Category: Technique

Rowing Technique Training & Nutrition Video of the Week

Video of the Week: “The Neuroscience of Rowing and a Simple Explanation of the Formation of Muscle Memory”

By readyallrow January 6, 2014

This is why I loved studying exercise science in college. I could listen to people talk about stuff like this all day. It’s unlikely that most rowers will ever think about the actual process of muscle memory on a cellular level like this but once you break it down, you realize how much of a process learning the stroke really is. I think that if you understand the science behind it, in a way it makes things less frustrating because you know that all these things have to happen in order for you to gain proficiency with your stroke and those things can’t/don’t just happen overnight.

One of the biggest things that I think everyone should take away from this is how important it is for you to consciously be thinking about the changes you’re making or trying to make. (That applies to coxswains too, not just rowers!)

Coxing Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 7, 2013

Now that we’re deep into our winter training schedule, we’ve started rowing longer sets of things. My coach doesn’t call them “pieces” or anything but we’ll be rowing and doing drills and then he sends us off and is like “take it all 8 to X-bridge”. I never know how to cox that, it’s ~3k so do I cox it as a long piece or just like technique-y practice type stuff? The other two coxswains I go out with call 10’s and I do sometimes but not as often as they do. Should I ask my coach what he wants?

I would definitely ask your coach for clarification just so you know if there’s something specific that he wants you to work on. By default though I would probably try to focus whatever technical calls I make on whatever we were just working on with the drills. If you want to just row then I’d do something in the 18-24 range, such as half a pyramid (4′ at 18, 3′ at 20, 2′ at 22, and 1′ at 24).

I’d stay away from just calling 10s and stuff because that’s not accomplishing anything. You’ve got 10-15 minutes to work with so use it to your advantage. Don’t waste it just rowing and calling power tens every few minutes to make it seem like you’re doing something.

College Coxing Ergs High School Novice Rowing Technique Training & Nutrition

Coxswains + Winter Training

By readyallrow November 19, 2013

The winter training season is a great time for coxswains to dive into educating themselves, developing their skills, and strategizing for the spring season but what typically ends up happening is one of two scenarios. Regardless of which one it is, they almost always show up to practice bitter because they know that they’re about to do either nothing or something very unpleasant for the next two hours when instead they could be studying or doing a million other productive things that don’t involve “glorified people-watching”, as one coxswain put it.

Scenario one

…involves them wandering around or sitting on an unused piece of equipment with their iPhone stopwatch open (and several other apps open in the background) and calling out switches on the machines or transitions on the erg every 30-60 seconds. After ~60-75 minutes their eyes are glazed over and their voices have reached that monotonous robotic stage that says to everyone around them “I don’t want to be here”. When the coach calls everyone into a sweaty and smelly huddle at the end of practice to congratulate them on a killer workout, you and the other coxswains hang back (arms folded or pretending to “put stuff away”) because you can’t hold your breath for that long and you value your nasal passages too much to put them through that kind of torture. Also, there’s not enough antibacterial gel in the world to convince you to come close to touching a bunch of sweaty rowers. Once you’ve been dismissed you’re the first ones out the door, complaining all the way to your cars that you can’t believe you have to show up when you’re literally not doing anything knowing full well that this is what things are going to be like for, at minimum, three more months.

Scenario two

…involves showing up and erging (“just hold whatever pace you can manage”) or lifting (“lift what you can”) with the team, which results in some coxswains feeling ridiculous, intimidated, or both. In one case, a collegiate (male) coxswain emailed me earlier this year after he injured himself (back and shoulder) trying to lift more than he was capable of (despite being fit and in good shape) because he felt pressured to match up to what his teammates were doing.

In addition to what I said in the post linked below, below are some options of things that you can do over the next few months to put you in the best possible position come springtime.

