10 Questions with Charlotte Hollings

Charlotte Hollings is a successful Masters rower with a deep commitment to the sport. Charlotte spent five years on the USRowing National Team (1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994), during which she won a Silver Medal (World Championships, 1985) and a Gold Medal (1994), both in the lightweight four. She started rowing in 1978 at TC Williams High School (Alexandria, Virginia) and then rowed four years at the University of Virginia when it was a club program. She has coached at Stanford University, Boston University and Cornell University. In 2001, she started Calm Waters Rowing (a full-service sculling camp) with her husband, John. She will be rowing Bow #1 in the Women's Grand Master Singles (age 50+) at this year's Head Of The Charles Regatta

Do you remember your first workout on a Concept2 machine?
I first rowed the Concept2 erg in high school, I believe it was 1981 but could have been 1982. A teammate and I thought it would be fun to race 1 mile (on an old odometer model A). It hurt! I learned you can't do an all-out sprint for two minutes and that was my painful introduction to the erg.

Which Concept2 products do you use?
We row with all Concept2 oars at Calm Waters Rowing and we have two ergs that we often use for demos and instruction. We use C2 because they're well made at a good price and because all the R&D comes from them and they have fantastic customer support.

How do you incorporate Concept2 equipment into your training?
When I'm in the water, I use Concept 2 oars. I haven't decided whether I prefer the Fat2 or the Smoothie2 blade but I do like the Skinny shaft. When I don't have time to get to the water, I row on the Concept2 erg. I have no problem doing long, steady state or even AT type workouts but I seem to have lost all fast twitch muscles. I try to force myself to do short pieces every now and then. The erg doesn't lie and sadly, I'll never be as fast as I was but I'll keep trying!

What types of athletes do you primarily work with?
We primarily work with master's athletes but a few high school and college kids.

What’s your favorite/go-to workout?
30 minute piece.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone hopping on Concept2 equipment for the first time?
Stay relaxed, stay horizontal, stay smooth.

What coaches do you look up to?
Those who have been successful coaches over the long haul—John and Phoebe Murphy, Lori Dauphiny, my old high school coach Dee Campbell.

What or who inspires you to keep going?
Competition inspires me, gives me a goal to work toward. I'm pretty self-motivated which is necessary since I don't have a team to train with. Just trying to hold off old age! At World Masters this year, I raced 11 events and at the starting line, every time, I wondered why I put myself through this! I finished with six golds, three second-place, one third-place bronze, and one fourth-place finish. I train mostly by myself in the single so I was really excited to team up with a group from Seattle for Master's Worlds. The experience was beyond my expectations, such an amazing group of fit, strong, competitive women. Though I had never rowed with any of them before (well, I had rowed with one 33 years ago!), we had an incredibly successful regatta and I made a whole new group of friends. What more can you ask for?

How have you expanded or changed your use of our equipment over the years?
We've updated our ergs over the years from the Model B to C to D. We have mostly ultralight oars but over the last few years have added some skinny and low inertia oars to the mix.

What’s your favorite workout music?
I don't listen to music while I erg. You'll laugh but I watch MeTV which has all the old shows on it—Rifleman, Charlie's Angels, M.A.S.H., Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Andy Griffith.