Looking for feedback on my rowing technique

[Elpogoloco]

Hello all,

I started rowing 4-5 months ago and loved it ! It seems like I followed the path of most of the beginners that want to improve, and have been following the Pete's Plan for about a month now. After discussing how beginners stuff on Reddit, lots of people recommended that I post a video of me rowing to get some feedbacks from experienced rowers.

So here we go, link is below. Some information that may or may not be useful :
- I "learned" rowing with a crossfit coach doing short interval only (usually w/ high spm and very short rest time)
- I'm 30, 1m83 (6ft), 74kg (163)
- I often feel like the "end of my pulling motion" angle is way to opened, I tried to row without straps and it feels better but as soon as straps are back on I come back to my bad (?) habit.

I have many flaws, but I am not sensitive so please feel free to be as rude as it needs to be.

Vidéo : https://youtu.be/0Ne3SZTnfII

Thanks!

[iain]

Might just be me, but video just hung and didn't play.

[Elpogoloco]

Sorry, updated the link w/ a Youtube video, should be better now.

Thanks for the flag

[p_b82]

It played for me fine on the google link btw.

I'm no expert - so I hope those that are comment, but it does appear your finish is a bit too laid back.

It also looks (to me) that you are performing your hip hinge too early in the motion, which is probably just being exacerbated by your high lay-back angle.

[Tony Cook]

Hi, and welcome,
Maybe a bit too much layback but not necessarily a huge problem. I expect James will be along soon with a link to a good video of technique.
IMO - what DF are you using? I think it’s too high, just from how you are rowing. Maybe it’s a short sharp CF thing with high DF and high rate, hang the technique.
Looks to me like you are not snappy enough with your legs - it’s 60% quick leg drive. You look a bit too much arms.
I also think you could drop your foot plate a notch.
Good luck.

[Kerry1960]

To my fairly newbie eyes - you are dropping the handle a bit too much as you recover and move towards the catch

Try to extend your arms a bit more as you recover and try to keep the chain level, at the same height, as you recover from each stroke. This is more efficient. Good luck.

[Elpogoloco]

Hi, and welcome,
Maybe a bit too much layback but not necessarily a huge problem. I expect James will be along soon with a link to a good video of technique.
IMO - what DF are you using? I think it’s too high, just from how you are rowing. Maybe it’s a short sharp CF thing with high DF and high rate, hang the technique.
Looks to me like you are not snappy enough with your legs - it’s 60% quick leg drive. You look a bit too much arms.
I also think you could drop your foot plate a notch.
Good luck.

Thanks for the FB ! -- I usually go for 120-125 DF on steady state and long interval and up to 130 for short interval. I think the video was taken during a 4 x 2k.

[Elpogoloco]

To my fairly newbie eyes - you are dropping the handle a bit too much as you recover and move towards the catch

Try to extend your arms a bit more as you recover and try to keep the chain level, at the same height, as you recover from each stroke. This is more efficient. Good luck.

Makes sense indeed, it kind of feels like the chain is wiggling way too much. Will try, thanks for the recommendation.

[Tony Cook]

Hi, and welcome,
Maybe a bit too much layback but not necessarily a huge problem. I expect James will be along soon with a link to a good video of technique.
IMO - what DF are you using? I think it’s too high, just from how you are rowing. Maybe it’s a short sharp CF thing with high DF and high rate, hang the technique.
Looks to me like you are not snappy enough with your legs - it’s 60% quick leg drive. You look a bit too much arms.
I also think you could drop your foot plate a notch.
Good luck.

Thanks for the FB ! -- I usually go for 120-125 DF on steady state and long interval and up to 130 for short interval. I think the video was taken during a 4 x 2k.

That’s probably ok then. It looked like you were pressing against higher resistance but probably just pushing slightly slower than you should/could.

[mict450]

Looking pretty good! I would recommend lowering your foot pads a notch. Also, you're opening your back up too early. Slow the video down, & the first part of your drive is initiated by opening your back. Leg drive should be first, then the back follows. All in all, nice strong stroke that needs just a bit of tweeking.

[Elizabeth]

Also, you're opening your back up too early. Slow the video down, & the first part of your drive is initiated by opening your back. Leg drive should be first, then the back follows. All in all, nice strong stroke that needs just a bit of tweeking.

This is the main thing that I am noticing - and on a related note, the recovery should be the opposite order, arms then back then legs. Reverse pick drills and legs-only rowing are both helpful drills.

On the topic of handle height, you're fine. It's not particularly relevant to what you're doing, but rowers deliberately hold the handle down on the recovery so that the blade stays clear of the water. I'm not sure if there's a distinct benefit if you are only erging, but it definitely doesn't harm anything.

[Sakly]

Agree to early back and this leads to lack of leg work during the stroke.
Probably too much lay back, but that's not necessarily a problem. But it makes you less efficient as it needs power which is lost and does not contribute to the stroke. I think you could work more efficient by closing the hip angle a bit more at the catch and not lay back so much at the finish. Feet a notch lower could help here as well.
Same for low handle in the return, not a problem. I do it the same way, as it keeps my shoulders more relaxed than holding the handle chain height. Except for fast and short distances, as it leads to higher chain slack and wiggle in this case.

Overall the stroke is a good base from my point of view.

[jamesg]

Very enthusiastic, keep at it. What are your intentions?

High rates make it difficult to train well, due to our aerobic load limits, which at high rates force weak strokes. So take your time and make each stroke worthwhile.

Work's more likely to get done at the front end, where you can use your legs. Swing forward onto your feet, slow forward into the catch, feel the compression and use it for the next stroke.

With a good stroke, ratings 20-24 are high enough to offer a serious training load without going round the world. This load can be seen on the PM: Watts.

[iain]

While it is perfectly possible to raise your hands late with minimal impact on the power of the stroke, It seems to me that the early back movement is partially used to raise the handle and so is not putting all the force into the "recorded" stroke. If you want to keep your hands down on the recovery, you need to ensure that they come up prior to the start of the drive. That said, much better than most people requesting comments and brave to show a clip of an actual workout rather than one done to try and demonstrate your best stroke. I know my stroke has often been worse than this when recorded!

[Dangerscouse]

I wonder if your issue re: strapped and unstrapped is due to you naturally limiting your lay back when unstrapped?

If it is, I'd suggest that you keep rowing unstrapped and really interrogate the motion & movement that you use so you can ingrain it into your muscle memory.

It's a common issue for newbies to think that a longer stroke will be more efficient, but in reality the slightly extra time & energy you use aren't a good trade off for most people, but there will be outliers.