Will Rowing + Pull-up’s = Injury?

[Brad48]

Hi!

I’ve been rowing for about 2 years. Am only ‘dabbling’ right now (2 to 3 sessions per week that total about 40-50 minutes), but am thinking about getting more serious. My concern is that I am addicted to pull-up’s, and am not sure how to work ‘serious rowing’ into an otherwise rigorous upper-body work out routine without risking injury. In the past I had a prolonged issue with lat irritation and a minor bout of shoulder bursitis, and while everything seems to be under control at the moment, I’m scared of relapse. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. (Also, I’m 58, but think I’m much younger.)

[Dangerscouse]

I don't see there being a direct connection to any potential issue, but clearly this is going to be determined by your physiology. Getting older will also play a part in your ability to recover from what you're doing, so I'd say there are too many variables to say with any degree of confidence.

The one thing that does stick out to me is that rowing and pull ups are both very posterior dominant; are you doing enough anterior / pushing exercises? You don't want muscle imbalances.

[Brad48]

Excellent point about the push-pull ratio. I try and stay mindful of that, and sometimes do a good job but sometimes not. Thanks for the input.

[mitchel674]

I'm also a rower and pull-up person. I love pull-ups and cannot walk past my bar without doing a few. I find these exercises quite complementary. I do feel your fears of injury from rowing are unfounded. Rowing is very leg dominant. The latissimus muscle is mostly a connection between the handle and your legs for most of the rowing stroke. Certainly nothing like the muscle power required for a pull-up.

Stu's point about balance is valid. I typically couple 100 push-ups daily to counter the effects of my long rows.

I think the combination of rowing, pull-ups and pushups cover all my needs.

[Brad48]

That is very helpful, and extremely comforting to hear about your experiences. I am going to re-focus on balance and forge ahead. Thanks!

[T_M]

I'm also a rower and pull-up person. I love pull-ups and cannot walk past my bar without doing a few. I find these exercises quite complementary. I do feel your fears of injury from rowing are unfounded. Rowing is very leg dominant. The latissimus muscle is mostly a connection between the handle and your legs for most of the rowing stroke. Certainly nothing like the muscle power required for a pull-up.

Agreed. I was recently putting more focus on pull-ups as part of my strength training routine. I got a little crazy with weighted pull ups and injured my upper biceps tendon...so I dropped the pull-ups for a while but the injury had no effect on my rowing.

[Brad48]

Yes, I also had a phase where I went a little crazy with weighted pull-up's. Then one day I realized that I still want to do pull-up's in my 70's, and doing weighted pull-up's in my 50's is probably not the best route to get there.

[nforbes1203424]

Well I am 74 and can still do a dozen plus weighted pullups with 10kg, and row 5k in 19:23 this year. But mostly a cyclist... Do push-ups and pull-ups alternate days, 6 days a week. No issues in last 15 years. https://youtu.be/qYNGxMTdx8A

[Brad48]

I've gotten a lot out of each response that people have been kind enough to post. But without question - yours is my favorite!!