The Science of Rowing Performance
Paul Laursen and Martino Goretti on Training Smarter
Rowing Performance Is More Than Working Hard
Rowers are very good at working hard.
Most of us understand the satisfaction of finishing a brutal session, seeing a good split, or convincing ourselves that more pain must mean more progress.
Dr Paul Laursen’s message is more subtle.
Paul literally wrote the book on high-intensity interval training. He has worked in elite sport, including with the New Zealand Olympic rowing system, and has spent decades studying how athletes adapt.
In Episode 64 of the Complete Rowing Podcast, The Science of Training, Paul begins with the question that shaped his career:
“What’s the session you can do to get the most bang for buck?”
That is a useful question for rowers, but it can also be dangerous if misunderstood.
The aim is not to find the one magic workout.
The aim is to understand how training stress, recovery, intensity, volume, individual physiology and consistency work together.
In Episode 71, Intelligent Training, Paul returns with Martino Goretti, a multiple world champion lightweight sculler from Italy. Martino brings the athlete-coach perspective. He spent 22 years as a professional rower, then moved into coaching. Together, Paul and Martino make a strong case for intelligent training: not simply doing more, not blindly copying elite programmes, and not mistaking fatigue for adaptation.
The First Principle: Consistency
When discussing UT2 and longer aerobic training, Paul makes a point that should sit at the centre of any rowing programme:
“What really matters is consistency of training.”
He then describes it as:
“a consistency of cell signalling.”
That phrase may sound scientific, but the idea is simple.
Training creates signals in the body. Those signals tell the body to adapt: build aerobic capacity, improve mitochondria, alter enzymes, strengthen tissues, improve efficiency.
One session does not change much.
Repeated appropriate signals change the athlete.
This is why a programme built around heroic individual workouts often fails. The athlete gets tired, misses sessions, loses rhythm, then starts again.
The science does not reward occasional bravery as much as repeated, recoverable work.
For rowers, this means the question should not be:
Can I survive today’s session?
It should be:
Can I train today in a way that helps me train again tomorrow, next week and next month?
UT2: Do As Much Useful Work As You Can Recover From
Paul’s view of UT2 is not vague. He wants athletes to accumulate useful work in the aerobic zone, but without drifting into stress that undermines the next session.
He describes the desired feeling as:
“steady, easy steady.”
And the goal as:
“as much work as you can in that aerobic zone.”
But there is an important warning.
If the athlete is doing a steady session and heart rate keeps drifting up even though the perceived effort feels similar, Paul says that may indicate:
“an overstressed state.”
That is a useful check for club rowers.
A UT2 session is not just defined by the split on the monitor. It is defined by the body’s response.
If heart rate rises, technique deteriorates, and the rower starts grinding, the session may no longer be serving its purpose.
Paul’s progression advice is simple and practical:
“Progression is the key thing.”
If an athlete is comfortable doing an hour of UT2, the answer is not necessarily to jump to two hours. It might be to add:
“another five minutes or 10 minutes.”
That is how good aerobic development often works: small increases, repeated consistently.
The Middle Zone Is Not Useless — But It Is Dangerous If Overused
Many rowers have heard that training in the middle zones is “junk mileage.”
Paul does not agree with that simplistic view.
When Ken asks whether moderate intensity work is wasted, Paul says:
“No, no. I think the middle zones are fine, too.”
But then he gives the warning.
The middle zone is where many athletes make mistakes because they train there all the time. It feels productive. It is hard enough to satisfy the ego, but often not specific enough to be the key high-intensity stimulus and not easy enough to recover fully.
Paul uses what he calls the toothpaste theory.
“There’s a couple different ways you can put toothpaste on your toothbrush.”
You can squeeze the tube in the middle and get some toothpaste out. But you leave toothpaste at both ends.
His point is that if you always train in the middle, you may miss the full range of adaptations.
He explains:
“If you’re squeezing from both sides, there’s a better distribution of that toothpaste all the way out of the tube.”
