How does the height of a person affect their rowing?

[rykertest]

How does a persons height affect their rowing? What are the pros and cons of being tall and being short? Maybe use cut off of 6'?

I'm 5'8". I read that the average height of a professional "sculler" (is that the right word?) was about 6'3", so I've got no future unless it includes holding a clipboard. lol

[chgoss]

How does a persons height affect their rowing? What are the pros and cons of being tall and being short? Maybe use cut off of 6'?

I'm 5'8". I read that the average height of a professional "sculler" (is that the right word?) was about 6'3", so I've got no future unless it includes holding a clipboard. lol

In general, the taller you are the better.. however, I present these 2 data points from today's race:

Chad Goss: 6'2" 6:59.1
Pete Marston: 5'10" 6:21.2

It aint the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog

[DUThomas]

In general, the taller you are the better.. however, I present these 2 data points from today's race:

Chad Goss: 6'2" 6:59.1
Pete Marston: 5'10" 6:21.2

In fairness, he's younger than you. But for that....

[rykertest]

How does a persons height affect their rowing? What are the pros and cons of being tall and being short? Maybe use cut off of 6'?

I'm 5'8". I read that the average height of a professional "sculler" (is that the right word?) was about 6'3", so I've got no future unless it includes holding a clipboard. lol

In general, the taller you are the better.. however, I present these 2 data points from today's race:

Chad Goss: 6'2" 6:59.1
Pete Marston: 5'10" 6:21.2

It aint the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog

Hey guys thanks for the replies. I would agree that a more determined shorter rower could beat a taller one, but what I wonder is WHY being short is a disadvantage. Is it because of the shorter stroke? Is that the only reason?

I'm not sure if it has any relation to weight lifting but when I squat, I can easily outlift the taller guys I lift with. I can go longer and lift more because I don't have to travel near as far and my center of gravity is lower. I am well suited to squat. They have the body of a baseball player and I have one more fit to professionaly bowl. Now being as rowing is all about distance (in a race anyways) I would think that the height would be better as each stroke would move you a further distance, correct? I don't know where the cutoff is between a taller guy and a shorter guy that can produce boat loads (<--- haha) of power, but a shorter guy has to row more to match that taller guys distance which is bad right?

[detlefchef]

How does a persons height affect their rowing? What are the pros and cons of being tall and being short? Maybe use cut off of 6'?

I'm 5'8". I read that the average height of a professional "sculler" (is that the right word?) was about 6'3", so I've got no future unless it includes holding a clipboard. lol

In general, the taller you are the better.. however, I present these 2 data points from today's race:

Chad Goss: 6'2" 6:59.1
Pete Marston: 5'10" 6:21.2

It aint the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog

Hey guys thanks for the replies. I would agree that a more determined shorter rower could beat a taller one, but what I wonder is WHY being short is a disadvantage. Is it because of the shorter stroke? Is that the only reason?

I'm not sure if it has any relation to weight lifting but when I squat, I can easily outlift the taller guys I lift with. I can go longer and lift more because I don't have to travel near as far and my center of gravity is lower. I am well suited to squat. They have the body of a baseball player and I have one more fit to professionaly bowl. Now being as rowing is all about distance (in a race anyways) I would think that the height would be better as each stroke would move you a further distance, correct? I don't know where the cutoff is between a taller guy and a shorter guy that can produce boat loads (<--- haha) of power, but a shorter guy has to row more to match that taller guys distance which is bad right?

Well, one difference in the squats v rowing comparison is that you don't get any more credit for the extra distance you have to travel if you're a tall guy doing squats. You do on the rower. Though it appears you understand that.

And yes, it does appear that the best rowers tend to be taller, but they also tend to be pretty thick as well. After all, competition doesn't have height classes, but it does have weight classes. So, at least to the powers that be, being thick is more important than being tall.

Of course, at the end of the day, we're all as tall as we are and almost none of us should be concerned about whether or not our height will ever keep us from being the absolute best in our sport of choice.

What I would, however, be interested in following, is a thread about the best ways those of us who are shorter (I'm 5'10 on a good day) can best make up for any disadvantage this may present. Well, besides of course, just training harder.

Whether, for instance, us short and thick types would benefit from increasing the damper setting, operate at a higher cadence than what is typically advocated, that sort of thing.

After all, that's the only really meaningful conversation that could come from this topic.

[rykertest]

"After all, that's the only really meaningful conversation that could come from this topic"

How so?

[detlefchef]

"After all, that's the only really meaningful conversation that could come from this topic"

How so?

Because you're not going to get any taller. If you want to row, row. Unless you are a truly elite level athlete who would have actually excelled had he only chosen a sport where his basic frame was better suited, then you shouldn't have any regrets. Chances are, you're like the rest of us and will run into other limitations before your height ends up dooming you. In other words, you're going to be competing largely against yourself and, should you end up being one of those guys who can put up good times despite being shorter, you'll get mad props for being able to do so.

