Concept2 Forum

Hi fellow ergers,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice regarding preventing foot blisters when rowing with shoes?

I see there is a previous discussion on heel blisters but it is focused on bare feet rowing. I row at my uni gym where it is compulsory for you to wear shoes at all times. I am rowing to improve my fitness, and am very proud that I managed the 100km for the Christmas challenge as I am not very fit at all and even a couple of months ago this would be incomprehensible. As a result of all that rowing, however, I have developed really bad and extremely painful blisters on both of my heels, and also my little toe. I am waiting until they are better healed before returning to the erg.

I have been rowing for several months, but did not previously develop blisters as I only did short sessions in order to ease into physical activity again. I currently row in a pair of cross trainers with standard sports socks. I have tried putting band-aids on both my heels and also little toes when I noticed problems arrising, but they did not stop blisters at all.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to prevent blisters in the future, especially as I anticipate continuing rowing during longer sessions than previously?

Two suggestions.

1.. re: the heels. I'd blame the shoes. If they do not lace up tightly enough, your heels can partially pull out of the shoes, rubbing on the back. I had a pair of shoes that did this to me but a good pair of running shoes seem to allow my foot to flex without my heels lifting out of the shoe.

2..re: the toes. Try to row with your feet out of the straps. I only use the straps when I am doing serious time trials and interval workouts. For almost all steady state rowing, rowing with your feet unstrapped encourages good rowing form and is a lot more comfortable.

For short stuff, I just row barefoot. Also strapless, since I once had a problem of the strap tearing the thin skin on the top of my foot. For longer rows, I ended up using a pair of thin soled bedroom slippers, held together with duct tape. When those finally became too disreputable, I tried a pair of Rafter kayaking shoes. Not too bad - but then I ran across the Advocate slipper available from Patagonia. Very light weight and quite thin-soled. for me, they have been the ideal solution.

Bob S.

I row at home. I keep a pair of old running shoes loosely strapped in at all times and just slide my socked feet in when I want to row and out when I am done. Never had a problem.

I haven't had a problem with blisters from the rowing machine, but I was a distance runner for years, and I'll give you my two cents on foot care learned during that period. FWIW, I wear Chuck Taylors to row.

First, understand that when you blister, it's because that part of you foot is rubbing something, i.e., moving against something.

1. Check your shoe lacing. If your heel slides too much in the shoe, causing blisters, there are lacing tricks that can help. I'd head over to runnersworld.com and check out their videos on lacing tricks for different fitting problems.

2. Try different socks. I blister whenever I wear cotton socks. Thor-lo, though expensive, last forever in my experience, and are the best thing for blister-proofing my feet. It means about an extra half-size in my shoes, though, they're so thick.

3. Some folks have better luck with two pair of thin socks, or special socks that have two layers. Like most hikers wear a thin wicking layer next to the skin, and their heavier boot sock over that, the two layers of fabric rub against each other easily, taking the friction off your foot.

4. If you're developing a pre-blister hot-spot, a little vaseline or other lubricant works well to prevent it from worsening. Worst case scenario, you can usually find a stick of chap-stick for a dollar, which is basically vaseline, and smear it on the hot-spot.

If these don't work for you or you want other opinions, check out your local running store. Not a big box sporting goods store that happens to sell running shoes, but a local shop that caters to serious runners. They'll have all the tricks and products.

Finally, I might cruise the forums at runnersworld.com or other running sites, as runners know as much about blisters and blister prevention as anyone on the planet.

Best wishes.

Thank you all so much for your replies! My apologies for the delay in writing back, what with holiday season travel and all I've been out of touch. Basically all the rowing I do is interval work and I have not tried rowing strapless before. I may give it a go if I do a steady pace piece. I will definately follow up on the advice regarding shoes, different lacing, and investigate alternative socks. I really appreciate your know-how in this as I've not been active for a long time. Many years ago I did do hiking and for whatever reason didn't think that the feet care issues there would resurface with erging - silly me!