Correct Foot Board Height & Angle

[[old] Roland Baltutis]

Recently I had to set up my new racing scull for rowing in the most efficient position on the water and had some thoughts about where my feet should also be on the C2 erg.<br /><br />As a result I've had to consult some text books and my level 1 coaching manual to see what is considered the norm.<br /><br />In the scull the text books say that the foot boards should be set so that you are just brushing your second lowest rib with your hands at the finish of stroke position. At front chocks catch position the knees should be just below the level of the armpits. They prefer the athlete to centre their weight on the foot boards while hanging off the handle during the power, and not sit back on the seat at the catch.<br /><br />In the boat they say that the foot stretcher angle should be between 38 to 40 degrees. Now on the erg you don't have the same adjustments as you do in the boat. You can only move your feet up or down which limits your scope for foot angle adjustment.<br /><br />Correct foot height on the erg and in the boat will allow for the upper body to achieve a strong and comfortable reach forward at the catch. If the feet are too high, the rower will be tight at the catch and find it difficult to get over and reach out comfortably. This will cause the rower to bend the lower back excessively, thereby putting themselves in a weaker position while reducing the forward reach.<br /><br />If you raise the heels/feet by 2 inches then the reach is diminished by nearly an equal amount. I thought I'd just mention these points because I often read about people on this forum with back problems from erging. Hence I wonder if some of it is related to having their feet set up too high.<br /><br />Keep it smooth, keep it relaxed<br />Roland Baltutis<br /><br />

[[old] mpukita]

Roland:<br /><br />Interesting post. <br /><br />I sometimes get a "tight" lower back on longer rows (10K+) and during the later pieces of an interval workout (i.e. 8 x 500M). I'm going to try lowering the foot piece tomorrow morning to see what happens. I have a 12K piece scheduled. I'd never even considered that this could be connected with the back tightness.<br /><br />I'll let you know how it goes. <br /><br />If it works, I owe you a meal (beers included). Then I can do a longer active recovery during interval workouts rather than cutting it short and stretching on the ball between pieces.<br /><br />Regards -- Mark

[[old] Cran]

38-40 is too shallow for a scull unless you have really unflexible ankles, even a sweep boat you'd have about 42 degrees.<br /><br />Get as close to 46 degrees as you can without it being uncomfortable.

[[old] PaulS]

<!--QuoteBegin-Cran+Nov 9 2005, 12:14 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Cran @ Nov 9 2005, 12:14 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->38-40 is too shallow for a scull unless you have really unflexible ankles, even a sweep boat you'd have about 42 degrees.<br /><br />Get as close to 46 degrees as you can without it being uncomfortable. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Well, The Erg is at 45deg which seems a pretty good angle, it was not always adjustable in boats and the rowing world did just fine, surprisingly enough.<br /><br />Of course JR will now post his link to the "high and steep" Goebel quote.