Sculling with Cycling

You will learn about what a heightened awareness of the core can do for your leg-drive; and why it can be helpful to visualise of the power of your legs as balanced pistons. Posture, breathing, cadence, balancing intensity, recovery – these aspects will be covered also.  On top of the essential base-building of endurance and power, their focussed approach will enhance your rhythm, flow and efficiency on the water.

Mindfulness with Oars

A short course with Leonard de Mol van Otterloo Leonard  de Mol van Otterloo is  a leading Amsterdam-based Mind-training coach who has been bringing his own concept of Mindfulness to bear on sports training, particularly for rowers. During the  summer, Leonard visited Bergerac twice, and we had some interesting discussions about how his particular approach to…

C2 or RP3? Bring on the Putney guinea-pigs

For 10 hectic days last month I was down on the River Lot, 50 km south of Bergerac. This is the famously smooth, slow-flowing water on which so many of the world’s top rowers have honed their skills.  First stop was the La Base camp at Temple-sur-Lot, where crews from the French national squads and…

How to Become a Swami

Instead of returning as usual to the parental home for Christmas 2016, I dropped everything and went back to school. This was the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course at Reith, near Kitzbühel – a famously demanding learning programme which begins every day at 5.30 am, continues until 10.00 pm., allows no meat, alcohol or coffee,…