A royal pain

[dot520]

My sitting bones (muscles?) start to scream around 13 minutes on the rower. Here is my background:

I'm a runner. My leg muscles are in good shape. I'm 5'6, about 136 pounds (sturdy but not fat). I don't have a lot of extra natural cushion to be sitting on.

I've only been rowing for about 1 month on Model E. I have the seat cushion that I purchased and cut out the little holes. I've been using that.

Could this be more muscular in that some of the glute muscles need to be worked further? Usually after 15 minutes I have to stop and stretch, massage...that sort of thing.

Recommendations or opinions?

Dot

[Citroen]

Recommendations or opinions?

Like the perennial problem of blisters on the hands you'll have to row through it. For most of us pain in the tail doesn't start that early, it takes at least an hour for me.

One way to enhance your seat pad is to fold a nice big fluffy towel and pad the seat with that. Other folks will suggest bubble-wrap.

The other thing could be technique. Are you sitting too far back? Have you got the footplates set correctly? At 5'6" you probably want 4 or 5 holes showing - set the footplates so the strap goes over where your shoe bends (or so your ankle bone is level with the monorail).

Take a video, post it on Google or YouTube and folks will critique your technique.

Buy some of Xeno Müller's rowing technique DVDs.
http://www.gorow.com/indoor_rowing_DVD.htm
They are highly recommended by the folks who've bought them.

[MomofJBN]

Are you sitting up on your sitz bones or letting your hips tuck under? Don't let you hips tuck under, and stay strong in the abs to support your back.

[dot520]

I did order a Xeno DVD, #1 and watched his technique as well as the Four Oarsman. I have mirrors set up and I'm making a conscious effort to sit tall. I can actually feel the bones wedged into the little holes of the seat pad but I'm trying to keep good posture.

I was really hoping someone would say that I just had lax glute muscles and that all would be well in about a million meters. My abs are not as strong as they should be and I'm working on that too. Perhaps its just a matter of getting a stronger core, getting my technique critiqued and just putting more meters on the rower.

thanks to both of you for your input.

Dot

[johnlvs2run]

It sounds to me that you are right the ache is more muscular than anything else.

When I first started on the model B, my gluts would ache after 10 minutes or so which was no fun at all. Being a runner I also have very little padding back there if any. Also the model B seat was very soft which didn't help but C2 was very nice to send one for a model C to me and that helped a lot.

I prefer not using any cushioning on the seat or in my shorts either, as the cushioning causes build up of heat and that causes my butt to ache regardless of what else I do. Also any cushioning makes it difficult to move around and get away from the heat.

It is helpful to sit straight so you are forward of your butt bones, and also take a break whenever your gluts start to ache. By doing this, your muscles get used to the exercise and soon you'll be able to row much farther with no problems.

[MomofJBN]

I was really hoping someone would say that I just had lax glute muscles and that all would be well in about a million meters. My abs are not as strong as they should be and I'm working on that too. Perhaps its just a matter of getting a stronger core, getting my technique critiqued and just putting more meters on the rower.

I suspect that time and meters will help.

[bw1099]

I lost about 25 lbs over the past year and my butt hurts more than ever before, so I also wonder if i don't have enough padding. There seem to be two stable positions - directly on the sitz bones, and leaning back a little where there is some padding. I think I used to sit somewhere between the two, but now I can feel the muscle trying to slide out of the way when I sit that way.

I got a sore-not-more pad which keeps it from hurting, but I'm still not comfortable a lot of the time.

bw