Case Studies
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2012, 7, 189-192
© 2012 Human Kinetics, Inc.
Seasonal Changes in Fitness Parameters
in a World Champion Rowing Crew
Pavle Mikulic
Purpose: To examine variations in physical, physiological, and performance parameters over an annual training cycle in a world champion rowing crew. Methods: Four world-class rowers, all of them members of the
men’s heavyweight quadruple sculls squad who are current world rowing champions, were assessed 3 times at
regular 4-mo intervals during the 2011 season (November 2010, March 2011, and July 2011). Physical assessments included stature, body mass, body composition, whereas physiological and performance assessments
obtained during an incremental rowing ergometer test to exhaustion included maximum oxygen uptake and
anaerobic gas-exchange threshold with corresponding power output values. Results: Body mass (∼95 kg) and
body composition (∼12% body fat) remained stable over the annual training cycle. Power output at anaerobic
gas-exchange threshold increased +16% from November to July, whereas the corresponding oxygen uptake,
expressed as a percentage of maximum oxygen uptake, increased from 83% to 90%. Maximum oxygen uptake
decreased from 6.68 L/min in November to 6.10 L/min in March before rising to 6.51 L/min in July. The corresponding power output increased steadily from 450 W to 481 W. Conclusion: Seasonal variation in body
mass and body composition of 4 examined world-class rowers was minimal. Oxygen uptake and power output
corresponding to anaerobic threshold continuously increased from off-season to peak competition season.
Seasonal variation in maximum oxygen uptake reached ∼10%; however, it remained above 6 L/min, that is,
the value consistently observed in top caliber heavyweight rowers regardless of the time of the assessment.
Keywords: elite rowers, annual training cycle, maximum oxygen uptake, anaerobic gas-exchange threshold,
body composition
An understanding of the seasonal variability of
performance-related physical and physiological variables
is likely to be of interest to athletes and their coaches.
Longitudinal studies examining the seasonal variability
of such parameters in endurance athletes who represent
the true elites of their respective sports (eg, Olympics
and world champions) are rare. This scarcity of studies is
probably due to limited access to such subjects and also
due to the finite nature of the population. The present
study aims to describe the variation in selected fitness
parameters during an annual training cycle in 4 worldclass male heavyweight rowers, all of whom are current
world rowing champions.
Methods
The 4 studied rowers are members of a men’s quadruplesculls squad. Physical, physiological, and performance
assessments were completed 3 times at regular 4-month
intervals during the 2011 season. The initial assessment
Pavle Mikulic is with the School of Kinesiology, University of
Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
was conducted in late November 2010, at the beginning
of the preparatory period. This first assessment session
was held only 3 weeks after the 2010 World Rowing
Championships, which had taken place atypically late
in the season. The rowers were subsequently assessed
in late March 2011, 2 weeks before they were scheduled
to compete in the first international regatta. The final
assessment was completed in mid July 2011, during the
peak of the competition period and 6 weeks before the
2011 World Rowing Championships.
At each occasion, the assessments included body
mass, body composition, maximum oxygen uptake
(VO2max), and anaerobic gas-exchange threshold (AnTGE)
with corresponding power output values.1 Before the
rowing ergometer test, the rowers were given 10 minutes
to warm up using a combination of ergometer rowing
and stretching in accordance with their customary habits.
The rowers were subsequently equipped with the necessary instrumentation and sat quietly for 1 minute on the
ergometer before starting the exercise. The exercise on
a rowing ergometer (Concept 2 Model C, Morrisville,
VT) started at a work rate of 150 W, which the rowers
maintained for 3 minutes. Afterward, the rowers were
required to increase the work rate by 25 W every minute
until exhaustion. Each rower chose his optimal stroke rate
189
190 Mikulic
for each work rate. Gas-exchange data were measured
breath-by-breath using a Quark b2 metabolic measurement cart (Cosmed, Rome, Italy), and heart rate was
monitored using the short-range Polar radio telemetry
system (Polar Electro, Kempele, Finland).
