Combine in Chula

While the NFL combine doesn’t start until Wednesday, the lightweights here in Chula Vista finished off our ten-day camp with a combine of our own. After some great training on the water we got a chance to compete in the gym and on the track in 13 different events. While most of the work this week was rowing-specific, the facilities at the gym were really impressive. All of the Olympic weightlifting stations had a camera on them with a time delay so that you could watch your technique after finishing a set to see what you need to improve on.

The gym at the training center

The combine started with a max watt test on the ergs, and from there went to the more classic exercises: bench press, vertical jump, bench pull, pull ups, a sled pull and tire flipping.

This thing weighed a lot more than I thought it would, flipping it over 15 feet was definitely a challenge

50kg sled pull for time

After finishing up in the gym we headed to the track for the medicine ball toss, sled push, 40 yd dash and mile run. While lightweight rowers might not be making a big stir on the NFL combine scene any time soon, this was definitely a great way to finish off the camp.

A signed surfboard from the Olympians who trained here before London last year

It’s been a great trip here, being able to train with some of the top athletes in the country and take advantage of the facilities here will hopefully pay dividends in the racing season to come. Now it’s back to Craftsbury for some more winter training before we go down to Clemson to get back on the water in preparation for the first National Selection Regatta at the end of April.