Legs Fall Asleep?

[[old] csc]

After rowing for about 30 minutes my legs fall asleep. I can push through this to row for an hour, but it is frustrating. By the time I reach an hour I can't stand up until I let the blood circulate back through for a few minutes. Does anyone else have this problem or a solution? I tried sitting on folded towel, but it doesn't seem to help much. I guess I could row faster for a shorter amount of time, but I would rather row for a full hour.

[[old] ehagberg]

It used to happen to me as well, back in college.<br /><br />Cant really say what I did to make it stop, but it doesn't happen anymore. Maybe it was the soft model B seat didn't fit my posterior properly and caused circulation problems and the model C and D seats don't give me the problem...

[[old] PaulS]

I'd suggest making small adjustments to how close or far you are from the front of the seat and see if you can find a better position. Most people seem to start out on their own sitting too far back.<br /><br />The sensation is likely due to pressure on some nerves so posture should be attended to also, make sure you are not slumping during the stroke.<br /><br />If you can set your feet on the ground when done and it seems to clear up, you may also have your feet set too high.<br /><br />How long would you have to stop at 30 minutes to do the next 30 minutes before the same thing happened? If it's just a couple minutes, go ahead and take the short break and do 2 x 30 minutes. With improved focus you will probably have better results anyway.

[[old] Laupi]

<b>Do you move your legs also while rowing and not only your arms - I do - and then this should not happen as blood may circulate once you drive to the catch.<br /><br />Give it a try - it should work.<br /><br /></b>

[[old] csc]

Thanks for the responses. Last night I rowed for 30 minutes, took a five minute break, and then rowed for another 30 minutes. This short break gave my legs time to get the blood circulating again without letting my heart rate drop too much. This resulted in the most pleasant workout I have had yet. I think this solution will work fine for me and allow me to keep my heart rate up for an hour.

[[old] Steelhead]

<!--QuoteBegin-csc+Nov 17 2005, 02:52 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(csc @ Nov 17 2005, 02:52 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Thanks for the responses. Last night I rowed for 30 minutes, took a five minute break, and then rowed for another 30 minutes. This short break gave my legs time to get the blood circulating again without letting my heart rate drop too much. This resulted in the most pleasant workout I have had yet. I think this solution will work fine for me and allow me to keep my heart rate up for an hour. <br /> </td></tr></table><br />When I use my Model B, I have to do the 30 minute split instead of an hour straight because my leg goes to sleep, but on the Model C at the Y I can row for hours without my leg ever going to sleep. I can't figure out what is the difference but I think it is the ability to place my feet differently on the C than on the B.<br /><br />Mike

[[old] bw1099]

My right leg used to start to go to sleep after 30-40 minutes. It never affected the strength, but it is annoying. And since I do most of my rowing on the water I couldn't really get up and walk around.<br /><br />So what did I do?<br /><br />I would stop and stretch my legs a bit while sitting in the boat.<br />I found that if I rowed really hard it helped (actually that is how I learned to row really hard).<br />I got checked for nerve damage. Results - no damage.<br />I started doing lower back exercises, on the idea that something must be misaligned and pressing on the nerves.<br /><br />Now I have less of a problem, and believe that if I stuck with the lower back exercises it would go away altogether.<br /><br />bw