Lift Your Heels ?

[[old] Bill]

Hello,<br /><br />I lift my heels ........ do you<br /><br />Should I lower heels before pushing ?<br /><br />Does it really matter ?<br /><br />Bill

[[old] giniajim]

I drive off the balls of my feet. Have no idea if it matters or not, but would be interested in some thoughts, or some expert advice on the "right" technique!

[[old] leehamster]

<!--QuoteBegin-giniajim+Jan 21 2005, 11:21 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(giniajim @ Jan 21 2005, 11:21 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I drive off the balls of my feet.  Have no idea if it matters or not, but would be interested in some thoughts, or some expert advice on the "right" technique! <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />I'm no expert, but my coach used to say drive with your strongest muscles. Your hams, quads and glutes are stronger than your calf muscles. I say set a firm foundation (drop heels) and push off with the big muscles further up the leg.

[[old] Cran]

The important thing is to get the shins vertical and a good angle between the shins and the thighs.<br /><br />Whether or not you lift the heels depends on your flexibility, and to some extent the angle/height of the foot stretcher.

[[old] Kudos]

I think you'll see that just about all great rowers lift their heels. But, it is not a conscious effort to do so. As Cran said, the goal is to get the shins as close to perpendicular as possible, which in almost all cases requires lifting the heels. The key to this whole thing is not lifting your heels but to have such good compression that it forces your heels to lift. I'm not a coach and won't try to be, so I have no idea how to tell you to interpret the difference, but I will say that you shouldn't get bent out of shape over it. Get good compression and don't worry about what your heels are doing.

[[old] ghcaz]

I'll often drive with flat feet on longer erg pieces, but when it comes to a 2k or anything hard, I always push with the balls of my feet. Unfortunately, this often causes me <i>severe</i> foot pain. Anyone have any suggestions on how to combat this pain?

[[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-->Anyone have any suggestions on how to combat this pain? </td></tr></table> <br /><br />My suggestion would be to keep your feet firmly planted (and heels down) and go as far forward as you can comfortably, even if you can't get the shins vertical and see if that helps. <br /><br />It took me a long time because at first I wasn't flexible enough, but I can get my shins vertical with the heels down now. I find it easier on my feet and calf muscles to have my heels down. <br /><br />Byron

[[old] bsemaiktehr]

My coach has always preached driving off the balls of your feet. I try to do so every stroke. It creates "suspension" (Feel free to explain this further, anyone.) And I do know for a fact that you should never let the balls of your feet bend upward at all while erging.

[[old] Rocket Roy]

I used to drive off the balls of my feet, but then tried driving off the heels planted. The latter is IMHO the correct way.<br /><br />I get a much more powerful stroke from heels planted, of course the heels rise slightly as you compress to the catch, but begin the stroke by planting the heels and pushing from that position. You will find a much more powerful stroke.<br /><br />I'm not sure but pushing from BOF may be ok for sprints , but even for a 500m I would recommend a proper stroke.

[[old] John Rupp]

All top rowers that I've observed do drive off the balls of their feet.<br /><br />If you try to keep your heels down all through the stroke, beware of that causing injury to your knees etc.<br /><br />If you are quite flexible then it might not bother but, otherwise, there is no reason to take a chance.

[[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-->If you try to keep your heels down all through the stroke, beware of that causing injury to your knees etc. </td></tr></table><br /><br />Hi John,<br /><br />I agree that you want to take care of your knees. <br /><br />I notice at the US C2 website that the rower lifts his heels in the video in the pop-up you see when you click on technique, and also the rowers in the technique video lift their heels, so I assume that is the recommendation of the experts running the U.S. website. At the UK C2 website, the technique demo shows the rower with the heels planted, and also in the training manual at the UK website they show the rower with heels planted at the catch, so I assume their experts recommend not lifting the heels.<br /><br />By the way, for cyclists experts usually recommend having the cleats over the ball of the foot. However, some cyclists including me, especially recumbent cyclists, report that moving the cleats back helps avoid knee pain. Of course cleat placement is not the only thing related to knee pain. <br /><br />Byron<br /><br />added later: I just went to the UK website and saw the pictures of Tom Kay, who does lift his heels a little at the catch. I thought I remembered a different technique demo at that site. Maybe I'm reading too much into the demos and manuals. Maybe some rowers lift the heels, others don't, and it's not a big deal. What do I know? <br />

[[old] David Speed]

Being neither an expert coach, nor an elite erger, I'll put in my thoughts, for what they're worth.<br />At the catch, my heels are raised. I have to do this to be able to get anywhere near vertical shins.<br />As the drive starts, my heels move down adn then the quads and glutes come in and provide the main power and acceleration through the drive.<br />At least, that's how it feels. It all happens behind my legs and I've never leaned over mid stroke to have a look see