Technique Question

[[old] pduck]

I was wondering how much lean (of the torso) everyone uses, both leaning back at the finish of the stroke, and leaning forward at the catch.<br /><br />I've been trying to keep my back fairly straight in order to avoid back problems, but I was watching the video about the Crash-B's that Concept 2 sends out and noticed that many people were leaning back quite a bit as they were bringing their arms to their chest. Then it seemed like they are reaching with their hands as far forward as they could at the catch.<br /><br />Have I been missing out on half of my stroke length? Do you only put your torso into play when racing or doing fast intervals, and not the easy rows? I'm not too tall compared to most people here (5'10), and considerably slower. Anything I can do to lengthen my stroke would help.<br /><br />Thanks<br />Pete

[[old] george nz]

Hi Pete,<br /><br />in my opinion your stroke (the whole thing) should not change no matter what your pace or rate, efficiency is dependent upon repetition (this is the ideal) - really short sprints with high rates excluded.<br /><br />Body lean is about 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock, at the catch you are sitting upright with your body lightly compressed against your thighs, at the end of the stroke an excessive backward 'lean' will impact negativly on a smooth transition into the recovery, and really add very little to stroke length.<br /><br />George