{"id":71261,"date":"2019-08-21T02:24:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T02:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/\/\/uncategorized\/5-common-rowing-mistakes"},"modified":"2021-11-22T01:18:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T06:18:09","slug":"5-common-rowing-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingmuscle.com\/5-common-rowing-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Common Rowing Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rowing machine<\/a> looks simple and less intimidating than others\u2014a machine anyone can use\u2014and it is.<\/p>\n

As a former university rower, I\u2019ll admit it\u2019s one of the easier sports to pick up, as there\u2019s literally just one skill involved. And while on-the-water rowing is definitely more complex, the Concept2 ergometer<\/a> (rowing machine) literally gets you doing the same thing over and over again.<\/p>\n

The rowing machine<\/a> looks simple and less intimidating than others\u2014a machine anyone can use\u2014and it is.<\/p>\n

As a former university rower, I\u2019ll admit it\u2019s one of the easier sports to pick up, as there\u2019s literally just one skill involved. And while on-the-water rowing is definitely more complex, the Concept2 ergometer<\/a> (rowing machine) literally gets you doing the same thing over and over again.<\/p>\n

Though simple in theory, if you haven\u2019t been taught the one skill (the rowing stroke) properly, it\u2019s easy to butcher it and make all sorts of crazy mistakes<\/strong>. Truth be told, when I walk into a gym and see someone rowing, nine times out of 10 I have to stop myself from cringing.<\/p>\n

Rowing Basics<\/h2>\n

Before I get into the five most common mistakes I see on a daily basis, let\u2019s get some simple terminology down:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Catch<\/strong>: This is the portion of the stroke where, if you were in a boat, you\u2019d place the oar into the water. It\u2019s essentially the start of the stroke, where you\u2019re sitting up tall (hopefully with good posture) and your handle is close to the cage of the machine, just as you\u2019re getting ready to drive your legs down hard.<\/li>\n
  2. The Finish<\/strong>: As the name says, the finish is the end of the stroke. If you were in a boat, your oar would come out of the water at this point. At the finish, your spine should be neutral and you should be leaning back a bit (not laying flat like many people I see) and your handle should be pulled in right to your chest a couple of inches below your nipple.<\/li>\n
  3. The Drive<\/strong>: This is the exertion part of the stroke, where you\u2019re driving from the catch position to the finish position\u2014when you\u2019re pushing your legs down, then opening your body\u2014and pulling the handle to your chest.<\/li>\n
  4. The Recovery<\/strong>: This is the part of the stoke where you travel from the finish back to the catch. It begins by straightening your arms back out, swinging your body forward until your shoulders are in front of your hips, and then bending your legs and bringing your body back up to the catch position. Like the name says, you essentially do have a moment to recovery during this phase of the stroke.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ok, now to the common mistakes.<\/p>\n

    1. Bending Your Knees Too Early on the Recovery<\/h2>\n

    The first thing that should happen when you reach the finish is your hands and arms should move back to the position they came from, and then your body should follow by swinging your body until your shoulders are back in front of your hips.<\/p>\n

    Often, though, I see people bending their knees before their arms or body swings forward. What ends up happening then is the handle hits your knees as you continue to move back to the catch, stopping the handle from moving in a linear way, which is what we want.<\/p>\n

    Often when I tell people to correct this, they shoot their arms out too fast as they\u2019re in a rush to clear their knees. Don\u2019t be in a rush<\/a>. Hold your knees straight as you straighten out your arms at the same speed you pulled into your chest. And then wait for your body to swing forward, and then start bending your knees to make your way back to the catch.<\/p>\n

    Check out the video where the first three strokes are done incorrectly, and the next three strokes are done correctly.<\/p>\n