Now, this has much to do with it being a small pond, rowing wise, but I have the current fastest 2K at my Crossfit gym and I do take some satisfaction from the fact that there are guys who technically should be better because they've got 5-6 inches on me and are reasonably powerful.

So, my last point had to do with the fact that, short of having someone come along and say, "No, being 5'8" is actually an advantage in rowing." (which seems would not be true), the best thing you could hope for here is for someone to come along and explain how to make up for your height.

[rykertest]

"After all, that's the only really meaningful conversation that could come from this topic"

How so?

Because you're not going to get any taller. If you want to row, row. Unless you are a truly elite level athlete who would have actually excelled had he only chosen a sport where his basic frame was better suited, then you shouldn't have any regrets. Chances are, you're like the rest of us and will run into other limitations before your height ends up dooming you. In other words, you're going to be competing largely against yourself and, should you end up being one of those guys who can put up good times despite being shorter, you'll get mad props for being able to do so.

Now, this has much to do with it being a small pond, rowing wise, but I have the current fastest 2K at my Crossfit gym and I do take some satisfaction from the fact that there are guys who technically should be better because they've got 5-6 inches on me and are reasonably powerful.

So, my last point had to do with the fact that, short of having someone come along and say, "No, being 5'8" is actually an advantage in rowing." (which seems would not be true), the best thing you could hope for here is for someone to come along and explain how to make up for your height.

AH, ok that makes sense; thanks for the clarification. What was your time (the fastest one you mentioned) with your crossfit gym? I've tried some of those crossfit workouts and man they are HARD. I am doing the rowing for cardio and the starting strength program (slightly reduced in volume) and it's proving to be a good match.

I've never let my height affect me and never really had anyone make fun of me or anything for being 5'8". Being tall or being short no matter the situation has pros and cons, just adapt and overcome.

I do hope that some can provide some common issues or obstacles that shorter guys have when rowing, especially when "new" to rowing like I am. This site has provided a LOT of help and advice as I learn to do it right.

So, who has advice for a midget rower? FYI, phone books do NOT work.

[hjs]

How does a persons height affect their rowing? What are the pros and cons of being tall and being short? Maybe use cut off of 6'?

I'm 5'8". I read that the average height of a professional "sculler" (is that the right word?) was about 6'3", so I've got no future unless it includes holding a clipboard. lol

To give you an idea.

There are almost no 6 foot rowers who went sub 6 on the erg and the ones who did only just.
Almost all sub 5.45 ergers are 6.5/6.8.

On the erg being short has no pro's if you ask me.
Otw is different, being shorter means often being lighter so less power needed and often smaller people are techniquely a bit better, not having long limbs helps in this. So here you can compensate for height.

[detlefchef]

"After all, that's the only really meaningful conversation that could come from this topic"

How so?

Because you're not going to get any taller. If you want to row, row. Unless you are a truly elite level athlete who would have actually excelled had he only chosen a sport where his basic frame was better suited, then you shouldn't have any regrets. Chances are, you're like the rest of us and will run into other limitations before your height ends up dooming you. In other words, you're going to be competing largely against yourself and, should you end up being one of those guys who can put up good times despite being shorter, you'll get mad props for being able to do so.

Now, this has much to do with it being a small pond, rowing wise, but I have the current fastest 2K at my Crossfit gym and I do take some satisfaction from the fact that there are guys who technically should be better because they've got 5-6 inches on me and are reasonably powerful.

So, my last point had to do with the fact that, short of having someone come along and say, "No, being 5'8" is actually an advantage in rowing." (which seems would not be true), the best thing you could hope for here is for someone to come along and explain how to make up for your height.

AH, ok that makes sense; thanks for the clarification. What was your time (the fastest one you mentioned) with your crossfit gym? I've tried some of those crossfit workouts and man they are HARD. I am doing the rowing for cardio and the starting strength program (slightly reduced in volume) and it's proving to be a good match.

I've never let my height affect me and never really had anyone make fun of me or anything for being 5'8". Being tall or being short no matter the situation has pros and cons, just adapt and overcome.

I do hope that some can provide some common issues or obstacles that shorter guys have when rowing, especially when "new" to rowing like I am. This site has provided a LOT of help and advice as I learn to do it right.

So, who has advice for a midget rower? FYI, phone books do NOT work.

6:56.4

At my gym, rowing isn't so much something that we do in addition to our daily workouts to mix in cardio, but rather is included in some of our daily workouts. That along with runs of 200-800m (usually as part of a 3-4 round routine to come up with as much as a mile or two) along with the fact that our workouts are intended to be scaled so that you take as few rests as possible along the way make up our "cardio". Those of us who've come to crossfit from another sport (cycling for me) then go do our own thing away from these workouts. Of course, that's a conversation for another thread. It works for me but I could see it not being ideal for others.

[bloomp]

For what it's worth, I'm 5'9 and consider myself far better OTW than on the erg, but am a sub-7 rower. I know I can be a lot faster just by continuing with a large training volume over a few more years.

