Mental Training Techniques for Olympic Rowers

Rowing is as much a test of nerve as of fitness, especially over 2,000 metres. Elite rowers practise mental skills in the same way they practise technique. These are the main ones, with examples you can copy in your own sessions.

Set goals at three levels

Break goals into outcome, performance and process.

• Outcome: a result, such as a time or a place.
• Performance: a standard you control, such as holding a split for 500 metres.
• Process: the actions that get you there, such as a long finish and a relaxed recovery.

Process goals are the most useful on the day, because they are fully in your hands. For a 2k erg test, a set might look like this.

Level	Example
Outcome	Finish in under 7:30
Performance	Hold 1:52 per 500m between 500m and 1,500m
Process	Drive with the legs first, relax the shoulders, keep the recovery slow

Write them down before the session. During the piece, you only need the process goals, because the others follow from them. Our guide to setting goals on a rowing machine shows how to put this in practice.

Visualise the race

Visualisation means rehearsing a session or race in your head. Picture the start, the settle, the middle and the last 500 metres, including how you will respond when it gets hard. Use all the senses: the sound of the water, the feel of the handle, your breathing. Do it in a quiet place, a few minutes at a time.

A simple routine is to run through the race in four stages. First, see the start: your set position, the first three strokes, how you reach rate. Second, the settle: relaxing into your pace. Third, the middle: the point where it hurts and what you will do, such as focus on the leg drive. Fourth, the finish: the sprint and the crossing of the line. Ten minutes the night before, and a shorter version on the day, is plenty. It works best when you picture hard moments as well as good ones, so that they do not come as a surprise.

Use short, practical self-talk

Pick a few phrases you can use under pressure. Keep them short and technical, such as “long and strong” or “relax the shoulders”. Avoid vague or negative phrases, which can pull your attention away from what you are doing.

A good way to choose them is to think about the faults that appear when you are tired: rushing the slide, shortening the stroke, tensing the shoulders. Then pick one cue for each. Practise them in training pieces so they become automatic, rather than trying them for the first time in a test.

Control your breathing

Slow, deliberate breaths before a race can calm nerves. Try breathing in through the nose for a count of four and out for a count of six, for a minute or two. During the race, link breathing to your stroke so that it becomes a rhythm you can hold on to, for example breathing out on the drive and in on the recovery. See breath control in rowing.

Build a routine

Routines reduce uncertainty. Repeat the same warm-up, the same fuelling plan and the same final checks before every race or test. A written timeline helps: when to eat, when to start warming up, when to go to the start line. See the ultimate rowing warm-up.

Manage race nerves

Nerves are normal and can help you if you use them. Accept them, name them and focus on your first few strokes. If your mind runs ahead to the end of the race, bring it back to the next stroke. For practical steps, read how to beat race nerves.

Break the race into chunks

A 2,000 metre piece is much easier when you do not think about the whole thing. Split it into four 500s, or into blocks such as the start, the middle 1,000, and the last 500. Give each block a job. For example: block one is to settle without going too hard, block two is to hold technique, block three is to stay on pace when it hurts, block four is to empty the tank. The same idea works for longer pieces.

Practise on the erg

An erg test is a controlled way to practise pacing and focus. Try a 2,000 metre test with a written race plan. Our 2k erg test guide explains how to set one up. Afterwards, note what worked and what did not: where your attention drifted, which cue helped, and how you handled the hard minutes. Our guide to how Olympians use a rowing machine shows where testing sits in a wider programme.

Common mistakes

• Using affirmations that you do not believe. Technical cues work better than slogans.
• Visualising only success. Include the hard moments as well.
• Trying a new routine on race day. Test it in training first.
• Treating mental training as a quick fix. It builds up with repeated practice, like fitness.

If stress, anxiety or low mood are affecting your life, speak to your GP.