The attainment of VO2max was verified by a plateau
in oxygen uptake against exercise intensity and a value of
respiratory exchange ratio ≥1.10. All rowers satisfied both
criteria for each occasion. During off-line processing,
the data were averaged to 30-s intervals, and the highest
values for physiological parameters were calculated as
the highest mean of two consecutive 30-second intervals.
Power output at VO2max was the mean of 2 consecutive
30-second intervals used for the calculation of VO2max.
During each assessment session, written informed consent was obtained from each rower, and the study was
granted approval by the institutional review board. Data
are presented as mean (minimum value – maximum
value).
Results and Discussion
Table 1 indicates that the crew average for body mass
(∼95 kg) and body fat percentage (∼12%) remained
stable over the course of the study. This observation is
supported by the findings of Hagerman et al,2 who also
observed no significant changes in either body mass or
body fat percentage from off-season (December–January)
to peak competition season (August) in 9 members of
the United States Olympic rowing team. More recently,
Godfrey et al3 reported no change in body composition
and a body mass variation of only ±2 kg from the baseline
measurement during a 9-month study focusing on an
Olympic champion rower. Considered together, both the
body mass and composition of top-caliber heavyweight
rowers appear to remain relatively stable regardless of
the seasonal period.
Values for VO2max varied over the course of the
study. Specifically, the initial crew average of 6.68 L/min
decreased to 6.10 L/min in March (–9%) before rising
to 6.51 L/min (–3% from the baseline) in July (Figure
1). Hagerman et al2 observed a huge increase in VO2max
over the course of a single season: from 5.09 L/min in
December to 6.01 L/min in August (+18%). Godfrey et
al3 reported a –8% decrease (from 6.76 to 6.19 L/min) in
VO2max in an Olympic champion from July to November,
a period which included 8 weeks of complete training
cessation.
Maximal ventilation followed a pattern similar to that
observed for VO2max: a –8% decline from November to
March followed by an increase in July to +2% above the
baseline measurement. Power output corresponding to
VO2max increased by 7% from November to July, whereas
the maximal heart rate value was seemingly unaffected
by seasonal training (Table 1), which is consistent with
reports focusing not only on elite rowers,2 but also on
cyclists and speed skaters.4 Of the submaximal measures,
power output corresponding to AnTGE increased by as
much as 16% while, at the same time, the corresponding
oxygen uptake (expressed as a percentage of VO2max)
steadily increased from the initial 83% to 90% in July.
In contrast, heart rate corresponding to AnTGE (expressed
as a percentage of maximal heart rate) failed to exhibit a
steady increase: it dropped from the initial 91% to 88%
at the end of the preparatory period before subsequently
rising to 94% at the peak of the competition period.
Table 1 Changes in Physical, Physiological, and Performance Measures in 4 World-Class Rowers
During the 2011 Rowing Season, Mean (Minimum – Maximum)
Physical measures
stature (m)
body mass (kg)
November 2010
March 2011
July 2011
1.88 (1.86–1.89)
—
—
96 (93–100)
95 (92–100)
95 (93–97)
percentage fat (%)
12.1 (11.9–13.0)
11.7 (10.8–12.5)
12.4 (10.9–13.2)
fat-free mass (kg)
84 (82–87)
84 (82–87)
83 (82–85)
Maximal physiological and performance measures
power output at maximum oxygen uptake (W)
450 (400–488)
466 (450–500)
481 (463–500)
maximal heart rate (beats/min)
192 (186–202)
191 (186–202)
192 (188–201)
maximal ventilation (L/min)
234 (219–249)
216 (203–225)
238 (225–253)
power at anaerobic gas-exchange threshold (W)
334 (325–363)
340 (325–363)
388 (375–400)
heart rate at anaerobic gas-exchange threshold
(% of maximal heart rate)
91 (90–92)
88 (85–90)
94 (93–94)
oxygen uptake at anaerobic gas-exchange threshold
(% of maximum oxygen uptake)
83 (79–87)
86 (84–89)
90 (87–94)
Physiological and performance measures corresponding to
anaerobic gas-exchange threshold
Changes in Rowers’ Fitness Parameters 191
Figure 1 — Maximum oxygen uptake in L/min (white squares) and mL · kg–1 · min–1 (black squares) during the 2011 rowing season
in 4 world-class rowers; the error bars represent minimum and maximum values.