Working out

I’ve talked about this in the past and stand by what I’ve said before: I’m not against working out as a coxswain and I do think it should be a part of your own winter training program however I don’t necessarily think coxswains should be doing the exact same workouts as the rowers. Body weight circuits? Definitely! Lifts? Nah. Ergs? For the purpose of this conversation, no. I’ve been talking about this with some of the coxswains here over the last couple weeks and they brought up some points that I hadn’t thought of before but do actually agree with. Here’s an excerpt from an email I wrote that pretty much says what I think:

“No one is against working out but they’re all pretty against working out with and lifting at the same time as the guys. I think they brought up some good points too, the gist of them being that they think it’s too much of a hassle for the guys (who need to be using the equipment) to work around people who don’t need to be using it. The squat racks would constantly need to be lowered so they could use them properly and regardless of what they’re squatting, it seems unlikely that they could adequately spot each other anyways, which is a pretty big safety issue. We all agreed that the guys probably know that they physically can’t do the same workouts they’re doing and some of the coxswains felt it would come off as mocking them or not taking things seriously if they’re lifting 10lbs while the guys are lifting 100lbs. A couple of them mentioned back and/or joint problems that they have that they also don’t want to risk exacerbating over something that ultimately isn’t going to help their coxing.

I talked to them about doing core, running, or riding the bikes while you guys lift and everyone seemed on board with that. (One of the coxswains) said that she’s already meeting with (our strength coach) a couple times a week and doesn’t want to over do it by doing more of the same so she (and three of the other coxswains) all said they’d be up for running if that was an option. (One of the other coxswains) said that when they went running on Tuesday they ran to the vet school, did some core, then ran back. (One of the freshman coxswains) can’t run because of her hip and I think her knee(s) as well but said that she’d do core while (one of the other injured coxswains) could ride the bike with us if there was one available. It seems silly to make (the injured coxswains) do something where they could injure themselves more and then potentially be out of the boat in Florida.

My point is that everyone is willing to do something while the guys are lifting but no one is comfortable doing the actual lift routines. Having a strong core is actually pretty important for coxswains for a lot of reasons so if you wanted everyone doing the same thing instead of being spread out doing multiple different things, doing core would be a valuable use of their time. It helps them feel the boat better because they’re better able to stabilize themselves in the seat and it also helps them project their voice better which ultimately decreases the likelihood of them messing up or losing their voices.”

I’ve gotten messages and emails in the past from coxswains (girls and guys) who aren’t comfortable doing the workouts the rowers do but feel like they have no choice but to do them. Are there going to be coaches who insist you do the same workouts as the rowers regardless of whether or not you like it? Yea, but that’s not always a bad thing. You’re not always going to like everything you have to do and sometimes you really are going to have to just HTFU and do it. (There are many times on here where I struggle to say something more helpful than “just suck it up” and this is partially one of those times.)

As someone else said, the rowers “really appreciate seeing coxswains at least participating in winter training even if it’s not at the same level. It gives a sense of solidarity in the team”. This is usually what the coaches are going for, which I’m totally on board with, but they do sometimes tend to overlook what each individual is capable of in favor of establishing a sense of unity in the team. I can understand that so I’ll cut them some slack on that one. If there’s part of the workout you’re not comfortable doing or physically cannot do for whatever reason though you have to speak up. Talk to your coach in private and present an alternative solution. Don’t just say “I can’t do bench presses because the bar alone is half my body weight” because that can come off as an excuse instead of a reason (or safety issue, which it can also be). Instead, say something like “I think I’d benefit more from doing a core workout or body circuit because (insert reasons WHY it would benefit you as a coxswain here), would it be OK if I did that while the guys did their lift, power hour on the erg, etc.?”. If you show that you’re taking this seriously and are still willing to workout during practice alongside the rowers, your coaches are more likely to accommodate your request.

I could talk about this all day but to reiterate, I’m not against coxswains working out throughout the winter. I just think that if they’re going to be working out they should be doing something that will benefit them the same way lifting benefits the rowers. Like I said before, having a strong core helps you feel the boat better (especially beneficial if you’re coxing a four) because you’re better able to stabilize and brace yourself against the hull.

It also comes in handy if you’re working with a boat that isn’t technically sound yet because you’re better able to resist the effects of the checking of the boat, whereas if you’re lacking those core muscles you’ll end up flopping all over the place and can end up hurting your back or ribs, both of which have happened to coxswains I know. The other benefit I mentioned is being able to project your voice better, which is also something I’ve talked about before.

