How can I keep my knees together?

[CharlieV453]

Hi there.
I've been rowing for over 3 years now and have always been rather inflexible. Recently I've been getting competitive and have noticed when coming up to the catch my knees bend outwards towards the side of the boat. I'm no expert but I'm sure that this isn't ideal both to prevent injury and for the most direct power transfer to the boat. This seems to be mostly prevalent in the double I row in (Wintech Cobra) which has footplates that are not adjustable and have the slightest outward point on them. Its not my boat as it is privately owned by my partner so I'm not sure how open they would be to changing parts on the boat as it is a high tech piece of kit. I do find however when in a single (Swift) that my knees don't separate as much but I also think there isn't the same outward point. Is this a flexibility issue or could it be rectified with a footplate with adjustable angles on it? If flexibility is the issue what muscles need to be stretched?


Thanks for any help

Charlie

[jamesg]

There are some sites that talk about this, e.g the C2 technique video suggests vertical shins at the catch, which presumably means in all planes, not just seen from the side.
https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos

Here they say the first step might be to lower the feet:
https://www.rowperfect.co.uk/how-to-kee ... -sculling/

[CharlieV453]

Ok. Thankyou very much. will try lowering the feet and do the suggested exercises to improve my flexibility. I've also seen people recommending putting a band around your knees to keep them together, but will this make me reliant on it and so is it best to avoid it or try it?

Thanks,
Charlie

[Rvanvoris]

I worried about this years ago and tried to strap my knees together, lowered my heels( which did help a little)
I am a big guy and I always have been , no obese but I could lose 20 lbs.
I had an opportunity to talk to Hank Osborne about this, he is a great coach perhaps the best coach I ever worked with.
I asked him about keeping my knees together and he calmly said "All fat people row like that"
At first I was shocked because calling someone fat in our culture is usually not done, even if it is true.
But I looked again and it was true in my case.
I have lost some weight but I still carry that extra 20 pounds and my knees still move apart.
So it goes,
I row a lot both on the water and with an ERG, and I love it even if I don't look like a model sculler.
I think that's what I care about more than the position of my knees

[bisqeet]

my ex-wife had the same problem...:p