A recently published case study1 examined the
physiological and performance progress achieved by
the same 4 rowers from the time they were prospective
athletes at junior level until they reached full physical and
physiological maturity and achieved world-class status
by winning multiple world championship titles. Current
findings, along with previous data,1 suggest that VO2max,
examined during preparatory periods, plateaued during
the last 3 y in the studied crew, with measured values in
the area of ∼6.6 L/min. It appears likely that the rowers
neared the pinnacle of their oxygen uptake potential;
after this point, further substantial increases in VO2max
are generally difficult to achieve. Similarly, during the
same period, power output at VO2max oscillated within
a relatively narrow range (450–480 W). Power output
corresponding to AnTGE, examined during preparatory
periods, oscillated within the range of 340 to 360 W
during the last 4 y, with the corresponding VO2 amounting to 82% to 85% of the VO2max. The present study
indicates that power output corresponding to AnT GE is
elevated during the peak competition period (∼390 W;
Table 1), as is the case with corresponding VO2 (90%
of VO2max; Table 1). The monitoring of performance
parameters that correspond to AnTGE may be at least
as important as the tracking of maximal values in
elite rowers; Steinacker reported5 that power output
corresponding to the anaerobic threshold may be the
most predictive parameter of competition performance
in highly trained rowers.
The obtained data were compared to those that had
been collected for 13 national team rowers (1 single
sculler, 12 sweep-oar rowers) who had competed in
World Cup regattas over the 2010 season but were
not selected by the national team captain for the 2010
World Rowing Championships. These data were only
available for the initial (Nov. 2010) assessment and
include unpublished observations from our laboratory.
The results indicated negligible differences in physical
measures between the groups (stature: 188 cm vs 190
cm; mass: 96 kg vs 93 kg; body fat: 12% vs 12% for
world champion rowers vs rowers who did not make
the 2010 national team, respectively). However, the
mean value for VO2max for these 13 rowers who failed
to make the team amounted to only 5.71 L/min, which
is ∼15% lower than the value observed in 4 world
champions during the preparatory period. Similarly,
differences in power output at VO2max were also present: 450 W vs 408 W, as well as differences in power
output at AnTGE: 334 W vs 305 W (world champion
rowers vs rowers who did not make the 2010 national
team, respectively). When considered together, both
the maximal and submaximal physiological and performance measures may be used among the observed
groups of rowers to distinguish top-caliber rowers from
those who are less successful at the international level.
Because seasonal comparisons of fitness parameters of world-class heavyweight rowers have been
reported in only 2 studies,2,3 it is not possible to determine whether the results reported here indicate optimal
seasonal variations in terms of physical and physiological characteristics in top-caliber heavyweight
rowers. Nevertheless, the current findings, interpreted
in conjunction with previous data, suggest that seasonal variation in body mass and body composition
of rowers striving for world-class performance should
be reduced to a minimum. Values for VO2max may vary
by ∼10%; however, the current findings indicate that this
value should remain above 6 L/min, which is the value
consistently observed in top-caliber rowers regardless of
the timing of the assessment.1,3,6
192 Mikulic
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Godfrey RJ, Ingham SA, Pedlar CR, Whyte GP. The detraining
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Koutedakis Y. Seasonal variation in fitness parameters in competitive athletes. Sports Med. 1995;19:373–392.
Steinacker JM. Physiological aspects of training in rowing. Int
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