Weight Training and Rowing

[johnlvs2run]

I've met Mike Caviston, and am amazed that a man his height (I'd guess around 5' 10") could be that muscular and broad-shouldered and yet still be a lightweight.

That's because he isn't a lightweight.

[johnlvs2run]

WR holder Elia Luini is 6' 1" and 152 pounds.

http://www.ulli.ch/images/stories/Rowing/luini_erog.jpg

[johnlvs2run]

WR holder Eskild Ebbesen at 6' 1" and 158 pounds.

http://www.modest-sport.dk/nyheder/2004/ebbesson.jpg

[hjs]

I've met Mike Caviston, and am amazed that a man his height (I'd guess around 5' 10") could be that muscular and broad-shouldered and yet still be a lightweight.

That's because he isn't a lightweight.

Sure, he weighs 220 lbs and bribes the officials who weigh him during races. And also no-one notices, seeing him sitting next to his competitors

[Carl Henrik]

Complementary strenght training for rowing and life: deadlifts, front squats, benchpress. That's it. Possibly add a rotational movement around the spine.

I think the most impressive things about lwts are sometimes not the scores they pull, but that they weigh so little. Appearance get's a double effect from changing fat to muscles, making some people think they are "big strong guys". Judging by strength in the weight room some lightweights have the strenght to go with it as well, just less length over which to apply it. In comparison to other endurance events, even light weight rowers are on the big side.

[jamie]

A good site for your fitness info is
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/rowing.htm
Protein is very important if you want to develop & repair your muscles. The key weight exercises were back squat, front squat, bench, bench pull (ie lay on a jacked up bench and pull the bar towards you chest, make sure you have a stable bench though) and dead lifts.

[johnlvs2run]

Sure, he weighs 220 lbs and bribes the officials who weigh him during races. And also no-one notices, seeing him sitting next to his competitors

Wow that is amazing.

[KB12]

Make sure you balance your workouts too, not just for the left and right sides of the body, but also for your front and back. As was mentioned before work your quads but also your hamstrings and so on.

I'm having back problems because I overdeveloped my quads without my hamstrings. When you work out a muscle it winds up tightening and shortening. Since I didn't workout my hamstrings my quads have rotated my hips forward. This consquentially forces my lower back to tilt forward so to stand up straight my back must bend back in an awkward S type thing. End result: pinched cartilage in my lower back, not much fun...

[johnlvs2run]

Since I didn't workout my hamstrings my quads have rotated my hips forward. This consquentially forces my lower back to tilt forward so to stand up straight my back must bend back in an awkward S type thing. End result: pinched cartilage in my lower back, not much fun...

Could you explain how you did that.

I'm trying to get a visual of how you worked your quads without working your hamstrings.

[stroke_1t]

WOW. I am ready to call Elia Luini and ask him what the hell he does. Loosing 3 pounds and dropping my 2k 40 seconds would be pretty sweet. That is riddiculous. I'm cured of wanting to be bigger, just stronger is fine.

[johnlvs2run]

WOW. I am ready to call Elia Luini and ask him what the hell he does. Loosing 3 pounds and dropping my 2k 40 seconds would be pretty sweet. That is riddiculous. I'm cured of wanting to be bigger, just stronger is fine.

haha same here

[KB12]

I probably should have worded that better, I worked my quads significantly more than my hamstrings. Lots of erging and biking basically. And not the kind of biking with feet strapped in so you can use your hamstrings a chunk. This is just what my trainer has told me she believes is going on. I have noticed that since I began training more properly I've been able to stand up straighter and my back hurts less frequently. Lots of skating in the winter helped and crosscountry skiing...

[zenpharaohs]

I probably should have worded that better, I worked my quads significantly more than my hamstrings. Lots of erging and biking basically. And not the kind of biking with feet strapped in so you can use your hamstrings a chunk. This is just what my trainer has told me she believes is going on. I have noticed that since I began training more properly I've been able to stand up straighter and my back hurts less frequently. Lots of skating in the winter helped and crosscountry skiing...

Hamstrings are part of the posterior chain, and so strengthening them can affect your posture. You really don't want a huge quad/hamstring imbalance.

One thing I personally have had to deal with, which I think rowers might also have to think about, is that some exercises which are said to be really good for hamstrings, like the various stiff-leg deadlifts, are not really that big for hamstrings if you have already developed great glute strength. The glutes can take over too much from hamstrings in those exercises, as well as in rowing.

So I use two basic exercises for hamstrings, and it has helped enormously with respect to my running time for the mile, so I know they are effective.

1. "Natural" Glute ham raises. Here is one link:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/renegade10.htm

I do these a little differently - I use the seat of a lat pull-down machine for the knee pad and ankle hold, and I use a straight bar in one hand as a safety to keep from kissing the bottom of the lat pull-down machine, but also as added resistance. They are said to be quite hard, but people who do a lot of rowing should find them not that difficult, but very effective.

2. Ball curls. Here is one link:

http://www.sissel-online.com/exercise/s ... e_ball.php

I do the one leg version (free leg kept straight up to the ceiling throughout) and also two leg version with twist to the side.

Note that both of these exercises take the glutes out of the picture by requiring contraction of the glutes to maintain the posture in the exercise. This is the feature that makes these exercises the gold standard of hamstrings in my book. None of the hamstring based deadlifts or lunges keep the glutes from getting recruited. The stereotypical leg curl machines also allow the glutes to take up too much slack.

[johnlvs2run]

The hamstrings are two joint muscles, that flex the knees and extend the hips. The quads extend the knees and flex the hips, they don't extend the hips.

Regular deadlifts definitely develop your hamstrings.

Or, better yet, go out and run up and down some steep hills.

[zenpharaohs]

Regular deadlifts definitely develop your hamstrings.

They might develop yours, but not mine. It's just not uniformly true for everyone. I've been through this with two professional trainers, and it's really not that hard to understand. Maybe you haven't come across someone with this particular state of development before, but it happens, especially with people with short bones. And it's not that surprising either. The hamstrings are not the prime movers in hip extension - that is the glutes. You can look it up in this textbook:

http://www.canadianfitness.net/FKSMCH5SAMPLE.pdf

"Agonist (Prime Mover) — This is the muscle that is primarily responsible for
a given movement. When more than one muscle crosses the joint, it is generally
the larger muscle which will be the prime mover. For example, both the
hamstrings and the gluts cross the hip joint, but in a hip extension exercise, the
gluteus maximus (being the larger muscle at the hip joint) is considered the
prime mover."

Trust me. I can stiff legged deadlift heavy weight, set after set, for an hour, and not hit my hamstrings. I've actually done that on more than one occasion in futile attempts to correct my quad/hamstring imbalance. We've touched on this before, so I understand that you might be skeptical of this. But if you saw my glutes (not something I expect anyone to actually want to do), I think you would be convinced.