EFFECTS OF ROWING TRAINING PROTOCOLS ON SINGLE-HANDED DINGHY SAILORS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of rowing training protocols on general physical preparation of single-handed dinghy sailors from Bulgaria. The sample of this study consisted of twenty-four Bulgarian sailors who participated in the 2021 Bulgarian National Sailing Championships. There are 10 Laser sailors, 6 Laser Radial sailors, and 8 Finn sailors aged 21.5±3. During the preparation period, all the athletes performed 5 sessions weekly, each session (50-60 min) and one short burst session for 8 weeks of functional training with a focus on general physical preparation - training on general endurance. The overall physical fitness was evaluated with a test battery including Anthropometry, Flexibility test (sit-and-reach), Power test (vertical jump), Strength tests (back squat and bench press), Strength endurance test (pull-up), Anaerobic capacity (40-second sprint test) and Aerobic capacity (4000 m test). It should be noted that all competitors improved their results in all the tests. The results showed that using Indoor Rowing Ergometer for functional training for eight weeks has a positive influence on general endurance for single-handed dinghy sailors. Compared with the pre-test, significant improvements were observed in the post-test in anaerobic capacity (40-second sprint test), aerobic capacity (4000 m test), and 4 min test, with p 0.05 performances in all studied sailors. This fact proved that the use of an Indoor Rowing Ergometer is suitable for increasing the level of athletes’ functional abilities.