Concept2 Forum

Any ideas for specific abs work to improve my rowing and erging?

I searched the forums, no luck.

Right now, I do 20 min of abs work 2-3 times a week. This mostly consists of front plank, side plank, push ups, bicycles, regular crunches, supermans on the PB, PB leg lifts, and back extensions. I would love to change it up or do more effective exercises, though!

Thanks in advance.

I have not observed the abs being the weak link in my rowing. When I am completely wasted after a test, I think it is one of the few muscle groups that is not in agony. They only get used a bit during the recovery and the catch, so are not taking the beating in the drive as the other muscle groups are.

If the goal of the abs work is the ellusive 6-pack, you need to get to a very low bodyfat percentage for them to show (<8%). Much higher BF than that and they won't show even if the muscles are sufficiently developed.
http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/ind ... 144&page=2

Here are the core videos from craftsbury (Pepa)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6dMLUyLb0k&feature=channel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHdDBarf3w&feature=channel

Do these! You need a strong core (and good technique) to avoid injury when rowing


Note: these videos can be found by going to craftsbury.com, then to sculling, then to tech tips: http://www.craftsbury.com/sculling/events/tips.htm
Then scroll down and choose "May 2009 - Craftsbury core and yoga videos"

badocter wrote:I have not observed the abs being the weak link in my rowing.

I've once had cramps in my abs (and also almost every other body part) during a 100km row. It was a very funny sensation.


The abs are very important for stabilisation of the back. If they are too weak the dynamic movement of the backward swing of the trunk during the latter part drive might be damaging for the backbone (http://www.exrx.net/Kinesiology/Weaknesses.html). They also aid a little bit in the recovery of the upper body.

I concur completely with Tinus. Moreover, there's nothing conclusive I know of in the literature, but there's been a fair amount of suspicion that comparatively weak abs also help foster rib injuries in rowers. See http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rib+stres ... 0160874294

Again, although I know of no conclusive links between agonist/antagonist imbalance and rowing injuries, common sense argues in favor of balancing your body against the strains you put on it. See also Ed Mcneeley's 2003 Rowing News column at http://books.google.com/books?id=KUsEAA ... ng&f=false

Fabulous postings by Nosmo and Nav as usual. Those are neat core exercises from Craftsbury. I did not do the one at the end with the wheel because I don't have an ab-wheel, but I have an old lawnmower wheel in the garage that I can use to make one I am sure.

The article on rib injuries makes me glad that I do most of my sculling with wooden spoons instead of hatchets. I do use hatchets when I want to go faster (a relative term to be sure.)

Great videos, thanks a lot!

From the first source cited by Nav, the author being Meika Fang, M.D.

Rowers also appear to be at higher risk for rib stress fracture during the winter indoor training season (3). The purpose of typical winter training regimens is to increase the athlete's endurance. This is accomplished via high volumes of rowing at low stroke, usually on an ergometer. This type of training regime results in a high loading force per stroke and increases the likelihood for injury

Yet another reason not to spend too much time going for a high SPI.

Nice work from Nav and the other usual suspects, as always.

As has already been written, those looking for 'beach muscles' can do the usual 200 crunches nonsense. This only makes superficial muscles look good (if you're lean), but doesn't support improved athletic performance as you're training through a limited range of motion.

For anyone actively involved in rowing or any other sport, strengthening the entire core (including abs, glutes, shoulders, hips, lower back), to prevent injury and inefficient form, is preferable.

This functional work should focus on two areas:

1) Stability

The body must be able to stabilize itself under stress to prevent injury. To improve this, you can do:

> Plank, aka front bridge - time yourself to see how long you can hold it with proper form (see youtube). Then do 3 sets of that time with 1 min rest between. Re-test every two weeks.
> Side plank aka side bridge. Same goes.
> Glute bridge. "

You can mix these up by just using one leg and the opposite arm on the plank, or by doing the side plank with your arms straight out to form a "T" shape, or using a Swiss/exercise ball.

2) Motion

Making the body strong through a full range of motion, while under stress, is also key.

