Pre-selection time trial · 500m
Road to Oct 10
2:44hold or beat
→
72current spm
→
~65target spm
Five weeks to build a longer, stronger stroke — same speed, fewer strokes.
5 wk
The one idea driving this plan
Dropping from 72 to 65 spm while holding 2:44 means each stroke has to move more water. That's a strength-and-length problem, not a cardio one — so the work is heavier pulls, a patient catch, and a shoulder stable enough to reach full extension. The rehab and the performance goal pull the same direction: a healthy left shoulder is a longer stroke.
Heart-rate zones (your Karvonen numbers)
Zone 2
104–120
base · conversational
Zone 5
156–174
race pace / sprint
PERG note: your erg pieces drive the engine. Zone 2 mornings stay truly easy — the intensity lives in the interval days, not smeared across every session. That separation is what lets the hard days be hard.
Shoulder — the movement library
Daily activation (Brian Abelson band work)
Band external rotation elbow pinned to side, slow return
2×15 ea
Band internal rotation controlled, no yanking
2×15 ea
Band pull-apart squeeze shoulder blades
2×20
Face pull high anchor, elbows lead
2×15
Scapular push-up arms straight, just the shoulder blades
2×12
Wall slide low back & wrists on wall
2×10
Loaded strength (added once pain-free)
Single-arm row dumbbell clipped to bar · full stretch at bottom
3×10 ea
Prone Y-T-W raise light or no weight, slow
3×8 ea
90° band external rotation elbow at shoulder height
3×12 ea
Bent-over reverse fly rear delts, controlled
3×12
Push-up full range, only if pain-free
3×AMRAP
The pinch rule: your shoulder aches dull but pinches on fast movement. Every rep is slow and deliberate — 3 seconds up, 3 seconds down. A dull ache that warms up is fine to work through. A sharp pinch means stop that movement for the day and drop back to band activation only. Never load into pain.
Pulling strength (the stroke-power work)
Deadlift longer bar, clipped dumbbells · hinge, flat back
3×6–8
Bent-over row the paddle-pull carryover lift
3×8
Weighted carry grip & trunk stability
3×30m
Pallof press / anti-rotation band anchored at side · core for the catch
3×10 ea
Why these: a paddle stroke is a hinge + a pull braced through a stable trunk. Deadlifts and rows build the posterior chain that lengthens your stroke; anti-rotation core lets you transfer that power to the blade without leaking it through your spine.