The #1 Mistake Every Casual Rower Makes
Rowing is getting popular in gyms across the country, unfortunately out of all of the indoor rowing classes I have taught over the past 10 years a lot of people are making this one mistake.
Rowing Is Getting Notice And It Needs Respect With Proper Technique
Rowing is getting popular in gyms across the country, unfortunately out of all of the indoor rowing classes I have taught over the past 10 years a lot of people are making this one mistake. Don’t be the bad rower in the gym. The benefits of rowing? It burns up to 800 calories an hour—that’s more than running but it must be done correctly just like any sport in order to feel any positive effects of this amazing exercise. Here at Roworx, we offer indoor rowing classes, taught by US National Team rowers on the Concept2 rowing machine.
The #1 Rowing Mistake to Avoid
The ‘Catch’ is the most important part of the rowing stroke and it is the #1 problematic issue for everyone who approaches and tries to understand rowing. The front of the stroke or as rower’s would call ‘The catch’ is when the legs, seat, and handle all move together on the drive at the perfect time.
In order to ‘catch’ the water or in this case catch the fan with the chain on the handle inside the Concept 2 rowing machine the individual must have the proper body positioning to ultimately hit the sweet spot and get the max watts and or splits on every stroke. When you are at the front of the rowing stroke the shoulders and upper back must be relaxed and in front of the hips while the seat while the shins are vertical.
This is not a comfortable position when static but it must be done in order for the individual to use his or her legs properly during the drive of the rowing stroke. The legs consist of nearly 70% of the total power in each and every stroke. At the ‘catch’ or the front of the rowing stroke your seat must also be at least 6 inches or so away from your heels.
The seat should never hit your heels as you cannot do a proper squat with power from this angle. As you approach the catch you must control the seat in a loaded spring or controlled squat with ratio before you push and drive the legs while connecting the power through your back, shoulders, and arms.
The arms must remain straight and extended until the legs are fully extended and the knees are down flat. Rowing is a total-body sport which builds both cardiovascular endurance and strength through repetitive resistance training. Few other sports can provide the total body benefit that rowing does.
If you really want great instruction in a class setting while overlooking the beautiful historic water of Marine Stadium look no further than Roworx in Long Beach, Ca. We believe in providing you with extremely experienced, energetic, knowledgeable instructors. We believe that you will see results sooner and prevent injury by maintaining efficient, safe technique. We believe that if you are having fun and engaging your mind as well as your body, you will be more consistent with your exercise plan and you will get fitter sooner.
And…we believe there are no better exercises than the low-impact, calorie-burning, workouts of Indoor Rowing. Our clients span all experience levels, ages and abilities. Anyone can row or cycle – you control your own pace and resistance. The ability to control your own resistance allows you to maintain rhythm with the group, while selecting your own difficulty level.
Below is a 2,000 meter indoor rowing race on the Concept 2 rowing machine at the Long Beach Sprints in 2007 in which I pulled a 6:04 which was not my fastest score of a 5:57 but it shows a good illustration of the body positioning during an intense duration of racing on the rower.
Tags: Concept 2 Rowing, Jack Nunn, number one rowing mistake, Rowing, rowing form, rowing mistake, rowing technique, Roworx