Concept2 Forum

I am a 35/M. I have not been physically active in the last 1 year or so and just began rowing a month back. I have been rowing small distances, generally 2000 meters 2-3 times a week. I have tried to follow the right technique described in Dark Horse's youtube videos.

Last week, I rowed my first 5000k. The next day I felt a mild pain in a C shaped area behind and under my outer left ankle. Also felt mild pain at the lower most inch of my Achilles tendon which rests against the backward part of the footplate while on the rowing machine. Pain in both these areas was absent at rest and could be reproduced by dorsiflexion of the foot.

Now, the pain I had in the Achilles tendon has gone. Dorsiflexion results in no pain. However, the pain i felt in the C shaped area behind and under my outer left ankle is still there. I am able to reproduce it by moving my knees and shins in a 9 to 11 o clock direction keeping my feet at the centre of the clock (a motion that combines dorsiflexion with foot eversion)

I used Google and found out that I likely have a inflamed Peroneus brevis tendon which passes through the C shaped area I've described above. This muscle is used for eversion of the foot. I likely over-everted my foot during rowing because I flared out my legs by 10-20 degrees to accommodate my belly which was coming in the way at the catch.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? How to avoid this happening? Do you pay any special attention to stretching or warm up before rowing? Can't I flare out my legs even a bit at the catch?

I'd recommend you row with no foot straps. That will relieve some tension as your foot everts. Also, at least one Dark Horse video says to keep your heels flat on the footstretcher. This is not right (unless you are more flexible than most). Some heel lift is OK at the catch. In other words, give your foot some freedom to move during the stroke.

The plastic Flexfoot heel strap also irritates my heel and Achilles occasionally. I put a little padding behind my heel in my shoe if necessary.

I’m also a fan of Shane Farmer’s videos, and you’ll notice his heels come off the platform slightly as he rows. He does cover this in the technique videos, saying it is good to keep the heels down when you’re first learning the stroke so that you get the sensation of firmly planting your foot during the drive. He does say that it’s ok and normal to get some heel rise when you’re rowing at pace.

It’s good to watch if you notice a lot of heel rise, as it’s a strong indicator you’re overextending at the catch… putting you knees and ankles in a bad geometry to get an effective drive. If you find you are driving mostly off your toes, the ankle and Achilles are bearing the brunt of the load!

I also struggled with my belly getting in the way when I first started, and had to shorten my stroke to keep any semblance of proper form. As I’ve lost belly fat, it is becoming more comfortable to get to a proper catch position (and still breathe!), so it’ll come in time.

Take care of that Achilles… you blow one of those and you’ll be off the rower a long time. Stick to the form Shane shows, and the speed and distance will improve on their own. Good luck!

This is the kind of thing you want to fix or at least not exacerbate so take it easy while you figure it out. I sometimes have pain in that area when my previously sprained ankle is acting up. Go back to shorter workouts for a time and build up slowly. (10% increase is good guideline for building up slowly rather than going from 2000 to 5000 meters.) Make sure your shoes are comfortable. I try not to rely on shoes and straps to keep my foot in the right place, so I row strapless during most warm ups to work on this, but it still helps my ankle if my shoe fits snugly. Try changing the height of your foot by adjusting the foot stretcher. In general, people like a fairly minimalist shoe for rowing so that all your power is transferred instead of being absorbed in a spongy shoe, but my ankle feels better with a bulkier running shoe that is not so flat. You might also try shortening your stroke just a bit so that you don't point or flex your feet as much on either end of the stroke. I usually go back to the typical ankle strengthening exercises (like balancing on one foot) for a while and it goes away again.

Always warm up, using the backstop drill, and keep the slide travel short so that knee travel Is vertical only. Keep your feet low, with the strap over your toes.

The slide moves only after swinging forward, in sequence.

A video would help.