Listening to recordings & watching video

This is the default activity for many coxswains throughout the winter. This tends to be a solitary activity but if possible, I’d ask your coach if you and the other coxswains can use the coaches office or go to another quiet place in the boathouse and listen to the recordings together. Being able to listen to it with other people lets you have a discussion about why something sounds good, why it doesn’t, etc. I listened to some recordings with the freshmen earlier in the fall and was really surprised at things they pointed out that I hadn’t even noticed before, even after listening to the recordings a few times. I think once you listen to a recording by yourself so many times you start to get tunnel vision (or hearing, in this case) which is why listening to recordings in a group setting can be beneficial. As great as it is listening to other people cox, I’d really encourage you to listen to your own recordings with each other too. Yea, it’s uncomfortable but you’re all in the same boat so it’s probably not nearly as weird as you think it is. Constructive criticism is what you’re going for.

In addition to listening to recordings, video is another great tool that you can use to educate yourself with. The winter is the best time for the coxswains to gain a better technical understanding of the stroke and being able to see rowers on film can help with this. If you don’t have video of your crew on the water, go on YouTube and find some of other crews. There’s no shortage of it on there. You can also watch the videos on the recordings page and just mute the sound so you can focus more on the blades and less on the coxswain’s voice. The goal of doing this is not to point out every single flaw you see with a rower or a crew but rather to isolate the good and bad, figure out why it’s good or bad, and then determine what needs to be done by the rower and said by the coxswain to correct (or maintain) it. Spending time doing this in the winter will help you have a faster reaction time in the spring because you’ll know exactly what to be looking for with the boat and with the individual rowers and what to say to elicit a change if necessary.

If you want to critique your own rowers, grab your phones (or video camera, if your team has one) and get 10-15 seconds of video per rower. If they’re in tanks, to to get video of them from the front and side. If they’re on the ergs, one side only is fine. Make sure it’s clear footage and not shaky and don’t distract them, get in their way, or be annoying while you do this. Once you’ve got some film, sit down and critique it.

Tanks & ergs

OK, so before I said that I didn’t think coxswains should do the erg workouts that the rowers are doing but I do think that coxswains should get on the erg or in the tanks if/when they can. If they actually take some strokes themselves, that’s just another thing that will help them get a better feel for the stroke. This would be especially helpful too for novice coxswains who haven’t coxed or rowed before. Having them actually do the drills that they’re calling for or doing a modified steady state piece will force them to think about their calls (“if I was rowing and a coxswain said this to me, would/how would I respond”), where they’re calling things, their technique, and give them an idea of how the rowers feel when they’re doing it. If they can put themselves into a similar situation as the rowers then they can get a better idea of what they should say to keep them present, motivated, etc. during a piece. Obviously their technique doesn’t need to be varsity A-boat perfect but my opinion is that if they’re going to be telling the rowers to fix their technique or do this better/sharper/cleaner or whatever, they should at least be able to adequately do it as well.

It’s not about just getting on there and doing a workout just so you have something to do, it’s about being given some instruction, gaining insight, and getting some experience doing what they’re expected to coach the rowers on. How can you be expected to tell the rowers what to do if you’ve never done it yourself? You have to get in there and go through each motion while making a concentrated effort to understand what your body is doing. If you just get on the erg and screw around because LOL MY SPLIT IS LIKE 4:27 you’re really not accomplishing anything.

This is something you can do anytime the team isn’t using the tanks or ergs but it isn’t something you should do alone. If you’re doing it alone, how do you know what you’re doing right or wrong? Ask your coach to work with you for 20-30 minutes or if they’re not available, ask a varsity rower or another coxswain if they can watch and observe you and the other coxswains the first few times you use the equipment. Captain’s practices are a good time to do this because the atmosphere is a little more relaxed. Take turns doing this so you can get used to seeing different kinds of technique and recognizing what needs to change with each one.

Practice your calls, calling transitions, getting to know the rowers, and developing your “voice”

This is something you should definitely be doing . One coxswain said…

“Our coach expects our coxswains to be at practice helping run things. We get the workout before hand and they alternate calling rating shifts in time pieces/steady states and correcting form.”

It’s unlikely that you’re going to be coxing like you would in the boat but you can still call out technical issues when you see them, general reminders, etc. Save all the motivational calls for when you’re on the water. The rowers don’t need to hear “show me how bad you want it” in November when they’re staring at an erg monitor (or ever, really). If you want to motivate them, write “NCAAs”, “IRAs”, “YALE”, or some other word on a piece of paper and post it at the front of the room. That’s all the motivation they need. Focus on technique and calls relating to the bodies and blade work. If they’re on an erg, help them visualize being on the water. Think about the words you’re saying and how they sound coming out of your mouth – do your calls sound genuine (like you’re paying attention) and assertive (like you’re confident in what you’re saying) or bored (disinterested) and tired (played out)? Get feedback from the rowers so you can gauge how you’re doing, what calls you should keep, what you should adjust, etc.

