Please critique my form - New to rowing

[Citroen]

As you start the stroke, I noticed that the seat has moved a lot further back than the handle.

That's the definition of bum shoving.

They are two separate topics and I should probably have covered them with separate posts. The bum shoving was the obvious problem that needed covering ...

Get the bum shoving fixed then look at low stroke rates and if needed go strapless. The low stroke rates may come naturally when the bum shoving gets fixed.

BTW, can you put a book under the front of the camera (or, better, mount it on a tripod so we can see your head.

[rykertest]

Thank you for everyones replies. I will be spending tomorrow morning working on the bum shoving issues.

I realize my row is not at all smooth, it's very choppy and obviously I'm doing it in stages as I think thru it. I think thats part of being new to this and once I get the stages down correctly, time will improve the fluidity of my row.

Comparing my 2 videos, am I making progress in the right direction or did I just change it up for the worse? Other than the bum shoving, is there anything I'm doing right that I need to keep doing as I work on the shoving part?

Thank you for the help everyone, it is appreciated.

[NavigationHazard]

Cheers, I think the second video is actually a lot smoother than the first. Once you get used to keeping your core braced on the drive it'll look better still. The best thing you've got going is your willingness to try to get it right, from the start. I also think you're doing a much, much better job of using the recovery to set yourself up for the next catch.

Hang in there!

[rykertest]

Cheers, I think the second video is actually a lot smoother than the first. Once you get used to keeping your core braced on the drive it'll look better still. The best thing you've got going is your willingness to try to get it right, from the start. I also think you're doing a much, much better job of using the recovery to set yourself up for the next catch.

Hang in there!

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad to hear I'm making progress. I want to do it right because if I'm not, whats the point??? I think the fact I've not done rowing helps in the learning process as I don't have bad habits engrained that are much harder to break. I think the perfectionist in me wants to get it right, but at a faster pace. I'll work on it for a few days and try and put up another video first of next week maybe.

Thanks again everyone.

[rykertest]

Hello everyone. I've been practicing my form since I last posted and will hopefully have a new video up sometime this week for your review. I had a question in the mean time. Regarding this video on the concept 2 website:

http://www.concept2.com/us/training/technique.asp

I think it's safe to assume her form is rather good or she wouldn't be used as an example on their site. One thing I noticed when she rows is that when the is initiating the recovery, her hands or more specifically the angle of her arms as she straightens them, sort of drops down a bit towards her knees. I had a problem initially (at least I hope just initially) with my legs popping up too soon as my arms were still pulling. I tried something after seeing her video again that I wonder if it's right. When I am begining the recovery, while still keeping my arms straight, I shoot them down a bit towards my knees. I found this helps me keep my knees straight and I'm not doing the up and over my knees. It's sort of a self reminder that I can't bend my knees until my hands are past them. it's not a down, just more angled towards my kneecaps. It seemed to help me or I think it did. Is this a bad habit to get into or a good way remind myself with each stroke what part comes first?

Thank you for any help.

[Bob S.]

Hello everyone. I've been practicing my form since I last posted and will hopefully have a new video up sometime this week for your review. I had a question in the mean time. Regarding this video on the concept 2 website:

http://www.concept2.com/us/training/technique.asp

I think it's safe to assume her form is rather good or she wouldn't be used as an example on their site. One thing I noticed when she rows is that when the is initiating the recovery, her hands or more specifically the angle of her arms as she straightens them, sort of drops down a bit towards her knees. I had a problem initially (at least I hope just initially) with my legs popping up too soon as my arms were still pulling. I tried something after seeing her video again that I wonder if it's right. When I am begining the recovery, while still keeping my arms straight, I shoot them down a bit towards my knees. I found this helps me keep my knees straight and I'm not doing the up and over my knees. It's sort of a self reminder that I can't bend my knees until my hands are past them. it's not a down, just more angled towards my kneecaps. It seemed to help me or I think it did. Is this a bad habit to get into or a good way remind myself with each stroke what part comes first?

Thank you for any help.

