In another land and another time, three times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill's boundless knowledge would have seen him worshipped as a god; he would have spent his days being hand-fed plump grapes by dusky maidens while passing sentences of life or death over a timorous population. Instead he's here to answer any questions you've got on indoor rowing, so drop him a line at [email protected] Gillet: I would be interested to have some advice on warming up before a 2,000 metre race or Personal Best attempt. I imagine intensity - particularly in relation to intended race pace - duration and interval before the row are all relevant factors.Terry O'Neill: Warming up is very specific to the individual and can vary enormously. Perhaps if I explain the point of warming up and give you some examples you will be able to devise a warm up routine that suits you.The warm up should prepare you physically and mentally for the task and should be started about twenty minutes before the race. Physically in a 2,000 metre race you will be going off flat out so your warm up should contain some flat out bursts. These should be preceded by a couple of bursts below maximum. So, start the warm up by developing the stroke from the back stop. Use your arms only for 10-15 strokes before moving onto body swing, quarter slide, half slide, 3/4 slide and a few minutes of full slide paddling. Then row 10 strokes at 70% of your maximum, then 20 light strokes. Then 10 strokes at 80% of your maximum and 20 light. Then 10 strokes at 90% of your maximum and 20 light and then 10 strokes flat out. Finish off with a start of 15 strokes where you get off as hard as you can then settle into your race pace. This is not a definitive warm up but somewhere to start and develop your own one. Mentally the anticipation of the event causes stress, which in turn stimulates performance. Too much stimulation can drive you over the top so to feel nervous is good but to lose control of the nerves is bad. Try deep breathing to help you relax.