About the review
Science of Rowing was founded in August 2020 to bridge the gap between peer-reviewed research and the coaches and athletes who could actually use it. What started as a monthly newsletter has become the rowing world's most trusted research review.
Our mission
TRANSFORM ROWING THROUGH ACCESSIBLE, EVIDENCE-BASED KNOWLEDGE.
We demystify the peer-reviewed research and deliver practical insights that empower coaches and athletes to excel. The science is published. We translate it.
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The editors
Co-Founder · Lead Author
PhD Student (Exercise Physiology) · MSc Sports Performance · NSCA-CSCS
Joe began rowing at age 12 at Ventnor Viking Boat Club and earned a partial scholarship to George Washington University, where he was named team MVP. After three years as graduate assistant coach for Syracuse Men’s Rowing, he founded LEO Training in 2014, consulting with junior, collegiate, masters, and national team rowing programs. He served as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Portuguesa de Remo from 2018 through the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Joe completed his MSc in Sports Performance at the University of Limerick with First Class Honours and is now pursuing his PhD at the University of Kansas under Dr. Andrew C. Fry and Dr. Kathryn Ackerman.
joe@scienceofrowing.com
Editor · Lead Author
BSc Human Biology & Sport Science · PGDip Sports Nutrition · MSc Sports Biomechanics
Alex served as Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for British Rowing, preparing athletes for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He then led S&C support across the majority of Olympic and Paralympic sports as Head of Strength and Conditioning at the UK Sports Institute, before becoming Head of Learning where he delivered professional development to 450+ staff and prepared practitioners for major championships. He was seconded to the British Olympic Association for behind-the-scenes performance strategy during two Olympic Games. In 2019 he founded Liberating Brilliance, a consultancy working with organisations including the Chinese Rowing Association, Saudi Rowing Association, and Scottish Rowing. He is the author of Strength and Conditioning for Rowing and has co-authored several research publications on physical preparation for the sport.
alex@scienceofrowing.comResearch & publications
Beyond running the review, Joe and Alex contribute to the rowing science literature as lead or co-author. Browse the peer-reviewed papers below, plus the books and chapters they’ve written.
Steven House, Alex Wolf, Anthony N Turner, Chris Bishop · Preprint, Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research
In junior male rowers, countermovement jump net impulse and isometric force production both track strongly with 2-km ergometer performance, arguing for training maximal and rapid force together.
Books & chapters
Strength and Conditioning for Rowing
Alex Wolf (lead) & Joseph DeLeo · Chapter in Routledge Handbook of Strength and Conditioning
Strength and Conditioning for Rowing
Alex Wolf · Chapter in Strength and Conditioning for Sports Performance (Routledge, 2021)
Strength and Conditioning for Rowing
Alex Wolf · Crowood Press
Training for the Complete Rower
Paul Thompson & Alex Wolf · Crowood Press
Our contributors
Alongside Joe and Alex, Science of Rowing is written and reviewed by a wider group of Olympic and Paralympic coaches, applied sport scientists, physiotherapists and elite athletes. Each contributes the kind of practice-level knowledge you can only earn at the boathouse.
MEET THE CONTRIBUTORSWhat we stand for
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Every article is drawn from peer-reviewed research and reviewed by coaches and scientists with decades of combined experience. Dense methodology becomes plain language, without flattening the nuance that matters.
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Research only moves the sport forward when it reaches the boathouse. Every summary includes practical takeaways you can apply the same week, in the tank, on the erg, in the boat.
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We cover sport science, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and injury prevention, the four areas where applied research most changes how rowers train and perform.
Giving back
Each year we donate 100% of one month's membership profits to a noble cause in rowing. Over $6,000+ has gone back into the sport to date. We also partner on scholarship places at the USRowing Convention and support the Para Rowing Foundation with expert S&C coaching at their training camps. Follow along on social media and the newsletter for the next one.
Continuing our support for USRowing’s United We Row initiative, backing programs, coaches and athletes working to diversify and grow the sport of rowing.
VISIT THE CAUSEUnited We Row is USRowing’s commitment to training and education, grants and scholarships, storytelling and community, so that everyone in the sport feels there is a seat in the boat for them.
VISIT THE CAUSELondon Youth Rowing encourages young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to be active through rowing. In 2022 alone their programs reached 4,422 participants, 57% from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and 41% young women.
VISIT THE CAUSEA direct contribution to the Ukrainian Rowing Federation so their athletes could continue training and competing internationally through the 2022–2023 season.
VISIT THE CAUSECamp Lucy introduces middle school girls in the Seattle area to erging, rowing and physical fitness, alongside leadership curriculum and mentorship, removing barriers that would otherwise keep them out of the sport.
VISIT THE CAUSEIn partnership with the Steady State Network, we funded a full scholarship to the 2021 virtual USRowing Convention, awarded to Dani Dewitt.
VISIT THE CAUSEA joint contribution with the George Pocock Rowing Foundation to the new AMBT Inclusion Fund, supporting education, scholarship and mentorship for communities of colour where young rowers face barriers to the sport.
VISIT THE CAUSEA scholarship to the 2020 virtual USRowing Convention training track day, awarded via the Steady State Network to physical therapist Dr. Lisa Russell (Lowe), later a guest on Volume 2, Issue 5.
VISIT THE CAUSE“The research is published. We translate it.”