This is Joe McMullin’s explanation of one of the best rowing drills for 8+s rowing and racing. This drill is great for regular season and championship season crews trying to get timing down, get comfortable at higher rates, get comfortable at race pace, and make lower rates feel long. DDR standards for Deutsch Democratic Republic (DDR)/East Germany.

This drill is started from the finish with arms only on the square, like the pick drill, stern 6 for 20 strokes. The first 5 strokes are at a normal comfortable pace. The next 5 are a bit higher, the next 5 are very higher, the last 5 should be pushing 75+ strokes per minute. I stress to the rowers to have good posture and relaxed arms. If the rowers are tense and really muscling the stroke, they will be late and/or can not get the rate higher. They also may not be able to finish the stroke/will cut portions of the stroke off. This portion of the drill should be repeated with the stern 6 until timing improves and the crew’s stroke rate in the last 5 strokes is consistently higher than 75 strokes per minute. I would advise doing this with at least 1 other crew next to them to have the crews compete for who can get the rate higher.

The next step is to do the same drill by stern 6 arms and body. The first 5 strokes are at a comfortable and controlled rate with the goal being as much length as possible while maintaining a strong core and posture. The next 5 are a little higher. The next 5 are a very high. The last 5 should be higher than 65-70 strokes a minute. Repeat the drill as needed to get the rowers on time. Stress relaxation in the arms and being able to finish the stroke.

The next step is to do the same drill by stern 6 arms and body plus quarter slide. The rowers should be hitting upwards of 60 strokes per minute in the final 5 strokes.

The last step is to do the same drill by stern 6 arms and body plus half slide. The rowers should be hitting upwards of 50 to 55 strokes per minute in the final 5 strokes.

Repeat the drill with bow 6 from arms only and building up to half slide strokes.

Though not necessary, the drill should be run by stern pair and bow four, and then stern 4 and bow pair to ensure adequate coverage.

After the crew has thoroughly worked through the drill, have the crew do some power tens at race pace. The crew should almost effortlessly come to their race pace, be on time, and the strokes should be longer.

I would advise trying some lower rate power tens and sprint level power tens.

Finally, finish with some starting sequence strokes and high strokes. The high strokes out of the starting sequence should be more comfortable for the rowers.

Note: the drill can be run through the crew by 6s without staying with a set of 6 rowers for the whole drill. So do the arms only stern 6, then bow 6, then stern pair bow 4, and finally stern 4 bow pair. Then do stern 6 arms and body, work through the crew, then move to quarter slide, and finally half slide.

The drill should be done with crews that have good foundations in run/puddle separation. If the crew seems to be spinning their wheels at lower rates, the DDR drill will likely not help the crew.

Again, this drill should be used during the regular season/duel season and championship season when a coach and crew are looking for an edge. This assumes the crew has the fundamentals down.