduce weight over the course of the Winter while still remaining healthy. But that is also true of rowers.
Extra weight (on a rower) does have its uses in certain conditions. When plowing into a headwind, the weight comes in handy. Lightweights blow around too easily. In long headraces, especially on bumpy conditions, it is nice to have a few fatboys on board. I have written before in this space about my famous “lightweight” crew at the 1989 Head of the Charles which was collectively about 72 pounds overweight. That came in handy on the day.
But to have the extra weight also requires being able to pull it. I’ve known a number of erg monsters who think that because they can throw their weight around on the machine they should be able to produce in the boat. But ergs don’t float, as the saying goes. People have to know some technique and have the strength to carry themselves down the river.
Some coaches employ weight adjustment to erg tests. This is a useful tool, which I personally have employed and am generally in favor of. However, there need to be a few caveats before blindly adjusting erg tests to account for weights.
First, as any heavyweight will quickly remind a coach, a rower does not only need to pull himself down the river, but also one-eighth the weight of the coxswain, one-eighth the weight of the boat, and the weight of his own oar and clothing (and water bottle, and whatever else). So if the formula a coach uses for weight-adjustment does not reflect this extra weight, then the coach must at least keep this factor in mind.
Second, a weight-adjusted erg score is just one useful measurement. Just as a raw erg score cannot be considered on its own, so must an adjusted one be taken both in context and in conjunction with other measurements.
The only times I have used erg scores to set line-ups have been for fall head races. At that time of year, it is not usually worth the time and effort to fully test people and produce the fastest crews, because it detracts from the overall program geared for peaking when it matters. Erg tests are a neutral way to set line-ups. Sometimes I’ll weight adjust. Sometimes I’ll split the lights and the heavies apart first, in which case weight adjustment becomes less necessary (or more: the truly overweight guy who can kill an erg may make the boat sink too, so the light-heavyweights need the testing boost and the fat guy needs to lose weight; or for lightweights crews who require weight-makers, the little guy still needs to produce but by letting big guys into the crew makes up for size). Whatever the method, usually I will base decisions on a series of erg tests rather than just one, to get a more balanced assessment.
I find that weight-adjustments in the Fall are often a good idea. It reminds the big guys not to rest on their fat but to actually work harder. It also encourages the little guys and makes them feel like their hard work is appreciated. It is easy for the little guy to get lost, and this is de-motivating.
For springtime, erg tests are a good way to set up a seat-racing ladder. But, again, they are just one measure. Whether to weight-adjust or not depends on the coach’s overall perspective and the sort of message which needs to be sent to the specific group of athletes. But whether the coach weight-adjusts or not really makes little difference beyond the cosmetic if the coach then follows through by testing on the water to see who actually moves the boat. There it is not just the overall fitness and the technique, but also looking at combinations. People who have been coached by me will know that expression well enough: “looking for combinations.” What combination will produce the fastest boat is a different question altogether than who pulled the fastest erg or has the smoothest oar or won the most seat-races (although pulling fast ergs, rowing well, and winning seat-races is usually a good sign).
There is also another context for weight, however. A lightweight crew will row differently from a heavyweight crew which will row differently from a crew composed of a mixture of heavies and lights. The little guy may add nothing to a big crew, and the big guy may disrupt a small crew. Or a big guy who can row well may provide the needed muscle in a small crew, just as a little guy with the right mindset could hold his own in the big crew. I’ve seen all combos.
In the end, weight is a factor. But its pros (and cons) must be
put into perspective.