My Model D Is A Pain In The ...

[[old] Shepherd]

I've only been at this for a few weeks, but I'm trying to scale up to a regular 10k every morning. <br /><br />This morning, though, I had to call it quits at around the 8000-metre mark.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />My butt.<br /><br />This is the first morning that I've been fed up enough to abandon erg, but I routinely find after about 20 minutes my rear starts getting sore. And not that "settle into it, it goes away after a while" sore. It starts aching, and after a few minutes starts getting painful. After a while, I'm forced to do sort of a little rowing dance to try to take the pressure off one side then the other, which alleviates it somewhat. <br /><br />Is this something that goes away after a while? I'm usually a bit sore at the start of the cycling season, but that only lasts a couple of days, not weeks on end. <br /><br />- Matt

[[old] BobD]

A folded towel helps and there are about three kinds of pads available.

[[old] Andrew Burrows]

I used to get this really badly but it does go away with time. I now do 60mins without any real pain (a little but not much). Towel is the answer in the short term but in the long term your better off just getting used to it I think. Saves on washing that way !

[[old] Byron Drachman]

Hi Matt,<br /><br />I had the same problem at first. I tried towels, pads, and small air cushions. They all helped a little. After a couple of months I could row for about an hour. I'm not sure if my butt got broken in a little or if I just developed the ability to ignore the pain. <br /><br />I finally decided that the model D seat, although it looks well designed and works for most people, just is not for me. I put some discussion in a different thread about this, so apologies if you've already seen this, but here is my homemade seat. It works great for me. It's made from some scrap wood, a piece of thick leather I bought at a shoe repair shop for $12, and some nylon and alumimun straps. It also doesn't build up heat the way a plastic seat does.<br /><br /><a href='http://www.math.msu.edu/~drachman/row/n ... ion2_5.jpg' target='_blank'>http://www.math.msu.edu/~drachman/row/n ... jpg</a><br /><br />Byron

[[old] tomraven]

Hi Byron<br /><br />Why have you redesigned the oar handle?<br /><br />I am still overweight so I have a lot of padding. I manage to row for an hour, but on the 3 occasions that I rowed half marathons, my butt ached afer 1 1/4 hours. I guess this problem may worsen as I get thinner. (I've been rowing for 3 months - hope to break the 8min/2k barrier soon.)<br /><br />I have since bought the C2 seat pading, but haven't tried another 1/2M yet. I want to try a slow marathon, but I must admit the thought of the discomfort puts me off<br /><br />I'll keep you posted.<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />Tom

[[old] Shepherd]

Thanks, Byron! <br /><br />That looks like a really wide grip on the oar handle -- do you have interchangeables to work different muscle groups? <br /><br />I may try changing the seat -- I was mostly wondering if other people had this problem (it seems they do) and if they get used to it (some seem to). I don't have a lot of time on my hands, so I'll give it another week and ask you for your plans if things are still aching after that.<br /><br />- Matt<br />

[[old] michaelb]

I do think this happens to most people more or less, and the longer you row and farther you go, the more you get used to it. When I started to row 10ks regularly, at first I would hurt, but after you do 10-20 10ks, they start feeling "short" (hour rows always seem long to me still). But some people clearly have more problems then others.<br /><br />I think the skwoosh pad sounded interesting, and I was thinking of getting one for my marathon. You may want to check that out (I think the C2 deluxe pad in the UK also looks in nice, but the US version is useless to me). Check out these past discussions<br /><br /><a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1527' target='_blank'>numb bottom</a><br /><br /><a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=720' target='_blank'>skwoosh pad</a><br /><br /><a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=714' target='_blank'>seat pad advice</a>

[[old] Byron Drachman]

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Why have you redesigned the oar handle? </td></tr></table> <br /><br />Again, apologies if you've already seen this, but in a different thread on sore elbows I mentioned that I discovered that if I keep my hands a little more vertical, instead of horizontal, that I don't get sore elbows. It turns out that Bert previously discovered the same solution for sore elbows and made a similar handle. I can grab the bar (from a mountain bike) inside the D-grips (homemade) and have my hands in front of the shoulders and then the hand position is just about the same as with the handle that came with the model D. I did some experimenting and found the hands a little out from the shoulders also seems to help relieve the sore elbows. I also find the wooden grip more comfortable than the rubber covering on the original handle that came with the model D. <br /><br />Yes, with the hands more vertical it's not like rowing on the water, but as I said, my elbows appreciate the different hand position.<br /><br />Byron<br /><br />

[[old] WiZlon]

> It (my butt) starts aching, and after a few minutes starts getting painful. After a <br />> while, I'm forced to do sort of a little rowing dance to try to take the pressure <br />> off one side then the other, which alleviates it somewhat. <br /><br />Man I know the feeling. I asked about this just last week. "Bubble wrap" was suggested for me - I'll pass the suggestion on to you, in case you have success with it.<br /><br />Good luck<br /><br />WiZlon

[[old] Manda]

Ok.<br /><br />The reason your butt gets sore (than, say, your thighs) is because during rowing the glutes do the vast majority of the work. <br /><br />During, say running, your main working muscles are the thighs and they get a chance to expand & contract naturally during your stride and they get a slight relaxation period at the end of each stride. Go for a jog and pay attention to your stride & you'll see what I mean.<br /><br />However during rowing, as you're sitting on your glutes, your body weight naturally places a consistent pressure on the muscle and it doesn't get to relax as such. The expanding & contracting muscle is confined and so it is literally struggling to work naturally <i>and</i> it never gets a significant relaxation period. <br /><br />Sorry, but it IS a case of "it will get better in time". Using a cushion only masks the problem and tends to facilitate poor technique. Visit a rowing club and get some quality coaching, and ease into training. If technique is good, and you're still getting a sore bum, then the other problem is trying to push too hard too fast. With practice and experience the muscle will learn to adapt to the demands placed on it by rowing, but you DO have give the muscle time to adapt!

[[old] dadams]

<!--QuoteBegin-WiZlon+Apr 30 2005, 08:23 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(WiZlon @ Apr 30 2005, 08:23 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> "Bubble wrap" was suggested for me <br /><br />Good luck<br /><br />WiZlon <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />That's what the folks at Craftsbury recommend. I tried it, but found that it moves around alot (in a boat). That makes for a tought set.<br /><br />As far as the erg goes, I use more than one pad (two actually). And have seen people use as many as six (Note: They 'sculped' the pads to fit their bum and crotch area).<br /><br />Dwayne

[[old] John Rupp]

Byron,<br /><br />Have you tried cane for a seat?<br /><br /><a href='http://www.steveemma.com/hand.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.steveemma.com/hand.htm</a><br /><br />It has the advantage of being well ventilated.

[[old] Laupi]

<b>What helped for me is if I put some melking fat on the butt before rowing. It feels a bit slippery - but then of course the muscles tend not to be as tense. Warum appropriately makes things feel ok after some minutes.</b>

[[old] Byron Drachman]

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Have you tried cane for a seat? </td></tr></table> <br /><br />Hi John,<br /><br />That looks like a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion. So far my leather and wood seat is working fine for me, but that extra ventilation would be nice.<br /><br />Byron

[[old] John Rupp]

Byron,<br /><br />How is the leather compared to the usual C2 seat?