by Liz Bernal (This article originally appeared in the September 2010 issue of Rowing News)

Everyone calls rowing a "mental sport" yet most of the training we do focuses on the physical. Mount Holyoke College coach Jeanne Friedman believes it should be the other way around. Heading into her 20th year with the Lyons, Friedman works as much on her athletes' minds as their bodies. Through such training, she has been able to break through her athletes perceived mental barriers and create championship crews.

Tell yourself you can. "We are our own worst nightmare," says Friedman. Most of the physical barriers we come up against are the result of our minds telling us we can't do something. "When you begin to make those negative comments to yourself, you have to learn to replace it with the positive," she says. Friedman uses affirmations with her athletes. These are positive statements you make about yourself. Many runners training for the Boston Marathon use this technique, she explains. "This method is also great for setting aside baggage that you may bring to the water," says Friedman. "You may feel ridiculous doing it, but in the end it makes you a confident athlete and it will show up in your physical performance."

Mimic the stroke. Friedman has her Holyoke rowers perform yoga moves that simulate the stroke to enforce muscle memory. "The drill we do begins with an arm extended in front of you at a 45-degree angle, as if your blade is at the finish. The hand becomes the blade," she explains. "We start out doing that so we have a sense of what needs to happen when the oar gets back in our hands." This method allows rowers to feel what should be happening and helps them to visualize the stroke. As they get comfortable with it, Friedman adds in the body and the legs so that they're mimicking the body motion as well as the movement of the oar handle. "It's a way of building neurological pathways for the muscles to operate and flow in a particular motion."

Eliminate all distractions. "We've all gotten so good at multitasking that we have lost the ability to stay on task. But in a race, you need to be thinking about rowing," explains Friedman. "You can't let your mind worry about the conditions or how well the other team is rowing. You need to be present in your boat." Friedman has her crew do exercises that work the parts of the brain that relate to focus. She gives each of her rowers a piece of paper containing a grid on which they randomly assign numbers from one to 100. Then she makes them switch papers with a teammate and has them circle the numbers in order. "When I did this for the first time with my team, we had to stop. It was taking many of them over five minutes. But over time they got faster." This exercise forces rowers to practice their focus by not allowing them to deviate from the task, just like in a race.

See what you want to do. Visualization is the most common form of mental training for rowers.  "This is a great technique, but be careful that your crew doesn't get too comfortable with their mock race." Too often, something unexpected will happen in a race that will force a crew to deviate from their race plan. "When doing visualization, make sure the coxswain or coach is practicing how to calmly handle problems that could arise."Friedman also suggests rowers imagine themselves rowing the perfect stroke. "Watch videos of the Olympic rowers on YouTube. Then close your eyes and see yourself doing that same stroke." Mixing visualization with videos of your own rowing will help you to develop a sense of what the perfect stroke feels like. "You sort of have to just start doing mental work, even if it seems uncomfortable or awkward. It's worth it because you'll eventually see the benefits in your performance."