rowing with upper body only

jagmanvdp · Post by **jagmanvdp** » February 1st, 2008, 12:15 pm

Apologies up front if this has been answered. I did a search and couldn't find it.

I recently damaged my kneecap and have been told to stop rowing for about three months while it heals. I need my legs ( i use them to walk with) so I figure I'll follow the doc's advise.

However, I wondered if anyone knows if there is a proper technique for rowing using the upper body only. Do you lock your legs in a straight position..or slightly bent? Do you take your feet out of the foot holders and place them on the floor? How should you move your back?

Any advice on the proper technique for upper body rowing, without using the legs, would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Darren

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » February 1st, 2008, 12:30 pm

I'm no doctor and I don't know the severity of the damage to your kneecap but upper body rowing is simple. You can strap your feet in and keep your legs slightly bent...to avoid hyperextension. When you begin to row with the upper body make sure you swing from the hips. Sit up tall (like a doberman staring at a piece of steak.....my signature) keeping a firm lower back. Do not swing back and forth more than what's required. You should feel a slight pull in the hamstrings. Keep a fluid and constant motion each stroke. Keep the shoulders relaxed and your elbows locked at the catch. When you engage the drive try to visualize your shoulders dislocating. This will force you to not break your arms too early.

Byron Drachman · Post by **Byron Drachman** » February 1st, 2008, 1:27 pm

This is great advice from Wingedfoot. Even if you don't have a bad knee, some upperbody rowing, especially once you have warmed up, is good for working on lower back and hamstring flexibility. As Wingedfoot says, keep the knees down but not locked and feel the slight tension in the hamstrings. For sitting tall, I find it helpful to pretend the coach has made a fist and is pushing gently against the lowerback at all times.

Byron

jagmanvdp · Post by **jagmanvdp** » February 1st, 2008, 1:38 pm

Thnaks for the advice! I'll try that.

As for the extent of injury, I fell and landed on the kneecap. I have "bruised" the bone, and most likely put a bit of a dent in the cartilage....I am told. Apparently I didn't damage any ligaments or soft tissue, but, moving the knee through it's normal range of motion will only aggravate the cartilage...and increase the swelling....

Three months should do it...Or as the doctor said.."At YOUR AGE, it should take about 12 weeks...... Ah..to be someone else's age for a change....

Darren (43.... for those who were wondering)

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » February 1st, 2008, 1:39 pm

I would not heed any advice to not use your legs. A doctor advised my mom in that regard some 20 years ago. As a result, in a short period of time she lost the ability to walk and even to get up off the floor. Now she sees the mistake but too late.

The easiest way to row keeping your legs straight is by fixing the seat, or with bypassing the use of the seat. I set a milk crate on either side of the railing in front of the seat, and set some plywood across. Then I sat on the plywood seat while I rowed. This worked quite well.

However, it is quite difficult to row without using the legs. Various different body dimensions will have major effects on one's ability to do this.

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » February 1st, 2008, 1:57 pm

You can do it with or without the feet strapped in. I've done both. Depending on the injury strapped in can agravate things but in your case it is probably easier.

You are not likely to have the problems that Johns mother had, at least not at age 43. But he does have a point. Not using your legs can result in loss of balance and muscle and cause a number of problems. One can get use to protecting the knee which results in over using other parts of your body. That is very appropriate at first but it can become a habit and cause problems years from now. So if you are walking normally I wouldn't worry too much. When you can row with the legs easy without hurting your knee then do it some. You can start off quarter slide and gradually increase the length over time. You may want to put a strap or tape on the rail just beyond the maximum compression you want to use, then you will hit it if you are compressing too much when you loose concentration. When you start with the legs you might want to use a knee brace.

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » February 1st, 2008, 2:43 pm

You might also benefit from rowing with your feet in the holder but unstrapped. What this will do is work your core. The key is to keep pressure on the balls of your feet at the finish and will keep you honest as far as not over exaggerating your body swing.

Another analogy for body swing is this: When you swing forward from the hips pretend you are receiving a medal around your neck. That's about as far forward as you want to swing. Posture is so important..especially in the lower back. I'm full of analogies....another one pertains to forward swing as well: When you're at the finish pretend someone is gently tugging you forward by the neckline of your t shirt as you swing from the hips.

jagmanvdp · Post by **jagmanvdp** » February 5th, 2008, 1:23 pm

Hello:

THnaks again for the advice. It's a great group of people we have here.!!

To be sure, I haven't stoppped using my legs. I still walk everywhere without any aid and the therapist has me on a series of exercises to work the various muscles in my leg to help improve stability and hold the kneecap in the right position until things heal up. However, both the therapist and doctor agree that rowing puts alot of force on the knee joint and the cartilage and patellar tendon would be better off without that added strain while its getting back to shape.

Rowing (i tried it) causes the swelling of my knee area to get worse, and that only slows the repair to the kneecap and tendons around it......

Thanks again for the advice on upper nbody rowing...have to keep the heart pumping.....

Darren

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » February 5th, 2008, 5:07 pm

Have you thought about rowing with one leg? The other one goes on a skateboard.

(Unfortunately the photo of the late Carole MacNally doing that has expired from ImageShack.)

ccwenk · Post by **ccwenk** » February 6th, 2008, 2:48 pm

Xeno (IronOarsman) has an all upper-body workout for the erg. I think it would be great for you during your recovery. The DVD is available on his website an on ebay.

ancho · Post by **ancho** » February 7th, 2008, 7:32 am

If you use slides, rowing with one leg is very easy.
If not, the skateboard option will do it.

larkl · Post by **larkl** » February 7th, 2008, 10:21 am

jagmanvdp wrote: I fell and landed on the kneecap.

That happened to me about a year ago. I was out of it because of mold allergies. I needed to go up into my attic. But I was all spaced out and I set the ladder up the wrong way around, so it wasn't resting on pads, only on plastic corners. So I got up on the ladder, it stayed in place while I climbed up, then whoosh! it slid down the wall and I landed ... hard ... on my knees. On a wood floor. It's an AWFUL feeling because kneecaps aren't meant to be landed on. There's no softness.
I limped for a few days. But apparently everything was otherwise basically alright.
But I realized that I need to take those vague spaced out feelings I get from allergies seriously, because I may make serious mistakes when my mind is all foggy and spaced.
Laura