Inner leg pain during erging

[Tenkay]

Every time I erg the first place I get pain is the muscles on my inner thighs. Not my groin, but the muscles that sort of connect your knee and the front of your hips. In addition to this premature soreness, I feel like I'm not connecting enough. I'm concerned because my quadriceps seem to not be engaging and it's negatively affecting my scores. As far as I know my feet are positioned right( toes at the end of the stretcher) and I've tried a few other settings as well. If anyone can shed light on a solution or have some stretching or technique tips I'd be grateful. Essentially I need more quadricep connection. Thanks!

[Citroen]

That's because rowing is using your quads (the biggest muscle that joins your hip to your knee). Simple.

I think you need a quick anatomy lesson.

http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... scles-used
http://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/tr ... esUsed.pdf

[truth1ness]

Maybe focus on firing the glutes more, too. You need both to fire for a good leg drive, maybe you are putting the entire load on your quads.

[billfournier]

I was going to write on the same topic but I know my problem. I am a 64 male, overweight and only been rowing for a few weeks. My problem is that my knees do not stay close together while I row. If I don't really focus they spread widely and the rowing push doesn't get near the focus from the quadriceps that it should.

At the same time, unless I really focus, my feet are therefore also at an angle. My question then is, will this improve over time? Should I consider other training that strengthens whatever keeps the knees together? I am not kidding here, it is a problem

BTW - I am rowing 4K almost daily at about 25 minutes. That seems real slow when judged against experienced rowers but I am getting a real good workout at this and really enjoy the workout.

Thanks, and I hope someone has some good advice!

[gregsmith01748]

I had a similar problem which improved as i lost my pot belly. One alternative to reduce the amount your knees spread is to lower the foot setting and reduce your reach a little bit. This will help reinforce the habit of driving straight with your legs and allow you to improve slowly with weight loss.

[billfournier]

Following your advice made a big difference in my rowing today Greg. I lowered the feet and that helped. Tomorrow I will lower them even more. BTW - by looking at your times I have to believe that have been rowing for a while.

Thanks for the advice,

Bill

[kayakr]

breathe out at the catch and in during the drive?

[truth1ness]

Bill, I'm assuming you mean your knees are coming apart at the catch, right? Do they straighten out once you kick them out? The catch is similar to a very deep squat, so if you are not used to squatting you may not have the hip flexibility to pull your knees to your chest. It took a lot of stretching for me and I'm relatively young. There's a stretch I like to do right on the erg which is put one leg in a stretcher, loosen up the ankle straps until you can grab them, then pull your leg towards you. It's basically stretching you into the compressed position at the catch, and doing one leg at a time will let you get further without straining your back. Keep your chest high and stop if there's any pinching feeling in front of your hip. The erg is one of my favorite stretching tools actually. Look up 'hip mobility' or hip/glute stretches on youtube and you'll find more helpful stuff.

It doesn't sound like this is causing you pain now but I'd try to get to the point where you can go straight because having your legs twist out may lead to stresses on your knee cartilage over time.