For rowers, this means training should include different signals:
easy aerobic work
moderate intensity work
high intensity work
race-specific work
recovery
The middle zone is not forbidden. It just should not become the default every day.
Polarisation: Mostly Easy, Some Very Hard
Paul describes the polarised model as:
“80% of your training is UT2, and then focussing on that high intensity stuff is like 20%.”
But he immediately adds nuance.
That 20% might include some moderate work and some HIT. He suggests a possible split:
“Maybe 10% is the moderate intensity pieces, and then 10% is the HIT.”
The point is not that every athlete should follow an exact 80/10/10 rule. The point is that the majority of training should usually be low intensity, with carefully chosen harder sessions.
This is especially relevant for masters rowers.
Many masters athletes try to train like their younger selves, only with less recovery. That often means too much hard or moderately hard work and not enough true aerobic training.
Paul’s message is more sustainable.
Build the base. Add intensity. Avoid living permanently in the middle.
The Most Important Session Is the Next Session
One of Paul’s best lines is about recovery between hard efforts.
He explains that short recoveries and all-out work can increase lactate and sympathetic nervous system stress. The sympathetic system is the fight-or-flight system. It is necessary during hard training, but too much of it can make the athlete less able to recover.
Then Paul gives the key principle:
“The mindset you always have to have is the most important session is the next session.”
That is a sentence every rower should write in a training diary.
The next session matters because training adaptation depends on continuity.
If today’s workout ruins tomorrow’s workout, the cost may be too high.
This does not mean avoiding hard training. It means placing hard training where it belongs and recovering from it properly.
Different Athletes Need Different Training
Paul makes a point that is often ignored in club rowing.
Athletes respond differently.
He talks about “diesel engines” with more slow-twitch qualities:
“They don’t need too much recovery.”
By contrast, a more explosive athlete may be able to produce enormous power but fatigue heavily without longer recovery.
“They can really push out the power, but they really fatigue.”
This matters for crews.
A coach may give everyone the same workout, but the effect of that workout may not be the same for each rower.
One athlete may thrive on short-rest intervals. Another may be destroyed by them.
One athlete may absorb volume easily. Another may need more rest.
Paul’s point is not that training should become soft or endlessly personalised to preference. It is that good training respects physiology.
Martino Goretti: The Athlete’s View
Martino Goretti brings an important perspective because he lived the elite rowing system from the inside.
He came through the Italian programme and trained huge volumes. He describes being used to:
“40 kilometres per day, if not even more in the boat.”
That was the traditional model: lots of rowing, lots of work, lots of repetition.
Martino respects that background. He does not dismiss it. The system helped him win world titles.
But he also says that later, when he applied some of Paul’s ideas and his own ideas, he saw improvement even when he was no longer young.
“I was surprised of the improvement that I was able to make.”
This is important for masters rowers and experienced athletes.
Even if you have trained for decades, you may still improve if the training becomes more intelligent.
Rowing Is Not Just Physical Output
Martino makes a point that every rower understands once they have tried to race well at high rate.
Training at low rate is useful, but racing happens at race rate.
He says:
“If you race, you need to get ready to do that stroke rate.”
And then asks:
“What is the biggest struggle of every rower? Row good at the race speed.”
This is a vital rowing-specific point.
An athlete can do thousands of kilometres at rate 18 or 20. That builds fitness. But if the race is at 34, 36 or higher, the athlete must learn to row technically well at that speed.
Martino says:
“You can do like thousand of hours of low rating, but then you have to race at 36.”
The lesson is balance.
Low-rate aerobic work builds the engine.
Race-rate work teaches the athlete to apply that engine in the boat at speed.
That is why rowing training is more complicated than pure endurance training. The skill must survive the intensity.
The Application Is Everything
Ken makes the point that rowers must produce watts while maintaining technique. Martino agrees and reduces rowing to something essential:
“At the end of rowing is that, you know, it’s not that physical. It’s the application.”
