How to rebuild your body after rowing an ocean
Sore butts, wasted calves and claw hands: crossing the Atlantic or Pacific can take its toll – but what’s the best way to get fighting fit again?
Rowing an ocean isn’t easy on the body. Relentless hours on the oars, living in a confined space for weeks on end, and eating a restricted diet – not to mention constantly being blasted by salt water and wind – can’t fail to cause some damage.
I liken it to having a baby. Once your child is born, people have a tendency to forget what’s going on inside the mother’s body. We’re supposed to get back on our feet, snap back into shape, and focus all our energy on this new tiny being – but true recovery can last months, as it can with the row.
The next few weeks are vital for the ocean rowers’ recovery: it’s time to rest, rebuild and take notice of anything unusual in your body. The temptation is to hit the gym again as soon as you can - but the message is to take it slowly.
What injuries do ocean rowers suffer?
A 2022 study published in BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine tracked the data from the 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge to find out what medical conditions were typically reported by rowers. That year, there were 88 participants, 66 men, 22 women, with 86 making it across, and one rescue. In total, there were 65 medical complaints, and skin conditions – pressure sores and infections - made up 32 per cent of reported complaints, affecting a quarter of the rowers.
Around a fifth of the fleet suffered musculoskeletal injuries mostly relating to knee and back, while 13 per cent had seasickness, nine per cent suffered tummy bugs and eight per cent loss of appetite. Most complaints of injury or illness came during the first three weeks – after a while, athletes may learn that the body is effective at overcoming any niggles itself – or simply adapt to enduring the pain. The power of endorphins and adrenalin is not to be underestimated.
I was also grateful for the very high dose ibuprofen the chemist in La Gomera handed us with a wink. I’d suffered from sore ribs even prior to departure – thanks to the constant loading and reloading of the boat - but found once at sea that muscles strains would come and go without causing too much trouble (although I did develop shingles, perhaps as a consequence of loss of appetite, which lead to rapid weight loss).
In this year’s race, we’ve seen knee injuries where infection has entered the body resulting in rowers having to take a course of antibiotics, and issues caused by capsizes and knockdowns. A lot of competitors will still be on the road to recovery, so be kind to yourselves.
Most social media accounts - so busy during the race - suddenly fall silent after arrival in Antigua, but the aftermath is interesting, too. I read Dawn from Ocean Empower’s post, who wrote, “Back into training mode! I have not run for nearly a year, when I decided to do 3 miles straight off without any build up! Needless to say i could not walk for a week. Doing it right this time. Boat (couch) to 10K - I am match fit for rowing but not for anything else, so starting slow.” Wise words.
Building your muscles back up
Most ocean rowers disembark with bulging biceps, incredible quad muscles, next to no calf muscles and even saggier butts. The first few days are spent walking around like newly birthed fawns (the walk up to our room in the Antiguan Yacht Club was a challenge) but I found that in just a few days, the stroll to Pigeon Point beach was sufficient to restore the calf or gastrocnemius muscles.
The glutes are harder to rebuild. My husband took an unfortunate picture of my saggy, scarred behind when we arrived in Antigua, and I was worried I’d been left with the proverbial crinkly bottom for ever. Of course, you can go straight back into a hard core squats and dead lifts weight training regime, or you can do what I did and try EMS training.
This workout uses electrodes to stimulate muscles. I’d done a course before the ocean row – as I joined the crew late and wanted to accelerate my training – but found if anything it was even more useful on return. Pads positioned on the glutes, the arms and the chest deliver electrical impulses deep into your muscle fibres and are great for targeting weak or under-developed areas. It’s a safe way to rebuild your body without putting it under too much strain or risking further injury. It’s not a cop out – the trainer will decide how hard to push you and the sensation takes a bit of getting used to: think Sean Connery playing Domination in Never Say Never Again. Read more about my experience here and in an interview with my Vive Fitness trainer.
I wished I’d looked after my hands
Remember that Pam Ayres poem, “I wish I’d looked after my teeth”. Well, I wish I’d looked after my hands. As I’ve mentioned before, 2021 was notable for its lack of any sort of trade wind and therefore, we all rowed 99.9 per cent of the time. There was little or no assisted drifting. That meant the crossing took a terrible toll on our hands and wrists. As the weeks went on, I lost all strength in them, and ended up with claw hand, unable to form a fist. I also developed – and still have – trigger finger.
There’s another study - Trigger Finger from Ocean Rowing, in which rowers from the same TWAC year were asked to fill in a questionnaire on return, which included a trigger finger self scoring system. The conclusion was that ocean rowers suffered a 15-fold increase in trigger finger, which was worse in those who had shorter shift systems (eg, 90 minutes on, 30 minutes off) with more frequent but shorter breaks. Those who had a break of more than four hours in one go were significantly less at risk of developing trigger finger.
I describe it like having a robot hand – fingers no longer bend or straighten easily, and can get stuck. It’s worse in the morning and evening but on bad days, I have it all day. The little finger on my right hand is worst affected, and scans have shown that the tendon has split.
I made the mistake on return to the UK of not going to see a physio, instead believing that time would be a great healer. And while I did get a lot of motion back, and used massage guns like the Pulse Roll, at some point my hands just stopped getting better. I returned to river rowing a little too soon, and should have rested them for longer. My crew mate Jo had similar issues, and still hasn’t fully regained the strength in her hands either.
Last year, I had steroid injections in all four fingers of my right hand. While that alleviated my symptoms for a while, they’ve now come back and if anything are worse – I have a sore bump at the base of my middle finger on my right hand, and a sore tendon.
My purpose here is not to moan, but to remind all recent rowers that our hands are precious. If you have any ongoing niggles now or in a few weeks’ time, then please do visit your doctor. Finger splints, compression bandages and ice gloves are a great help, so do use them, but by far the best treatment is to do hand and finger exercises.
I’ll end on a happy story – Mel Eissens worked on the Trigger Finger in Ocean Rowers research project – and was so overwhelmed when she got to La Gomera and met all the rowers, that she was inspired to do it herself. Last year, she rowed as Handsatlantic, finishing the race in 68 days, 19 hours and 48 minutes – and in a few months’ time, she’ll be paddling 1000 miles on the Yukon!
What preventive means to prevent sore butts?