Don’t forget to also spend time talking with the rowers to find out what they need so you can give them some individual attention when necessary. If you’ve got a rower who’s trying to PR on a piece to show that he’s A-boat material, remind him of his split every few minutes. It’s as simple as saying “1:48” quietly in their ear as you walk by. Stuff like this shows you’re invested in them and that you see them as people and not just as athletes. It can be easy to lump them all together, especially during the winter, but now more than ever is when you should be putting them under a microscope, scrutinizing their technique, figuring out their tendencies, learning about what makes them tick, etc.

Have a schedule

I just gave you a ton of options of things to do over the winter, not all of which can or should be done on your own time outside of practice hours. It’s also helpful for knowing when exactly you’re needed by the coaches and when you’re free to do your own thing. Sit down with them and the other coxswains and come up with a rotating schedule similar to what the rowers have, that way only the necessary number of coxswains are with the team to record times or call stuff on the ergs while everyone else is listening to recordings, doing their own workouts, etc. It’s pointless having five coxswains standing around doing nothing while two do all the work, so why not let the three who don’t have anything to do do something that will actually benefit them? The next day, two different coxswains can record or call stuff and so on and so forth. That way if you need someone they know that this is where they need to be on this day, at this time, but that the rest of the time they’ll be doing their own thing with the other coxswains.

If your team has a MWF lift + land workout schedule, have one or two coxswains on hand if necessary to help monitor things and/or record results while the rest of you do your own workout and then get in the tanks. On TuTh when the team is doing steady state on the ergs and/or in the tanks, listen to recordings and watch film. The coxswains that are scheduled for that day can apply what they’ve learned through watching film to what they’re actually seeing and subsequently practice their calls, calling transitions, projecting their voice, etc. On Saturday when everyone is together doing a long erg, all the coxswains can be there but try to divide up the rowers beforehand so that each coxswain can focus on a small group (no more than eight per coxswain, if possible). I’d still encourage walking around and watching everyone but only talk to/make calls for the rowers in your group. This will also be especially helpful if you’re recording splits or times, that way you don’t have multiple coxswains recording the same people.

As un-fun as the winter season can be, it’s a great time for coxswains to up their game if they apply themselves correctly. I hope this gives you some ideas and helps you start off winter training on the right foot!

Image via // @stanfordlwtcrew

Drills Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 1, 2013

When we row with our feet out of the foot stretchers I have a lot of trouble getting up the slide never mind getting up on time, and it’s really embarrassing being the only one in the boat who obviously struggles with these drills. Is there any thing I can work on to improve this area?

It sounds like you’re not getting or staying connected throughout the stroke and are most likely trying to use your calves and shins to pull you up the slide. If you lack connection at the catch, as you pull through the drive your feet are going to come off the stretchers and you’re going to “fall” backwards, which is obviously going to make it pretty difficult to get back up the slide on the recovery in time with everyone else.

The first thing you have to do is establish that connection right as the blade enters the water at the front end. In this instance the connection refers to the grip the blade has on the water and the relationship between the body and the handle. In order for you to have good connection, regardless of whether you’re rowing feet in or feet out, the blade has to go straight to the water at the catch, meaning there has to be an immediate unweighting of the handle as you come into the front end. If you’re already at full compression when you unweight your hands, your entry to the water will be late. You have to anticipate your arrival to the catch and time your hands accordingly, if that makes sense. Basically what I’m saying is that when you’re about two inches away from the front end with your slide, your hands should already be moving up to drop the blade in.

Once your blade is in the water, you have to maintain a consistent application of power throughout the entire drive. Keeping your quads engaged will be a big help here. As you approach the finish also be aware of how much you’re laying back. If you’re laying back too far then you’re going to end up in the lap of the rower behind you, which is going to result in your feet flying off the stretchers. Having a good squeeze right at the end of the stroke combined with maintaining a similar layback to when you’re rowing feet in will help you maintain that connection with the stretchers. If you lack connection at the finish you’ll end up having to reset your feet and use your hamstrings, calves, and shins to pull you up the slide which will lead to all sorts of problems, the least of which is your timing at the catch.

