Comparison of the Effects of Long-Term Rowing Training in Professional Rowers

Official title

Comparison of the Effects of Long-Term Rowing Training on Aerobic Capacity, Physical Fitness, and Psychological Parameters in Novice Individuals and Professional Rowers

Overview

This study aims to compare the effects of long-term rowing training on aerobic capacity, physical fitness, heart rate variability, and psychological performance in novice rowers, professional rowers, and healthy controls. Approximately 60 adults aged 18-65 years will be enrolled and allocated into three groups: novice rowers, professional rowers, and a non-exercising control group. Participants in the rowing groups will complete an 8-week supervised rowing ergometer training program (twice weekly), while the control group will maintain their usual daily activities without structured exercise. Assessments will be performed before and after the intervention and will include aerobic capacity (shuttle walk test, 500-m and 2000-m rowing ergometer tests), muscle strength, muscle power, muscular endurance, core stability, flexibility, agility, posture, heart rate variability, flow state, and mental toughness. The study is designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the physiological and psychological adaptations associated with rowing training at different levels of experience and to identify factors that distinguish novice and elite rowers.

Detailed description

This randomized controlled study is designed to investigate the effects of long-term rowing training on aerobic capacity, physical fitness, cardiovascular autonomic function, and psychological performance in individuals with different levels of rowing experience. Approximately 60 healthy adults aged 18-65 years will be recruited and allocated into three groups: novice rowers, professional rowers, and a healthy control group. Participants in the novice and professional rowing groups will complete an 8-week supervised rowing ergometer training program performed twice weekly, while the control group will continue their usual daily activities without participating in a structured exercise program.

Outcome assessments will be conducted before and after the intervention period. Aerobic capacity will be evaluated using the Shuttle Walk Test together with 500-m and 2000-m rowing ergometer performance tests. Physical fitness assessments will include muscle strength (back-leg dynamometer), muscle power (Countermovement Jump), muscular endurance (30-second push-up and sit-up tests), core stability (plank test), flexibility (Sit-and-Reach Test), agility (T-Test), and postural alignment (PostureScreen®). Cardiovascular autonomic function will be assessed through resting heart rate variability using a validated chest-strap heart rate monitor. Psychological performance will be evaluated using the Alpak Flow Scale and the Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). Demographic and clinical characteristics will also be recorded.

The primary objective of the study is to compare multidimensional physiological and psychological adaptations between novice and professional rowers following an 8-week rowing training program and to determine how these adaptations differ from those observed in healthy controls. The findings are expected to improve understanding of training-induced adaptations in rowing and provide evidence to support the development of more effective, evidence-based training strategies aimed at optimizing athletic performance and promoting athlete health.

Interventions

• Other Rowing Ergometer Training for Novice Rowers
  Participants will complete an 8-week supervised rowing ergometer training program performed twice weekly. Each session will consist of a 10-minute warm-up, 30-40 minutes of moderate-intensity rowing emphasizing technical skill development and progressive interval training (RPE 11-13), followed by a 5-10-minute cool-down. Exercise intensity and duration will be progressively adjusted according to each participant's tolerance and training adaptation.
• Other High-Performance Rowing Ergometer Training
  Participants will complete an 8-week supervised high-performance rowing ergometer training program performed twice weekly. Each session will include a 10-15-minute warm-up, 40-60 minutes of high-intensity interval rowing, race-pace training, sprint intervals, and endurance sets (RPE 14-18), followed by a 10-minute cool-down. Training intensity and volume will be progressively individualized according to each participant's maximal exercise capacity.

Primary outcome measures

• 2000-Meter Rowing Ergometer Performance [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Flow State [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Mental Toughness [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Standard Deviation of Normal-to-Normal Intervals (SDNN) [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Low-Frequency Power (LF) [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• High-Frequency Power (HF) [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]

Secondary outcome measures (10)

• Shuttle Walk Test Distance [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• 500-Meter Rowing Ergometer Performance [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Back and Leg Muscle Strength [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Lower Limb Muscle Power [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Core Stability [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Flexibility [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Agility [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• Postural Alignment [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• 30-Second Push-Up Test [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]
• 30-Second Sit-Up Test [Time frame: Baseline and Week 8]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

Adults aged 18 to 65 years. Able and willing to provide written informed consent. Medically able to participate in an 8-week rowing training program. For the novice rowing group: no previous structured rowing training experience. For the professional rowing group: actively competing or regularly training as a rower.

For the control group: healthy individuals not participating in structured rowing training during the study period.

Exclusion criteria

History of cardiovascular, neurological, orthopedic, psychiatric, or other systemic diseases that may interfere with study participation.

Cognitive or psychological conditions that prevent completion of the study assessments.

History of recent surgery or any medical condition limiting exercise participation.

Pregnancy. Inability or unwillingness to complete the intervention or outcome assessments. Participation in another structured exercise intervention during the study period.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Non-randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Turkey (Türkiye) · 1 center

• Munzur University Faculty of Health Sciences — Tunceli

Publications

• Borges I, Veiga S, Gonzalez-Frutos P. The Evaluation of Physical Performance in Rowing Ergometer: A Systematic Review. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025 Nov 9;10(4):437. doi: 10.3390/jfmk10040437. PMID 41283544

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07752927 · 2026/8-10

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