Layback ....

[George Dunning]

couple of people who i have a lot of time for pictured at the 'end of the drive', both rating pretty high, (both on slides but i dont think that is relevant in this case).

visually i think there are a lot of similarities, enough to make me think i would like to find myself in close approximation at the end of my stroke BUT I know I dont. I dont get this much lay-back, should I does it add much to the length of the stroke , or does this much involvement of the back add impetus to the stroke aiding the transition from legs to arms

i know I can get more lay-back at low rates where i can focus on it more, but i also know as the rate picks up i run out transition time from lay-back to forward lean if i am ever going to get back to the catch in time.

what to do, or is it not an issue, does it make a difference erg/boat, or ...

tks george

[citiusaltiusfortius9]

I have very little layback as well and my coach is always telling me that it is very important to layback on the erg especially, it just adds a little extra lenght to keep the wheel spinning a little harder a little longer. My pb 2k, 7:28 was done with layback probably about like the picture after coachig. My previous 2k was a 7:37 which I did without much layback. I think of it as finishing the stroke, not stopping in the middle.

In the boat, especially a double for head races I find layback to be helpful but I don't have good layback the whole race. We call "row long" and focus on laying back and reaching with good ratio and lots of power for about 4min. This helps us get moving and focused again. I don't know if this helps but in experiance I find good layback does help more in certain situations.

Good Luck

sara

[robhen]

There are many styles in rowing. You could row very upright when rowing a very fast boat eg a quad or eight. Or have an long lay back as mentioned in the above posts.

I was taught to row with the body just past perpendicular.

A long layback, as mentioned in the above posts, could be the way to go when doing ergs. Though, if you probably have trouble getting the rate up you could not lean back as much.

[PaulS]

Does it strike anyone else as funny that the pictured laybacks are being described as "long"?

I coach a total body angle change from 11 to 1 o'clock, catch to finish, as the visualization to have, but it all depends on what a person can control. Another way to find what can be done is rowing strapless and getting as much layback as you can while remaining balanced and able to recover the body well.

The layback needs to be to a point at which the finish can be accomplished effectively, too little is probably better than too much, since having to lift the body back up out of excessive layback wastes time and energy, but too little leaves the body in a weak finishing position and leads to pulling the body back to the handle rather than the handle to the body.

[tbartman]

I have read on a Physics of Rowing website that adding to the layback (stroke length) on the erg does improve the pace, but actually has a HUGE energy cost. In other words, you can get the pace from 1:45 down to 1:40, but will expend a very large effort as compared to other ways of getting 1:45 down to 1:40 (for example, stronger drive with the legs or faster recovery to increase SPM).

For me, I use very little layback since anything more seems to put a large amount of stress on my lower back.

I guess the only scientific way to know would be to have a well-trained person out there row 2K at a steady pace (1:40) once with small layback and another time with large layback, and measure the energy consumed each way (would average HR be a good approximation of this?)

[DavidA]

Does it strike anyone else as funny that the pictured laybacks are being described as "long"?

It did me as well. They look like what I would call a fairly 'normal' layback, with long being a fair bit more like 2 o'clock.

David