Best way to improve technique?

[iain]

I started using a metronome to establish a 1:2 ratio of drive to recovery - it felt very unnatural at first and took over a week before I could complete a piece that way, but now it's very comfortable. Yesterday I did 4x1500m @16spm, today it was 10k @17spm. When so much is controlled,

I admit to never having tried this, but I would expect that the ratio would increase at lower stroke rates. If the drive is taking 1/3 of the time on 16SPM, that means the drive is pretty slow (60/(3*16)) 1.25S. There are a variety of approaches with some of us keeping a similar drive for most ergs just changing the speed of the recovery to others who row with a slower drive for SS work. Not sure whether the latter keep the drive ratio the same. THat said, I have seen too many newbie videos of people with 1:1 drive to recovery so 2:1 is a definite improvement on many!

[fancyoats]

Your technique is perfect: 160W at 72kg in a 2k.

Can you say a little more about this? Because that’s pretty similar to my recent 2k pb (8:39.4) and I’m 68kg. I’m pretty sure my technique isn’t *perfect*

[Joebasscat]

Your technique is perfect: 160W at 72kg in a 2k.

Can you say a little more about this? Because that’s pretty similar to my recent 2k pb (8:39.4) and I’m 68kg. I’m pretty sure my technique isn’t *perfect*

James will be back to explain I’m sure. But he is referring to average watts vs kg. Her ratio of watts to Kg is well over 2, actually 2.22 which is pretty good. He can correct me if I misunderstand his point.

[jamesg]

Sure, see also the Rankings, she is (or would be) on the front pages for 2k.

But it's just a guess, despite thinking that good results in rowing a 2k, as in all sports, come from strength; and technique in using it.

[jamesg]

44F, 5'8", 150lb

160/68 is 2.35W/kg.

To me it seems unlikely that you were using sheer strength. 8½ minutes is a long time for doing that.

The W2x times in Paris were around 7 minutes, 300W. Half what an Olympic athlete can do is not bad at all.

[Annisotropic]

Update -
If anyone else is in the same position as me, I can recommend googling "good rowing technique" - there are plenty of videos on YouTube to choose from, including-but-not-limited-to, the concept 2 channel.

I mentally broke the stroke into 6 parts, so I set a metronome to click on every 6th beat and spent a couple of hours 2 days ago filming myself, rewatching in slow motion then tweaking, rinsing and repeating.

Finally I moved my feet to a much higher position, which made a big difference - my shins had been way in front of vertical (knees in front of ankles). With the feet raised, the knees have come back towards my trunk, instead of my trunk leaning forward to meet the knees; shins are upright, my back is straighter and I feel the stretch in my trapezius muscles.

It initially felt like I'd never get back to my previous paces, but today i attempted 4x1500m/3 mins rest, with the display set to show the force curve, and by the final interval I was back up to the previous pace, with a much more even force curve than before.

It'll probably take a lot of concentration to maintain, but it definitely feels like it has been worth it, so thank you to everyone who commented .

[iain]

Well done, technique adjustments and honest self-evaluation are both tough. Thanks also for letting us know that we were on the right track!

[Dangerscouse]

It'll probably take a lot of concentration to maintain, but it definitely feels like it has been worth it, so thank you to everyone who commented .

Imo the concentration will taper off as it becomes more automated, but it is definitely worth the hard work at the start