Rowing Together
Research by Emma Cohen (”Rowers’ high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholds“), suggests that training in a synchronised group may heighten tolerance for pain, & allow people to train longer.
The researchers got 12 members of Oxford’s heavyweight squad to row on machines in four 45-minute sessions over two weeks. In two sessions they rowed in complete isolation and in the others in groups of six, perfectly synchronised. Immediately following each session they deduced pain tolerance by gradually tightening a cuff around each rower’s arm. When he said “now” they stopped squeezing and noted the pressure.
The rowers’ pain thresholds were significantly higher following the group sessions. This was despite nearly identical power outputs in all four tests and efforts to control for possible confounding variables, such as the time of day.