Reddit mentions of Rowing Faster

Volker Nolte - Rowing Faster

While I use this test and have adapted it a bit for my crew, I didn't invent it. I found it in the book "Rowing Faster" which, while a bit dated, I highly recommend.

Remember, all this test shows is your max power, how long it takes you to get there and how long you can maintain a signifigant percentage of it.

This test isn't so much an indicator of how well you'll do on a 2k than it is an indicator of who you'd want in your boat at the end of one. You cannot look at the results of this and know what a given rower will pull, but it will almost always tell you from a given set of tests which rower will have the better score.

It's not a "workout" (though it will be one of the worst minutes of your life if you do it properly), and not a test for which you should train. It IS the kind of test that one would do to determine lineups though.

This Etsy account has some cool rowing shirts that you don't see at every regatta (so they probably won't already have one).

Seat Pads are comfortable if your rower is older or bony :)

Rowing Faster by Volker Nolte is a pretty good resource for rowers looking for training advice.

Boat Race before last the bowman of the winning boat was 5'10", huge heart and lungs, and weighed in the mid 80's (KGs) if I recall, so built pretty solid.

To go sub 6 is the elite standard, but don't forget weight adjustment, there's no point going sub 6 mins if you weight 200kg, no one's going to enjoy dragging a hippo in thier boat if he's not pulling his own weight and then some, the calculator and an explanation of weight adjustment are available here http://www.concept2.com/us/interactive/calculators/weight_adjustment.asp
Train on sliders, or take out a single, there is 10x the chance of an injury in land training than on the water.
long steady pieces are also good, don't even go for distance, just sit on an erg for 30 mins, an hour or even 90 mins, it won't wreck you because it shouldn't, but it will improve your times.

READ: You're going to have to live and breath rowing, I'd recomend the following (Not that I've read them all, but i've ordered them and almost finished the original print of Rowing Faster)

http://www.amazon.com/Rowing-Faster-2nd-Volker-Nolte/dp/0736090401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314681440&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/High-Performance-Rowing-John-McArthur/dp/1861260393/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b http://www.amazon.com/Lactate-Threshold-Training-Peter-Janssen/dp/0736037551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314681471&sr=1-1

You're gonna need to know more about rowing and training than anyone on the team, because the hours you'll be putting in will make you your own coach.