Also, a lightweight girl on our womens team is at most 5'3, and pulled a 7:36 yesterday. Good enough for 12th place in the LW womens category.

[jliddil]

I have this logic about height possibly flawed.

We have two people one short and one tall. Not sure what we sue a definition of short and tall but bear with me.

We assume that both ergers row at the same SPM and that the watts per stroke are constant and the same for both rowers.

A taller person will thus travel a greater distance on the slide in a given time period to maintain the SPM equal to the shorter person. and thus travel further.

Since the total distance traveled on the slide is greater for the tall person for a given time period they spend less time per meter traveled at the recovery and drive.

Now how much of an impact this has is arguable. Me I'm 6'5" and 83.5 Kg. so I should be a good example. In fact despite a resting heart rate of 38-40 and a peak HR of 155 I lack the technique and strength to do much below 8 minutes for 2000M. I can't pull the same watts at a given SPM as most others

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

I honestly don't think it's the height that makes a difference on the erg, but rather the weight. No matter how skinny you are taller means heavier. Heavier means you have more mass to pull the handle with and thus you can pull harder. If you take two people with equal fitness, one 5'8 and one 6'3, they should pull the exact same score - the difference will be that the shorter person will have to go at a higher SPM to make up for the difference in length.

As for rowing on the water, being taller is definitely an advantage, as you get more leverage on the oar and sweep out a larger area of water per stroke. You could fill a boat with all 'short' rowers and jack up the rating and make up for the length, but you'll be checking the boat (even with perfect technique) more times because of the higher SPM and thus a boat with taller guys will be faster (again, assuming equal fitness)

[aharmer]

I don't know the answer to the original question, but this is the kind of conversation I find very interesting. A reply to the OP asked to discuss what we can do to become better at rowing at our own height, as this obviously isn't going to change.

First, I have a silly hypothetical related to height. Regardless of my height, would wearing shoes with 4" thick soles positively impact my times?

What can we do (assuming we stay within the law) to improve erg performance? I'm still a newbie so I don't claim to have the answers, but here's what I believe to be true in my limited experience. Looking forward to hearing from more experienced ergers.

First we need to know what goes into erg performance. In my opinion you have three variables: brute strength, cardiovascular engine, and rowing technique.

Without strength, you can spin along at a high rate with excellent technique, but you're not moving that flywheel very fast.

Without a big oxygen transport engine, you can pull the shit out of the chain with great technique, but it's going to be very short lived.

Without good technique, you can pull the shit out of the chain at a high rate, but still go nowhere fast.

The big Triangle of Truth. The best in the world are beasts at all three. The rest of us might excel at one or two, but probably have a weak link or two which limits us. On a side note, this is what brought me to erging. I was too big to be a competitive distance runner, and too old to compete in the team sports I grew up playing.

So where should the majority of us concentrate our efforts to maximize our erg results? Who knows...certainly not me, but here's what I believe today.

Good technique is critical. The new erger should spend a vast majority of their time working on proper technique. Technique improvement is probably a process that lasts for millions of meters, but the large improvements that take huge chunks off your times can be made relatively quickly. Without proper technique you can't take advantage of all the natural gifts (oxygen delivery systems and brute strength) you've been blessed with.

Once technique is solid, the principle of specificity takes over. To be a good erger, you need to erg. A lot. Running, biking, sprinting, calisthenics, Crossfit, etc. will all contribute to improved fitness. They won't make you a great erger. Logging big meters on the erg at a lower intensity, and supplementing with higher intensity efforts (tempo efforts for those with a running backround) will raise your erg threshold and improve your oxygen delivery engine, while continually improving your erg efficiency.

While you're loggin the meters, train for improved strength. If you can squat, deadlift and power clean more weight, you can pull that chain a lot harder. Being stronger doesn't negatively effect your oxygen delivery system, so the guy that can increase their brute strength while maintaining their erg training is going to become a faster erger.

So in a nutshell, that's what I'm going to do to become a better erger. Please remember I'm not saying that's the right way to do it, only what a newbie believes at this point.

[Felix]

several posts contain info I tend to believe:

longer distance on slide for same SPM means more distance.
more determination will maximize benefit.
greater strength means higher SPM.

All these things being equal, height gives you the advantage based on physics/geometry. Longer length on the slide makes a much bigger difference on the water than on the ergs. More often, all things are not equal and you have to have the right combination of all of the above to overcome the advantage of height, and, the person with height has to have given up some of each. None of this is hard and fast, Danish boats win races over taller boats. It's not SPM, its distance covered in the shortest amount of time and there are a couple of methods to achieve this goal.

I rowed in eights, fours, and pairs. Technique is a significant factor on the water particularly with others in the boat. I have owned my Concept2 for four months and technique helps with the SPM, particularly timing at the catch and getting the hands away at the finish. Add precision as a requirement when your in a boat with others on the water. Get off-center on the return and people have to compensate unexpectedly. Lower you hand too much and surprise, people have to compensate again. You row 180 - 240 strokes in a race, little things add up.