sore a$$

[Doublemeasure]

Hi,

Try one of these-

http://godfrey.co.uk/product/stock-ergo-grip

I have one and it helps.

Hope this helps?

[markinnb]

Hi,

Try one of these- ERGO GRIP, I have one and it helps. Hope this helps?

Apart from the color, this looks like the thing one of the rowers use at the gym I go to. he doesn't do squats or heavy load bearing exercises to work his glutes. he loves rowing and appears to be quite good at it. So he made one of these things.

for those who do a lot of rowing &/or biking, some people get pudendal nerve entrapment/compression. the little donut type of cushions may help out even more: anything that raises your pelvis from resting on the hard contours of the seat. Certain styles of rowing/biking appears to be more likely to lead to this than other styles.

[T5WX2p]

No matter how heavy I squat (225+, weighing 140), I cannot for the life of me pad my butt naturally so I made a pad similar to the one in this youtube clip out of an $8 yoga mat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnF9D6WJhwg

4 layers, each layer with sit bone holes 2cm larger in diameter than the layer before it, and a uncut top layer.
I measured my sit bones using this youtube clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7j9LUVJrjA







It works extremely well and would work even better if the material were firmer. Next time I'll try using EVA foam mat material topped off with a layer of yoga mat.

http://www.amazon.com/TG-Piece-Multi-Co ... B0050P218E

[Carl Watts]

The seat on a new model D is significantly softer than that on a model C.

Don't know if the C started out the same as the D when new and its just hardened with age but you only need to press your finger into it to confirm the difference.

Quite surprised no one has used GEL to build a seat for the rower, its expensive stuff but its just amazing on a bicycle seat.

Having said that its a bit like a bike, more meters and you tend to get less pain but the seat could be a lot better and one size doesn't suit everyone.

[markinnb]

The seat on a new model D is significantly softer than that on a model C.

Don't know if the C started out the same as the D when new and its just hardened with age but you only need to press your finger into it to confirm the difference.

Quite surprised no one has used GEL to build a seat for the rower, its expensive stuff but its just amazing on a bicycle seat.

Having said that its a bit like a bike, more meters and you tend to get less pain but the seat could be a lot better and one size doesn't suit everyone.

yup.

there are a couple or three issues with the seating ; firmness , it is not a ' one bum fit all " sort of seat- as Carl said- and can't be changed for it ( which would be silly actually ) and then the fact that human anatomy doesn't necessarily comply with the seat's contours and firmness- which is sort of the same thing.

This is true for bikers as well as rowers.

One woman constantly rode a bit low and forward, and on the lean in, she ended up rubbing into herself, it became an irritant and ended up compressing the pudendal nerve. It may be said that she should have changed her rowing style , not lean in or go overly forward. But that didn't happen. She didn't know what was happening to her
until too late. And woman who rows for a sufficiently long time and or uses that specific form knows what I am talking about. it's not pleasant at all. so I am told.

This would be similar to guys who anatomy is such that their testicles get in the way. somewhere, someone just nodded his head in agreement and somewhere someone just sort of rolled his eyes. it's something that isn't mentioned often in casual conversation but time and time again for top athletes ( I am not a top athlete ) they talk of such things. Much like how long distance runners must put bandaids or something to cover their nipples so that they don't get chafed . This would apply to both men and women.

Pudendal nerve issues: This happened to several guys who bike and whose posture/lean in on the seat brought them forward and hard down on the seat. AGain, nerve issues leading to numbness and possibly worse.

Those firm interlocking children's multicolor play mats can be cut into and shaped to make the proper fit.
so with the gel seats, a hole or depression must be built into it so that the affected bits of anatomy falls gently into the space.
those donuts or oval/ circular rings.

[bisqeet]

thanks for all the advice peeps.
I ended up buying the skwoosh and it works effectively - its a gel based cushion, similar to the bike saddles.

I was having trouble at about the 15km mark - just being uncomfortable and pain and having to wriggle which was effecting my technique and stroke.
That seems to have gone a little.

To be honest I think the problem is with the seat and construction being (for me) not anatomicaly correct.
As a mountainbiker I do several long rides a month and never really hard a problem. the ass bones seem to hit the sweet spot on the saddle.

[Cyclingman1]

Beyond the hardness of the seat and its imperfect fit is also an issue that affects some. And this is the fact that the seat can rub very painful sores on the butt around the tailbone. I don't know why some are affected and others are not. The only solution is to make sure that area of the butt does not touch the seat. And the only way to do that is to add enough layers of padding/foam to the seat with a large "U-shaped" cutout in the back of the padding so that the butt does not touch the seat. That issue bedeviled me for the first 6 months of erging until it dawned on me what the solution is.

[Donnie]

Is the Prow seat available in the US?