That is one of the most important statements in these training episodes.
Fitness matters. Strength matters. VO2 max matters. But the rower still has to apply power to the blade in a moving, unstable boat, at rate, in conditions, under pressure.
A stronger athlete who rows badly does not automatically move the boat faster.
The best training programme must therefore connect physiology and skill.
It should not create athletes who are only good on the erg.
It should create rowers who can apply fitness in the boat.
Training Load Is More Than Muscles
Martino gives a practical example from coaching Sophie, where he sometimes used cycling or heat training to reduce muscular load while still getting cardiovascular work.
He says he used aerobic sessions:
“to recover and to work on a technique.”
And, when discussing heat training:
“This was helping us to keep the load low on the muscle, but have still a good work on the heart.”
This is sophisticated coaching.
Not all training load is the same.
A session can stress:
the heart
the legs
the back
the nervous system
the mind
the skin and thermoregulation
the rowing technique
A smart programme chooses the stress needed and avoids unnecessary extra cost.
For masters rowers, this is especially useful. Cycling, cross-training, technical paddles and controlled aerobic work can help build fitness while managing the body.
Tapering: Reduce Volume, Keep Intensity
In Episode 71, Paul discusses tapering and race preparation. His AI training tool summarises the classic principles:
“Progressive reduction in the training volume.”
But he also says:
“Maintain the training intensity.”
This is important.
Many rowers taper by doing almost nothing, then feel flat. Others continue training too much and arrive tired.
The better model is to reduce volume while keeping the body familiar with intensity, rhythm and race equipment.
Paul’s summary of the taper goal is:
“Arrive at the event feeling physically fresh and mentally sharp.”
For rowing, this should also include:
race-rate strokes
starts
steering practice
familiar equipment
race rhythm
confidence
Tapering is not stopping. It is sharpening.
What Club Rowers Should Do
A rowing club does not need an elite sports science department to apply these ideas.
A simple intelligent structure might look like this:
1. Make most training easy enough to repeat
UT2 should feel controlled and recoverable.
2. Progress gradually
Add minutes or metres sensibly.
3. Include some high intensity
Hard sessions matter, but they must be placed carefully.
4. Do not live in the middle
Moderate work is useful, but not every session should become moderately hard.
5. Practise race-rate rowing
Fitness must be applied at racing speed.
6. Track how athletes respond
Heart rate, splits, sleep, mood, HRV and perceived effort all matter.
7. Protect the next session
The point is not one good workout. It is weeks and months of adaptation.
Key Takeaways
Paul Laursen’s central question is how to get the “most bang for buck” from training.
The foundation of rowing performance is consistent training.
UT2 should be “steady, easy steady” and recoverable.
Progression matters more than sudden jumps in volume.
The middle zone is not useless, but living there can limit adaptation.
Polarised training usually means mostly easy work with carefully chosen intensity.
“The most important session is the next session.”
Different athletes respond differently to the same work.
Martino Goretti emphasises that rowers must learn to row well at race rate.
Rowing performance is not just physical output; it is the application of that output in the boat.
Tapering should reduce volume while maintaining intensity.
Related Complete Rowing Podcast Episodes
This article is based primarily on:
Episode 64: The Science of Training — Dr Paul Laursen
and:
Episode 71: Intelligent Training — Dr Paul Laursen and Martino Goretti
Related listening:
Episode 2: UT2 Training — Bill Jackman
Episode 17: Training Peaks for Rowing — Richard Ratcliffe
Episode 24: Rowing Faster with a Plant-Based Diet — Richard Ratcliffe
Episode 45: Insights into Strength & Conditioning for Rowing — Jack Dillon
Episode 51: How to Train Through a Long Winter — Bill Jackman
Episode 54: Strength & Conditioning for Masters Rowers — Jack Dillon
Listen to the full conversations at CompleteRowing.com.