When your coach or coxswain tells you to stay connected, don’t just think “OK, I have to keep my feet on the stretchers”, think “I have to keep X, Y, and Z muscles engaged throughout the drive so that my finish is supported”. Connection at the catch, a consistent drive, and supported finished are the main components you want to shoot for here. If you find you’re still having trouble with this on the water, try spending some time on the erg rowing feet out, preferably beside a mirror so you can watch yourself. I’d also recommend doing some planks to help you strengthen your core. Core strength is a huge component in having a supported finish and is especially important to have when rowing feet out.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 15, 2013

Hi! I tried looking online about my “problem” and I couldn’t find much so here I am, looking for some help! My coach always tells me that I “open” the body too early at the catch/drive. I don’t understand what he means because every time I try to correct it, I’m wrong. Do you have any solution that could help me? Thanks a lot.

Sure! So, opening up the back/body too early means that you’re starting your layback before the legs are all the way down (aka before you’ve finished the leg drive). I’ll try and illustrate this below with one of my typically-crude illustrations because I think things like this are easier to understand when you can visualize them. The explanations are in the picture but if something doesn’t make sense, feel free to comment and I’ll clarify.
Coxswains, this is something in particular you can be watching for when the rowers are on the ergs. If you see someone opening their back too early (as illustrated above) or doing the opposite, which would be shooting their tails (when you essentially take the legs completely out of the drive and use only your upper body for power, leading to lots of fun low-back problems), correct them and go through the proper sequence with them once or twice until they get it.

Rowers, if you’re having issues with getting the sequencing down, try doing the reverse pick drill on the erg (or ask your coach if you can add it to your warmup the next time you go out). This will go through the legs-back-arms progression one section at a time starting with legs only (arms and body stay in the “body over” position), followed by the back (legs down, back in the layback position, arms straight out), and then finishing with the arms (legs – back – arms).

Coxing How To Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 13, 2013

Hi, I never know what it means when someone asks me what the boat “feels” like. Like the rush for example. I’m not sure what that feels like vs. a boat with no rush. Just in general, I’m not sure how to gauge whether a piece felt good or bad. I feel like the only things I can see are blade height, square up timing, catch timing, and if bodies are moving together, and I can tell if the boat was really moving and if there was power. But what else should I be aware of?

Rush is something you need to communicate with your stroke about because they’re usually going to feel it more than you will, unless it’s really bad. You’ll know if the boat is rushed (without your stroke telling you) when you’re getting thrown back and forth in the seat. When you’re rowing normally you can sense the rhythm and see/feel that one part of the stroke lasts longer than the other but when it’s rushed you can’t see a difference in the ratio, which is a good indication that the boat is just spinning its wheels.

This is what I wrote in response to an email how to develop better boat feel:

“There’s no substitute for being in the boat so try to get out as often as possible. Experience on the water is key. By now you should have a good sense of technique, what the blades should look like, what the bodies should be doing, etc. so now’s the time to start applying that to their respective effects on the boat. When you’re on the water, commit to feeling every stroke the rowers take. Pay attention to their effect on how the boat moves in response to the calls you or your coach make.

To feel how the boat moves, the best way to do this is to become “one with the boat”. You want to position yourself in the coxswain’s seat so that if someone were to pick the boat up and flip it over, you wouldn’t fall out. Have your feet flat against the footboards on either side of the cox box, slide your hips into the back of seat, and brace your arms against the gunnels. You want your body to be tense enough that you can feel every movement of the boat but not so tense that you feel like you need a massage afterwards to get rid of all the kinks. You don’t necessarily have to sit like that for an entire 90 minute practice but getting in that “coxswain’s stance” every so often throughout practice does a lot more for you than just sitting there and letting the boat move you around like a rag doll. When I’m in this position, I aim to focus on four things: the kick at the catch, the surge on the drive, the acceleration at the finish, and the relaxation on the recovery.

Personally for me, I see what’s wrong almost always before I feel it, especially during a race. I can feel when the power is off, when someone is catching early, or sometimes when there’s a lot of rush, but the really nitty-gritty technique stuff is more noticeable to me just by watching the blades rather than trying to feel it out.