[sillbeer]

This was recommended to me sometime last year and it helps quite a bit.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Midwest-Quali ... d/22734170

- Destin

[Rowan McSheen]

A small towel folded over with a couple of layers of bubblewrap inside. Works a treat for me. I think over the years the towel and bubblewrap have fused into a single substance, I don't dare look too closely.

[Abi-snail]

I use a gel rowing seat pad from JL. Really comfy. I use it on the water too. Always find the shape of the seats doesn't quite fit my bum, despite plenty of padding.

Regarding bits that don't get enough of a workout from rowing.... The gluteus medius gets a bit neglected. Worth doing some mini squats with clenched buttocks or hip bridges so help with that.

[sekitori]

As is noted from this thread, there is no "one seat pad fits all" solution. If someone is looking for more rear end rowing comfort, I would suggest first trying the most inexpensive solutions--folded towels, bubble wrap, and/or foam rubber. If they don't work, you're only out a couple of dollars at most. You can also make a low cost pad similar to one a poster did using material such as a yoga mat, but that may be difficult for some people to do. If none of these solutions are adequate and you decide to purchase a more expensive commercial gel-filled pad, be sure you can try it out for a while and return it for a full refund if it doesn't work. You shouldn't have to spend 40 bucks or more for something you can't use with no way of getting your money back.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but the seat pad sold by C2 seems to be a disaster. For me it provides not much more cushioning than the seat itself and isn't worth the $3.50 price. Amazon is selling the same cushion for $15.00 (which is absolutely ridiculous) and others seem to agree with me. It has received extremely negative reviews. I can't understand why Concept 2, with all of its advanced technology, can't come up with an inexpensive seat pad that's a lot better than their present one.

[Citroen]

Maybe I'm in a minority, but the seat pad sold by C2 seems to be a disaster. For me it provides not much more cushioning than the seat itself and isn't worth the $3.50 price. Amazon is selling the same cushion for $15.00 (which is absolutely ridiculous) and others seem to agree with me. It has received extremely negative reviews. I can't understand why Concept 2, with all of its advanced technology, can't come up with an inexpensive seat pad that's a lot better than their present one.

What do you expect for $3.50? You're getting a bit of sculptured yoga mat with a C2 logo on it.

[markinnb]

As is noted from this thread, there is no "one seat pad fits all" solution. If someone is looking for more rear end rowing comfort, I would suggest first trying the most inexpensive solutions--folded towels, bubble wrap, and/or foam rubber. If they don't work, you're only out a couple of dollars at most. You can also make a low cost pad similar to one a poster did using material such as a yoga mat, but that may be difficult for some people to do. If none of these solutions are adequate and you decide to purchase a more expensive commercial gel-filled pad, be sure you can try it out for a while and return it for a full refund if it doesn't work. You shouldn't have to spend 40 bucks or more for something you can't use with no way of getting your money back.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but the seat pad sold by C2 seems to be a disaster. For me it provides not much more cushioning than the seat itself and isn't worth the $3.50 price. Amazon is selling the same cushion for $15.00 (which is absolutely ridiculous) and others seem to agree with me. It has received extremely negative reviews. I can't understand why Concept 2, with all of its advanced technology, can't come up with an inexpensive seat pad that's a lot better than their present one.

.
the possible reason, or at least perhaps one of the reasons that C2 has decided to offer a lower end product has been covered, inadvertently by the people in this thread.
People's bum shape , size , peculiarities, structure, musculature, fat depth, are across a range.
there is no ' one size fits all " pad.
there may be a 'one size fits 68% but that's about the best they can do.
the rest of the people who have issues with the seat due to an extra long coccyx ( from the norm ) or lack of padding '- just have to figure it out.
One of my rowing partners used to use the children's play matt thing.
another one used what looked like a pillow for piles.

[sekitori]

Maybe I'm in a minority, but the seat pad sold by C2 seems to be a disaster. For me it provides not much more cushioning than the seat itself and isn't worth the $3.50 price. Amazon is selling the same cushion for $15.00 (which is absolutely ridiculous) and others seem to agree with me. It has received extremely negative reviews. I can't understand why Concept 2, with all of its advanced technology, can't come up with an inexpensive seat pad that's a lot better than their present one.

What do you expect for $3.50? You're getting a bit of sculptured yoga mat with a C2 logo on it.

For $3.50 you're not even getting a C2 logo or anything identifying it as a C2 product. This pad is so ineffective that I'm sure C2 doesn't want their name on it. And if you 're in a mood to be ripped off even more, try spending an extra $11.49 for the exact same mat from Amazon. By the way, on the same Amazon page as the pad is an offer to buy a 4 ounce bottle of rower chain oil for "only" $14.99. You can purchase twice as much 3-In-One Oil (which is just as good) for considerably less than half that price.