Compression

[jonesaa]

compressing has always been a struggle for me. I am quite flexible and i am a lightweight with minimal fat on me but i have genetically large legs so my hamstrings always interfere with my calves and so on. Why is it that my shins reach vertical but my ass is nowhere near my ankles? I have always managed to make do as I row the single and have been pretty successful but I feel like if I could compress easier it would make me go alot faster therefore resisting my urge to rush into the catch and using momentum to compress. Is it just my body type that is preventing my ass from compressing to my ankles or some sort of technical issue. I feel like when I sit up really tall it does help a bit but then i lose all of my length from body swing and end up rowing quite short. I would consider my compression to be similar to this photo on the internet however i do not arch my back like this. Any suggestions and technical advice?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FSaaqmGTDDY/T ... .17+PM.png

[Rockin Roland]

It is important to get your butt as close as possible to your ankles to obtain optimal length at the catch. There are two things that you can do to help . Firstly make sure your feet are set up as low as possible in the boat. Then add a spacer approx. 1 cm between the seat and wheels to raise the seat height. You will probably need to raise the oarlock height also after these changes. This should allow you to get onto your feet better at the catch and hopefully won't raise the centre of gravity too high to make the boat too unstable in rough water.

If the above fails then don't despair. There is a cheats method of obtaining a better length through the arc. Shorten your span from 160 cm to about 156.5 cm but you'll need to also shorten your outboard to about 197 cm(depending on how hard a gearing your body can take). This is based on standard Croker blades.

[Tinus]

It is important to get your butt as close as possible to your ankles to obtain optimal length at the catch. There are two things that you can do to help . Firstly make sure your feet are set up as low as possible in the boat. Then add a spacer approx. 1 cm between the seat and wheels to raise the seat height. You will probably need to raise the oarlock height also after these changes. This should allow you to get onto your feet better at the catch and hopefully won't raise the centre of gravity too high to make the boat too unstable in rough water.

If the above fails then don't despair. There is a cheats method of obtaining a better length through the arc. Shorten your span from 160 cm to about 156.5 cm but you'll need to also shorten your outboard to about 197 cm(depending on how hard a gearing your body can take). This is based on standard Croker blades.

I wouldn't do this. Lowering the feet and raising the seat is only changing the angle of the upper leg (for the same angle of the shins) such that the distance between but and angle is only increasing. This solution is only needed for people who don't have enough flexibility and need more shin angle but this doesn't show from the op question. To move beyond vertical shins (or even some point before that) is not advantageous because it locks the movement of the upper leg by hip extension and all power needs to be generated by knee extension.

Also, who says that you need full compression, is it what you see during world cups or world championships? It can be the compression being wrong as well as the assessment for a need of more compression being wrong. If the op is reaching horizontal shins than she is doing more than most rowers.

[JimmyL]

the internet isn't the place to ask for technique advice, we haven't seen you row so we can't give you proper advice.

Ask your coach for help.

[Sculler]

The seat shouldn't get anywhere near your heels... if it does you have not rocked forwards.

You should have about 15 degrees +/- of forward lean (sitting up, but rocked forwards)

try sitting at the catch with your seat touching your heels, now keep the handle where it is, slide the seat back and tilt forwards... you still get the same length catch and a stronger position, and you can use the back in the middle of the drive...

Who told you to get your seat near your heels?

[jonesaa]

well here is a picture of me racing not the best angle like i think it looks fine but ive always got more compression on the erg and felt i had better leg drive on the erg so i assumed it was necessary to adjust something in the boat to allow for more compression. what do you think decent enough compression at the catch?

[tewbz]

that looks like enough compression to me, but it looks to me like you're resting your chest on your legs.
but it may just be the angle.

[jamesg]

Why is it that my shins reach vertical but my ass is nowhere near my ankles?

For purely geometrical reasons, and because leg thrust would be minimal. Your thighs are longer than your shins, and feet are lower than the seat. In a boat, the rails get nowhere near the stretcher, there has to be room for our legs. Anyway no one wants to go a foot through the work, an inch or so will do, otherwise the sculls would be parallel to the boat.

[Rockin Roland]

jonesaa,

You really need to give us a video clip(or at least a photo at the catch) of yourself in the boat. Due to the design of the C2 erg it's very easy to overcompress at the catch on one. However in your photo on the erg your shins are verticle but I would still question if you are shifting your weight correctly through your feet when you start the push. It's not just about body angle but also timing, sequence and transfer of weight during the push and recovery.

In the boat do you reach verticle shins position? Do you take the catch with your feet or your arms?
Setting up your boat with the correct rig is the first thing to check. If that's fine then the rest comes down to correct technique. We've always been taught to get the bum as close as possible to the shims (but not overcompressing) to reach our strongest position before we push. If your bum is not close enough them you've lost valuable length when you start to push with your legs.

[Sculler]

http://www.invernessrowingclub.org.uk/catchpos.html
http://www.invernessrowingclub.org.uk/strokecycles.php
http://www.invernessrowingclub.org.uk/p ... tufte.html

[Byron Drachman]

Have you tried experimenting with the angle of your footstretcher? The usual recommendation is between 39 and 42 degrees from horizontal. If you go with the lower number, say 39 degrees, it might make it easier to get compression at the catch.

[Sculler]

Or if you put it at 46 degrees you'll have a stronger drive...

[jonesaa]

not my best body position buy compression is about what it is.

[jonesaa]

if your thighs were longer than your shins would you want the feet higher to allow for more room for the thighs?

[Tinus]

not my best body position buy compression is about what it is.

Some people focus a lot on body positions. They almost row like robots. Your position if fine however. Maybe you focus on the wrong parameter.

The feeling that you don't have compression may be due to a wrong timing of muscle force. Compression is not just about getting in the right position. Compression is a stretching of the muscle tendons. This creates a plyometric type of contraction which is what you may feel on the erg. But, you don't need to literally compress your legs fully (like heels to hips) to feel compression in the sense of this plyometric muscle action. Running or jumping are good examples of proof that it is not needed. So maybe you need to loosen up a bit more around the catch instead of this tight focus on body position. Discuss this plyometric movement around the catch with your coach and see if there is a possible plan to loose a bit tension and become more dynamic and elastic (In my opinion your back is also a bit too straight).

Another factor which may play a role is the height and angle of the stretcher being different in your boat compared the rowing machine. Research suggest that an adaptation period is needed after changing stretcher position*. It could be that your feeling is just a need for adaptation.
Besides the stretcher position the boat will also feel different because the lower inertial energy in the body movement. On an erg one can use the body mass to propel the flywheel. Because of the dynamics you will always get a higher leg force on the static erg compared to the rowing on water.
So the boat feels differently and maybe you are applying force in the wrong way (the rowing machine way). I would suggest that you play around with it a bit more. Try different styles. Feel the application of different muscles. And finally grow a little bit more into the force pattern needed in the boat which is different compared to the erg (also dynamic ergs don't fully mimic the right pattern whatever some people might make you believe).

*The Influence of a Three Week Familiarisation Period on Rowing Mechanics at a New Stretcher Position
March 2008 http://www.worldacademicunion.com/journ ... online.htm