Having a good sense of boat feel is a big part of being a good coxswain and it’s most definitely a skill that everyone should learn but I think some people put too much weight on it sometimes. Just like different people have different learning styles, I think coxswains have different ways of knowing what needs to happen in the boat – some operate more on what they feel, others more on what they see. It’s all very philosophical if you think about it. I don’t think one is right, wrong, or better than the other though. I’m a very visual person so I go off what I see because it’s easier for me to convey what’s happening to the rest of the crew.

Even though the crew should be going off what you say and not necessarily what they think is happening individually, I think boat feel is very much open to interpretation. Unless the rowers understand and feel the same thing you’re feeling, it can be hard for them to make the necessary adjustments, even if you’re telling them exactly what needs to happen. I’ve heard and read boat feel be described as being similar to the concept of love – you can explain the concept to anyone but until that other person feels it too and really gets it, there will be a gap, similar to a language barrier, where things get lost and/or are misunderstood. This is more of an occurrence with younger crews compared to more experienced ones though, which reiterates my point that time on the water is everything.

Feeling the boat requires a lot of concentration. A lot. There are a lot of subtle hints that you might naturally not pay attention to but when you do pick up on them you’ll be able to recognize the part they play in developing (or hindering) the boat’s speed. Sometimes when we’re doing steady state, especially if we’ve spent the past few practices doing a lot of drilling, I’ll just not talk for a few minutes at a time and instead focus on what the boat’s doing.

In addition to sitting properly in the boat, total silence is another thing that helps me feel what’s going on. As long as we’re in a straight section of the river (sometimes few and far between on the Charles) and I’ve got a good point, I’ll close my eyes for 3-5 strokes and base my “observations” off that. I listen to the oarlocks, the slides, the catches, the water, the rowers breathing, etc. Sometimes I’ll have the rowers do that too, except we’ll do ten minutes of eyes closed or two minutes closed, one minute open. Not only does this help them feel out the rhythm but it also helps me later on because when I ask them for feedback on how the boat felt, they can tell me exactly what they felt, what they thought was working, what felt off, etc. Whenever somebody says “that felt good today” ask them why it felt good, make note of it, and see if you can replicate that same environment tomorrow.”

Knowing whether a piece was good or bad is something inherent, I think. You just know when a piece is bad and you just know when a piece is good. One of the first ones I ever did as a coxswain was when I was a novice and it’s something I think about every time one of my boats has a good piece. I knew nothing about technique, what I should be looking for, or anything other than how to steer at this point but at the end of it I just smiled and said “that felt good” because it did. I swear it was the closest I’d ever been to flying at that point because the power was there, the strokes were clean, and there was this quiet intensity that encompassed the boat…it just felt like we were gliding over the water. My coach did the best thing I think a coach can do though after that because instead of responding with “good” he asked “why” knowing full well that I had no idea why. He made me think really hard about what I saw and felt, and then let me struggle with trying to come up with the words to explain it. He told me to think about it for the rest of practice and have an answer for him when we got off the water.

This was all in the spirit of teaching me something – he didn’t say it like he was annoyed that I didn’t know what to say. Once we got off, he sat with me and listened to me explain what I thought and then went over everything I said in actual rowing terms so that I could tie together what I felt vs. what I saw. It was one of the best teaching moments I’ve had as a coxswain because that really kickstarted my education on the rowing stroke.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your rowers, specifically your stroke seat, and ask them what they thought and how it felt to them. Sometimes they feel things you don’t but finding out what that was lets you look for what could be contributing to that (positively or negatively) on the next piece.

Novice Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 3, 2013

Hey! I am a novice and today our cox said to check our “hand height” … what does it mean? Is it at the catch or on the recovery? Thank you.

He/she was referring to your handle heights, which is the height above the gunnels that your hands and oar handle are. This applies to the entire stroke but where discrepancies are felt the most is on the recovery when the blades are out of the water. Your handle heights, for the most part, are what help to stabilize (aka “set”) the boat. If the handle heights of the rowers are all the same, the boat will sit perfectly level. If one side’s hands are up high (between your shoulders and mid-rib cage) and the other side’s hands are down low (between their belly button and hips), the boat will be offset.

