This time last year while out in the single I strained something in my mid-back. I suspect it was due to poor posture and/or doing power strokes going around a sharp bend without being properly warmed up. It was the week before a regatta. Of course.

It was more a niggle than a pain but I had a sense that if I put any load on it something terrible might happen. I rested. A bit. A forced taper.

With 2 days to go I saw a physio. She poked and prodded asking if it hurt there, there, there… I said no, no, no… imposter syndrome?

She strapped me up and advised max dose anti-inflammatories. Should I race? She leant towards the negative but stopped short of forbidding me.

At the regatta, I wavered until the last minute. I had borrowed a boat and its kind owner made it clear that she hadn’t polished the hull for nothing! “If it starts to hurt, just stop”, she said. In my state of confusion, her straight talk made sense to me.

I raced and didn’t think about it for a second. If anything, the strapping across my shoulder blades felt good because it made me sit taller at the catch.

Now, with 6 weeks to go to the Queensland state championships and 8 weeks to the 2016 Australian Masters Championships, we are again ramping up the intensity.

Thank goodness the humidity has dropped somewhat, though the daytime temperatures are still hitting 30 degrees Celcius.

I’ve been training consistently through the hot summer, and I feel ready for the faster paced pieces. Is my body ready? I’m not sure how far I can push it. My posture is better this year but I need to keep thinking about it.

These 5 exercises to prevent rowing injury are from Rowing Australia:

I like that they’re all pretty straightforward.

The sideways stability exercise is a good one if you’re planning on racing at Coomera (state champs) or Kawana (nationals) where the odds surely are for gusty crosswinds.

Now it’s sleep time – that’s one thing I can control. Zzzzzzzzz

[Note: I think the heading should read ‘5 rowing specific exercises‘.]