I would appreciate feedback on my form

[maestroak]

I've been erging for about 3 years now, but took a class to learn to row on the water this summer. Last week was the first time anyone video taped me on the water, and I am looking for thoughts on obvious problems and more importantly on how to correct it. I am the one in the 2 seat. Go easy on me, I was never in a boat until a couple months ago. I got plenty of tips from the guy taking the video but I'm looking for all the help I can get. I was actually surprised by the video, there are some things I knew I was doing and others that I didn't.






Thanks,

Steve

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

The videos are really short, so it's hard to get a good assessment. But there are a few things which are apparent even from 1-2 strokes.

(in no particular order)

1) You break the body too early. The rowing stroke is most efficient when you apply the legs, then the back, then the arms. You are opening up your back and breaking your arms before your legs are fully extended.
2) You are finishing the stroke too early. You aren't really getting much layback at all, and are finishing with your hands way in front of your body.
3) As you approach the catch, you let your body collapse. Right when you are at the catch your posture becomes slouched, your shoulders come down, and your entire body is bending toward the water. You want to get good body prep coming out of the recovery, back slightly angled forward, your butt behind you. Nice straight, strong, and tall posture (with the body angle forward). You don't want to lose that length of your torso or slouch down. Keep the shoulders level at all times.

It can be helpful to youtube videos of elite scullers in training or competition and pausing it every frame to see how they row to get some good pointers.