Since she is an OTW rower, I have a hunch that the hand drop is a habit carried over from the need to get the blade out of the water. Also, just before the catch, her hands are quite low and she raises them up to the point where the chain is level. Actually, the drop and raise seem to me to be exaggerated compared to what would be done on the water and her hands continue to drop at an incline, whereas, on the water, it is best to keep the hand in a straight horizontal line after the initial drop. The blades should just clear the surface of the water. On the erg, of course, the level of the hands is not a critical issue as it is on the water, but there is also a theory, that dropping your hands on the recovery helps you to relax your shoulders.

Bob S.

[rykertest]

Hello everyone. I've been practicing my form since I last posted and will hopefully have a new video up sometime this week for your review. I had a question in the mean time. Regarding this video on the concept 2 website:

http://www.concept2.com/us/training/technique.asp

I think it's safe to assume her form is rather good or she wouldn't be used as an example on their site. One thing I noticed when she rows is that when the is initiating the recovery, her hands or more specifically the angle of her arms as she straightens them, sort of drops down a bit towards her knees. I had a problem initially (at least I hope just initially) with my legs popping up too soon as my arms were still pulling. I tried something after seeing her video again that I wonder if it's right. When I am begining the recovery, while still keeping my arms straight, I shoot them down a bit towards my knees. I found this helps me keep my knees straight and I'm not doing the up and over my knees. It's sort of a self reminder that I can't bend my knees until my hands are past them. it's not a down, just more angled towards my kneecaps. It seemed to help me or I think it did. Is this a bad habit to get into or a good way remind myself with each stroke what part comes first?

Thank you for any help.

Since she is an OTW rower, I have a hunch that the hand drop is a habit carried over from the need to get the blade out of the water. Also, just before the catch, her hands are quite low and she raises them up to the point where the chain is level. Actually, the drop and raise seem to me to be exaggerated compared to what would be done on the water and her hands continue to drop at an incline, whereas, on the water, it is best to keep the hand in a straight horizontal line after the initial drop. The blades should just clear the surface of the water. On the erg, of course, the level of the hands is not a critical issue as it is on the water, but there is also a theory, that dropping your hands on the recovery helps you to relax your shoulders.

Bob S.

I know nothing about otw rowing, but what you say does make sense. Do you feel I am hurting my performance or sacraficing technique by doing so? I am not nor will I ever be a rower otw, I just do it for exercise. Thank you for the reply.

[Bob S.]

On the erg, of course, the level of the hands is not a critical issue as it is on the water, but there is also a theory, that dropping your hands on the recovery helps you to relax your shoulders.
Bob S.

I know nothing about otw rowing, but what you say does make sense. Do you feel I am hurting my performance or sacraficing technique by doing so? I am not nor will I ever be a rower otw, I just do it for exercise. Thank you for the reply.

From my point of view, I don't think that it hurts. I hope not, since I tend to do that myself. I do think that there is some validity to the idea that the hand drop helps to relax the shoulders, which would be a definite benefit.

Also, I like to feel that my hands are moving continuously - not stopping and reversing directions, but making a little arc at each end in a sort of flattened out ellipse. Admittedly, my background is OTW, dating back to 40 years before the erg was invented, but I have had good results on the erg, so I feel that I must have been doing something right.

Bob S.

[Uyam Zenra]

Your shoulders should always be relaxed

At least that's what my instructors keep repeating...

Seriously, as Bob said, this motion comes from the OTW experience. However, on the erg its kind of useless, since physically speaking any vertical motion with the handle is a waste of energy. Thus for pure erg training you should try to keep the handle on the same level. You're doing that quite well already, judging from the 2nd video. It all comes down to timing, to get the catch at the right moment, feeling that resistance from the very beginning of the drive. This in turn is only possible if you're stabilizing your torso, which brings us back to the bum shoving issue...

Just my 2c

Wonder if I'll start with those motions once I start on water this spring. Will see...

Good luck with you exercise, erging surely is a good choice and you're already benefitting from a bunch of useful inputs from all these good instructors around here