Smoothing Out The Force Curve

[[old] seat5]

I just got a PM3 this Christmas, and noticed right off that my force curve had this odd little jerky bump at the beginning of each stroke. I couldn't figure out what it was.<br /><br />At the Crash B's, I stopped by to see Paul Smith's Ergmonitor (definitely on my wish list) and in trying it out, it took him about 3 seconds to see why the force curve had the little bump. I was opening my back just a second before driving. Now, for 3 years I have been trying to not do that and really thought I had the sequence right. But, after applying the idea he gave me then just for a few workouts, that little bump is pretty much gone from the force curve. He told me not so much to try to drive with my legs before opening the back, but to sort of <b>pretend I was never going to open the back at all. </b> Just thinking about it that way has really totally changed the way I row. I've been doing that, and of course the back does open by itself, but at the right place, as long as I'm thinking I'm not going to do it at all.<br /><br />I can really feel the difference in how strong a position I'm in at the catch. It's only been a few days, but it's clearly better for the lower back. So if anyone else has a funny bump at the start of the force curve and also has a stiff lower back, try Paul's suggestion. <br /><br />It is really amazing how helpful it is to have someone really knowledgeable watch you row because they can see what you are doing wrong when you just plain can't. <br /><br />Thanks, Paul!

[[old] PaulS]

<!--quoteo(post=57760:date=Feb 28 2006, 08:48 PM:name=seat5)--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(seat5 @ Feb 28 2006, 08:48 PM) </b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>I just got a PM3 this Christmas, and noticed right off that my force curve had this odd little jerky bump at the beginning of each stroke. I couldn't figure out what it was.<br /><br />At the Crash B's, I stopped by to see Paul Smith's Ergmonitor (definitely on my wish list) and in trying it out, it took him about 3 seconds to see why the force curve had the little bump. I was opening my back just a second before driving. Now, for 3 years I have been trying to not do that and really thought I had the sequence right. But, after applying the idea he gave me then just for a few workouts, that little bump is pretty much gone from the force curve. He told me not so much to try to drive with my legs before opening the back, but to sort of <b>pretend I was never going to open the back at all. </b> Just thinking about it that way has really totally changed the way I row. I've been doing that, and of course the back does open by itself, but at the right place, as long as I'm thinking I'm not going to do it at all.<br /><br />I can really feel the difference in how strong a position I'm in at the catch. It's only been a few days, but it's clearly better for the lower back. So if anyone else has a funny bump at the start of the force curve and also has a stiff lower back, try Paul's suggestion. <br /><br />It is really amazing how helpful it is to have someone really knowledgeable watch you row because they can see what you are doing wrong when you just plain can't. <br /><br />Thanks, Paul!<br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />You're welcome of course. It was great to meet you and many others at CRASH-B's, we had a lot of fun working with everyone that stopped by and am especially happy that it was also productive.<br /><br />You are being too hard on yourself, you were opening your back just about 0.1sec before driving the legs, most likely in an attempt to get a quick rise in the force curve, the probelm that arrises is that just after that, our body realizes "I've got to protect my lower back" so the force that the legs can generate is limited neurologically, i.e. there's not much we can do about it (other than to remain in a stronger position from the very beginning). The entire drive sequence only takes about 0.5-0.7 seconds so small adjustments are all we really have an opportunity to make.<br /><br />Cheers.

[[old] Sean Seamus]

thank you, to both Seat5 & PaulS<br /><br />that is a very timely & helpful tip - my force curve improved immediately<br /><br />I row for several things, mostly HR cardio benefits, and I will never be an Elite nor a Champion - 5' 7", ex-smoker, 53 years old, rowing only 16 monthsn - but the pursuit of a perfect stroke is a joy in & of itself