Concept2 Forum

I am having an issue with my leg drive. Having a bit of a gut it's tough to get recovery with my shins perpendicular to the floor but I do get pretty "compressed"

I am using some Xeno DVD to row and somewhere in there as well as on line it is stated that most of the power comes from the leg drive as opposed to arms/chest.

I have pretty strong legs but on the drive I just do not seem to get that much out of my legs. i perceive a much greater power development as I pull with my arms!!

Not sure why this is so.

I am concentrating on technique and do not lay back or use arms until AFTER completing the majority of the leg drive.

At the catch my heels are a bit off the board and when I drive I cannot seem to engage my heels rather my leg drive feels like it is 99% off the balls of my feet!!

Foot board position? Poor flexibility at ankles? I am strapped in tightly with the straps running across the widest part of my feet.

If it is a footboard issue how do i best adjust the board?

I am really lost on this but in spite of having thighs as large and as muscular as a running back they do not contribute all that much. However when I engage the arms the power really spikes.

If this makes any sense I feel like I am close to the full extension of my legs when my heels contact the board. I am not able to engage them early in the drive. not sure why. I suppose it's OK to drive with the balls of my feet but this seems to rob alot of power from my stroke.

Seems to be opposite of what a good stroke should be like.

following the Xeno DVD and going from quarter slide, half slide,3/4 and finally full I was hoping to find an answer but still no leg power or should I say tons of leg power but NOT being transmitted to the ERG../
Any ideas?

Thanks

Are you able to take a video, even if just of 2-3 strokes?

A common cause of failure to translate leg power to the handle is core and technique - you need to ensure your body is braced throughout, and that you are allowing your body open up and bring the power through.

Do you do much in the form of weight training? Working on the usual squats, split squats (think lunges), deadlifts will all help! If at home, squats, wall sits, lunges are all useful tools in building that leg power.

What does your force curve look like?

If it looks like no.3 in the linked image - higher force in the latter portion of the drive - your diagnosis is likely accurate.

https://cdn2.omidoo.com/sites/default/f ... llage2.png

Don't worry about heel lift at the catch. Happens to most to some degree. An initial drive from the ball of the foot is better since it will tend to produce a more horizontal push force. Your foot will become fully planted in short order as the drive proceeds.

Your description is well detailed but it just doesn't provide enough information because there is nothing to be seen. Having a video taken while you're rowing is excellent advice. After you have it, post it here. If you can't provide a video, a few still photos could be of help. They won't be as informative as a video, but they will be better than just using a word description.

Once you have posted something actually showing your rowing technique, there are many people in this forum who will be able to spot any errors you may be making. They will be great help to you. There is a saying that goes," A picture is worth a thousand words". Your situation is a perfect example of that.

Yep post up a vid!!! It's difficult for us to give sound advice until we see whats going on with the stroke

Appreciate the responses. I will try to get a short video this weekend. I'll take a look at my force curve.
Thanks again.

Depending on your height, if your Work (the Watt/Rating ratio) is over 6, most of it is done by your legs. Of that 6, 3 is done by the arms/shoulders and trunk, very roughly.

Legs are usually strong anyway, thanks to climbing stairs one leg at a time against our entire weight, and the leg action is long too. So the remaining 3 is easy for them and the leg effort on the erg is noticeable only when the ratio goes well over 6. At 10 or more, you'll have little doubt as to where the work is done.

The main effect of the basic rowing style and sequence (pull with legs, trunk, arms; recovery with arms, swing, legs) is to get the legs to work hard by making them lead off from the catch. Otherwise, they don't, in proportion to what they can do.

The problem will be that using the legs to a greater extent puts a heavier load on the CV system. So we may have to drop the rating to avoid exhaustion.

No worry, that's what we want. Even low rate work around 120W at 20 such as I do is enough to keep me fit, which is what the erg is for. I like to think that with a basic metabolic rate of about 20-25W, the erg make me work six times harder.

Problem solved !!

This morning I figured out the issue with my lack of leg drive.
In my mind I thought that if I could just get my heels elevated a bit more I could incorporate my entire foot not just the balls of my feet.

I simply moved the footboard up as high as it would go to #1.

Magically i am now driving with my entire foot not just the balls of the feet. big difference.

I am one happy camper!!

Thanks for your replies.

I will post a video for critique.

I'm wondering if that did not impact the length of stroke. It is the total area under the force curve that is important: height and length.

Cyclingman1 wrote:I'm wondering if that did not impact the length of stroke. It is the total area under the force curve that is important: height and length.

I'm not sure however all seems good. Even if my length is somewhat shortened I would think more drive from the legs is desirable.

Of course this begs the question: does the shortened length offset the power gained from incorporating all my lower muscles?

I know for sure I feel more "effective" with the heels a bit higher.

Interesting thought on your part.

Any idea on how to calculate the area under the curve without calculus?

I do not see any function of that type on my PM4

drjay9051 wrote: Any idea on how to calculate the area under the curve without calculus?

I do not see any function of that type on my PM4

Whoa there!!! Whoa! Don't go suggesting the PMs are anything less than perfect on here!

..been there, done that.

No fancy mathematicals really required. Simply attend to watts or pace and ensure that each stroke is doing a reasonable amount of work.

Ideally your shins should be around vertical at the catch. Short of vertical and you're missing out on a lot of very desirable length. Setting the feet higher would, in normal folk , tend to increase heel lift so your solution here has eyebrows slightly raised.

drjay9051 wrote:
Any idea on how to calculate the area under the curve without calculus?

I do not see any function of that type on my PM4

Why not?? Math is fun!

The area under the curve is work done per stroke, which is Watts/Rating.