Faster with Bill Chambers

Two scientists have spent years publicly disagreeing about the same problem: what actually stops you mid-race. Prof. Tim Noakes says your brain has a built-in governor that pulls the plug before you'd ever choose to. Prof. Samuele Marcora says that's the wrong villain — but ends up agreeing on almost everything that matters on race day.I went back through my own archived interviews with both of them — recorded the same year, just months apart, never in the same room — to sort out which one actually explains the two mistakes I've made more times than I'd like to admit: going out too hard because the first half felt fantastic, and giving up with more left in the tank because it felt unbearable.No live guest this week — just the two best arguments I've got on tape, back to back, and what it cost me to actually listen properly the second time round. I lean one way. You might not, once you've heard both.If this changes how you read your next race, this is the show for you every week — subscribe so you don't miss the next one. And if you want the version of this I can't quite fit into an episode, the free newsletter runs alongside it at whchambers.com.

I've spent the last couple of years asking rowers, coaches, and the people who literally build power meters the same question: does knowing your wattage actually make the boat go faster, or does it just give you a more precise number to obsess over? Turns out the answer depends entirely on who you ask.This is the Power Meter Series roundup — the best of five conversations in one episode. Pete King and Dick Smith, racing out of an uncoached four at Wallingford, on the coaching cliché their own data proved wrong. James Goodwin, Swiss Rowing's Head of Sports Science, on why power beats boat speed as a measure and what "critical power" actually means. Michael Naughten, who helped build the EmPower Oarlock, on a half-second-per-500m gain from one rigging fix. Noel Donaldson — the coach behind two Olympic gold medal crews — on why he calls power "an interesting one, and a dangerous one." And Boston masters rower Greg Benning on why "fewer bad strokes" beats chasing a target number.Five very different answers. None of them what I expected going in.Full interviews are in the archive if you want to go deeper on any one of them, and there's a companion article — the Power Series Roundup — at whchambers.com.

We're rowers.We train hard, eat well, stay lean, and pride ourselves on being fitter and faster than most people our age.So how is it that former elite rowers are almost seven times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation?This episode is personal. I've been through AFib myself, and today I'm sharing what the latest science reveals, what I learned from my own recovery, and what every masters rower should be watching out for.Welcome to Faster with Bill. Let's get into it.

James Goodwin is Head of Sports Science at the Swiss Rowing Federation. He explains how to train using power as your primary metric, how it changes session design, and how that translates into boat speed.Get the free Faster newsletter — the frameworks and tools I use: whchambers.com

Fil Ljubicic chairs the Indoor Rowing Commission at World Rowing. We talk about the 2025 Official World Rowing Indoor Championships and where indoor racing sits in the sport's future.Get the free Faster newsletter — the frameworks and tools I use: whchambers.com