When you pull through the drive, the handle should be hitting you somewhere between your mid-rib cage and belly button at the finish. For girls, a good reference is about where your bra line is. That might seem high when you’re just sitting normally but when you factor in the layback, it’s just about the right spot. At the finish it’s important to remember to tap down to get your blade out of the water before moving the hands away, which you should do in over smooth, level movement. The best way to think about it is like you’re gliding your hands across a flat surface. You don’t want your hands bobbing all over the place because that’s going to decrease the stability of the boat. If your coxswain says to check your handle heights or set the boat you should think about where your hands are (too high, too low, or just right) and then make any necessary adjustments at the finish (never in the middle) of the stroke.

Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 6, 2013

Hi! I’m a novice and I have a problem with my oar. My coach said that it doesn’t square early enough. I square just before the drive but he said I need to square earlier. I don’t understand how I can do this ? I feel like I will catch a crab if I square too early (which I did twice today). Do you have any solutions or a way to know how to square at the right time? Is my oar too close to the water on the recovery? Thank you, your blog is the best btw!!

When you say “just before the drive” I assume you mean just before the catch. You do need to square earlier than that, so your coach is correct. Ideally, you’d be squaring or starting to square over your knees, meaning that when you reach the bodies over position of the recovery your blade would be squared or starting to square. I usually like to have the people I’m coaching start squaring over their knees and be completely squared by 3/4 slide, that way all they have to do when they reach the catch is unweight the handle and drop the blade in. If you wait longer than that and start to square around 3/4 slide (this is know as a “quick catch”) you run the risk of going in the water late. (This is more so the case with younger rowers, not so much experienced ones.)

If you’re catching crabs trying to square your blade then yes, your blade is probably too close to the water. That’s probably partially because of the boat being unset and down to your side and your hands being too high. Both of those things seem counter-intuitive but it only takes one person to offset the boat, so it is possible.

Next time you go out I would focus really hard on keeping your hands level coming out of the finish (imagine gliding them across a table top) and starting to square as soon as your hands are over your knees. It’s going to feel awkward and uncomfortable but that’s how most changes in rowing feel. I promise it’ll help a lot though. Just think to yourself “hands away, square, place, push”.

College Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 6, 2013

Hi! I started rowing last spring for my college and I was sculling basically all the time. (I swept like twice I think, the first 2 learn-to-row things). However, this year, my coach wants me in a four. We had our first practice yesterday evening and it was awful. I couldn’t do anything right and I was a pain in the ass for the others. Do you have any general advice for a rower that goes from sculling to sweeping ? (I was rushing my slide and couldn’t get the blade in correctly either). Thanks!

If it was your first day in the four and only third time sweeping, there’s only so much fault they can put on you for practice sucking. I mean, if you’re used to sculling it might take a couple days to get used to sweeping. That’s fairly natural, I think. I would talk to your coach about the issues you’re having and ask her to maybe work with you a bit if you’ve got a dock rower or to maybe lengthen out the warmup a bit and watch/correct your form as you go along before you get into the day’s workout.

With regards to rushing, just … relax. Get used to following another person and taking your time on the recovery. Keep your eyes forward and watch their body move. Anticipate their movements and move with them. Focus on the sequence (arms – back – legs coming out of the finish) and matching your sequence to the person in front of you.

With getting the blade in right, there’s a million things that could be. It all starts at the finish though. If your recovery is poor you’re not going to have a good catch. Work out those issues and getting the blade in will start to become a little easier and feel a bit more natural. Get to the catch, place the blade, then push. Repeat that to yourself – place, push. Place, push.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 30, 2013

Hi! I am starting my 3rd year rowing and for the past 2 days I have been stroke of an 8 (first time stroking ever, as well as rowing port!). I have no clue if there is a future for me as stroke but it has really made me think. Specifically when bringing up the SR I know that much of the up in pace should come from moving quicker on the drive versus sacrificing control on the recovery but I was wondering just how much? Sorry if that makes no sense but any tips?

I think I understand what you’re asking. The increase in stroke rate should come from two things: faster hands away (matching them with the speed of the boat) and a stronger drive through the water. Both of those have to happen equally instead of one more than the other, which I think might be what you’re saying. The ratio also has to be there if you want the strokes to be effective which means the recovery has to stay controlled, like you said.