If you were training to run a marathon, you wouldn’t try to run the full monty on day one of training. You wouldn’t make it, probably not even halfway. We are taking the same approach with this row. 3,000 miles is 4,828,032 meters, that’s a long time on the erg. It would be silly to just try to accumulate meters just for the sake of meters. There has to be a process to the training. The definition of process is: a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. The particular end we speak of is English Harbor in Antigua.
With the help from the absolute legend Duncan Roy, the boys have a regimented training program on the erg, that blends quite sexily into their strength and conditioning program. Let’s get to the point shall we? To build resilience there must be a linear progression. Our Monday’s which I have enthusiastically dubbed “Mindset Monday” and to which the boys curse it, we started with a longer distance row like 15k and we gradually have added more distance each week. Duncan Roy before he rowed the Atlantic, rowed a marathon every Monday for three months, so by 8:00 a.m. he had done more than most will in a day. By doing this the body gets hardened not only by the rowing but most importantly, so does your bum, yes get used to that butt going numb. In addition, the boys sometimes will row without the comforts of music in their ear buds, in a boring room and even going two hours on and two hours off to simulate life on the boat.
In short, resilience itself is a process. It comes with time, putting the work in on the rowing machine, when each stroke is pure agony and when the lactate has built up in your legs and they feel like they weigh five hundred pounds. Resilience is pushing that little voice in your head to the side when he wants you to quit 700 meters into a 2k test. It isn’t the Instagram fads you see today, not drinking twenty shot glasses full of raw eggs, it is getting comfortable with the uncomfortable and when that starts to get too comfortable, you make it slightly uncomfortable again. There is no growth in the comfort zone.