Exercises include:

> Woodchoppers/reverse woodchoppers with medicine ball or weight plate
> Kettlebell or dumbbell swing
> Mountain climbers
> Medicine ball throws - against a wall or with a partner
> Medicine ball side throws - same thing, but to the side

3x 10 to 15 reps on each side for the side throws, woodchoppers.
3x10-15 for ball throws and kettlebell swings.
3x 30 to 60 secs for mountainclimbers.

As with all muscle groups, the core muscles need recovery. Three or four times a week with two stability and two motion exercises should do it. You can search YouTube for video demos.

Doing compound weight lifting exercises (preferably with free weights) - such as deadlifts, squats, military press etc will also help strengthen the core.

Hope this rambling is of some help to somebody!

Phil

laur wrote:Any ideas for specific abs work to improve my rowing and erging?

You might try this device called the concept2 (concept2.com). In my experience it is a great machine to work on the abs.

Hi Laur,

I read once that a senior citizen is someone who will drive ten miles to save a dollar. Guilty as charged. After watching the Craftsbury videos, I thought it would be fun to try an ab wheel. Rather than go to a store and pay $12 for one, I spent some time in the garage making one from lawnmower wheels and metal tubing, all stuff I had on hand. It is a beauty. It turns out that ab wheels are popular in boxing gyms, and in times past they were made from tubing and lawn mower wheels, so my creation is nothing new:

I thought I would pass along a tip when using an ab wheel, something I picked up after googling on ab wheel and watching a bunch of videos. The tip is to tighten the abs and support the back before you roll forward. Dang, it is much easier that way. If you let your back sag even a little it is very hard on the lower back.

As usual, Tinus is right--the C2 helps you develop a strong core. It is possible to be a little out of balance with muscles. For example, the legs might be disproportionately stronger than the core, so some extra core fitness could be helpful.

The original question was to find something different for the core and abs:

There are lots of extra things you can do while erging to give the core some extra work. Some of Xeno Muller's DVDs have you do extra core work. I especially like the arm, shoulder, and abs exercises in his 100K-200K no problem video. It costs $10 to download, but Xeno has done a lot to promote indoor rowing and he is now making a living by running workouts, selling DVDs, giving speeches, etc. so I don't think it is unreasonable to charge for the video. In addition, you can use an unstable seat such as CorePerform. I didn't realize a seat that could be set to be unstable was available so I made my own. I do my first twenty minutes with the seat unstable and that works the core. It makes an efficient use of time because you're doing extra work on the core while erging at the same time.

I think that the core muscles are of importance in general and for rowing, abs are very important. I have started a new set of core exercises recently based on the book "The Complete Book of Core Training" by Kurt, Brett and Mike Brungardt. The following are the Level one exercises:
1. Standing Knee Flexion
2. Ball Reach: Knee Level
3. Toe Touch (from laying position)
4. Heel Touch (from laying)
5. Glute Bridge
6. Prone (Face Down) crossover
7. Sun Salute
8. Lying Side Leg Raise
9. Lying Inside Leg Raise
10. Plank Series (front, sides, back)

Level one is 4 weeks, 3 times a week and is 10 reps (1/2 or 5 reps if doing exercises that work each side) and 30 seconds for the planks. Week 2 is 14 reps and 45 seconds, Week 3 is 20 reps and 1 minute and week 4 is the same.

Level two builds on level one and adds more exercises (total 14) and is 4 weeks and Level 3 builds again and adds more exercises (total 19).

I guess I will see what happens after 12 weeks. It is nice to add a bit of structure and not have to think about what is next as these are laid out very well.

What I like about this workout is that it works the abs, butt, hips and lower back and incorporates movements from yoga, palates and martial arts.

Byron,
My ab roller has two wheels very close together. It requires some balance and even use of both sides. I've been thinking of removing one wheel to make it more challenging.

Also one can use the ab roller on ones toes rather then knees and then come up with legs vertical. It is very challenging. I can only manage one at the moment.

Hi Nosmo,

I'll make one with just one wheel. I agree it would be better to work on balancing. Next time I'll try using the toes instead of knees. I have no idea if I can do one.

added later: I just tried one. Holy Toledo! That is much harder. I confess I couldn't do a full one. I thought I was OK but right before the arms were straight things went haywire. I think I'll stick with the knees for a while and maybe try later. Thanks for the suggestion.


Byron