beginners question for rowers - long and rambling

no, my back doesn't hurt at al
i just don't know how to make my weekly shedule
tnx

Warning: Ridiculously Long and More Info than you asked for.

I rowed at a Division I school in college. Couple of questions, when did you start rowing, what rowing style are you using? Do you sweep or do you scull? In a single, pair, double, quad etc...?

Rowing takes an incredible amount of core strength. The initial part of the drive is with the legs, but about half way through the leg drive you begin to open with your back and pull in with your arms. Alway jump off the footboard with straight arms and don't start to open your back right away, let you legs do the work and your upper body carry the momentum. Each time you are at the finish is like doing ab work. Make sure your back is straight. Pull into your bra strap. The most common complaint of rowers, besides erg butt is back problems. Granted my rowing style might be different than yours. A lot of Americans row with C-shaped backs and yank and the end of the stroke, but my coach taught us the Canadian style which is more fluid.

Keep your back straight, through the finish, arms first, then body (rotate at the HIP very important) then come up the slide. Don't let your butt touch your heels (bad for the knees) get the extra reach from the shoulder extension.

Make sure and keep your hamstrings loose, stretch them like its going out of style. Stretch the lumbar region of your back. Tight hamstrings can make your knees hurt which will affect your running. As the hamstring attaches to your pelvis tight hamstrings can also tilt your pelvis creating more undue strain on your back. The same with your back muscles.

Rowing is a great full body excercise. It is great for crosstraining, but if you aren't doing it correctly there is a great chance of injuring yourself, also with rowing its one of those things you can't do full power until you have proper technique. Ever had fire paw and crabbed? (where your forearms turn into rocks and will no longer function, its hard for feathering) If you are just learning to row make sure you have a competent coach. I've seen so many people on the ergometers at my gym and I just want to go up to them and ask them if they hurt. And no one stays on it for more than 5 minutes because they are doing it wrong.

Make sure you do core excercises 3-5 times a week. Include superwomen or some kind of back strengthening, abdominal twist, and whatever crunches you like. Last year I rowed 3 times a week while training, but it is takes too long for me to get to the lake get out the boat row and then put everything away and wipe everything down now. I am focusing more on sport specific things, but whenever I have the chance I'm out there. The good thing about rowing is it generates so much power and explosive movement from the legs, which is great for the bike. And the strength in my shoulders and back I think have helped with the power of my swim stroke.

I say continue with your water pursuits. Training is about what makes you happy, that's why we continue to do it. Whether or not you can do two a days depends on your body your fitness and the intensity of each workout. Go into it gradually and keep at it. I started triathlon because I really like to compete, but it is too hard and to expensive to do regattas, plus I'd have to keep borrowing boats from my coach.

OK I'm done, what can you say you got me started on my other obsession.
Good luck.

Oh... Where is Zagreb?

I'm a former university rower with a lot of club and pre-elite experience.

If you're beginning as a sweep rower (one oar held in two hands), you run a much greater risk of injuring your back than if you start out sculling (rowing with two oars, one in each hand). As a sculler you can't pull all that hard until you develop a reasonable level of skill, which helps you develop the right way. A sweep rower can develop all kinds of bad habits that slow the boat because there's less feedback (unless you're in a pair, and even then it's not as good as a single scull). You are far smarter as a beginning rower to focus on skill rather than power. By the time you've developed skill you will be well on your way to power, and you won't hurt yourself in the process.

What sort of boat(s) are you rowing? What sort of coaching do you have?

Carrie

p.s. If you can get it I strongly recommend the book The Sculler at Ease by my old coach and guru Frank Cunningham.

Edited by CLLinIA 2005-04-01 3:35 PM

tnx you all for tips&advices! Also thank you for the time it took you to read my absurd long post and to answer it.


CLLinIA, I cancelled my first water session :-( so i don't know. Scull, i think. I am so lucky and happy to have Croatian rowing legend as a coach. He is a runner to. (that is how i met him). He is age group champion level athlete! I'm sure he will explain everything when i see him i just couldn't wait until then.


kanoelani, i simply ADORE Ridiculously Long posts (especialy as answer to my question)! As I said, i had my very first session last week, run day after it and was forced to cancel rowing session day after it. As i suffered many false starts i want to avoide it this time.
It should be double with my coach and he also mentioned quad. Afterwards I saw him in the scull so i suppose i will start in scull, too.
Zagreb is somewhat less then 400km southeast (by car) from Wienna. It is capitol of Croatia.


JohnnyKay, the problem is this:
-I can't swim with sore arms, so no rowing day before swimming.
-No upper body strength training 2 days before rowning or swimming.
-I couldn't run day after rowing or 2 days after core body strenght training although i felt no sorenes in my back but i just couldn't.
-I also can't row day after the run in order to rest my legs.
-No lower body strength training 2 days before rowing or running. So it is crossword puzzle i can't solve.
I follow rule of thumb «never train sore muscle» in order to heal broken muscle fibers properly, when I did not I was forced to wait much longer than that.

I think i will temporarily scratch everything from the picture besides rowing and that's it. I will see what will my coach say in Wednesday. He mentioned something about my running suffering over the phone, he told me that his 10k run that Thurs. was not so good as normal due to previous nights 10k rawing but he added that the rowing is more important to him! Man, he is 30 years older then me and I am not exactly in my teens, if you know what I mean ;-)

Sorry, Ill read the rest of your post when I'm done with this reply.
CROATIA!!!

Again the psycho rower comes out in me. You guys have some AMAZING ROWERS. Kind of makes the Americans look like the incredible hulk on water. I'm remembering back to 1996 Atlanta Olympic games the men's double, and watching the Croatians FLY past the American guys. I swear it looked like the stroke rate was 28 while our guys were at 36.

My coach made us watch this video, over, and over, and over. If you ever get a chance to watch these guys, who knows maybe one of them is your coach (mind you in ignorance I assume your whole national team rows this way, what can I say its all I know) watch the bow of the boat and how smoothly it glides over the water. There is very little if any check. There is a finesse along with strength. Remembering back to the American guys, they looked stronger more muscular, but you can't just muscle a boat through the water. If you do its like driving a car slamming on the gas pedal and alternatingly punching the break.

Check comes from slamming the front end. As you know in rowing you are going backwards, so when you come up the slide it needs to be smoothe and CONTINUOUS at the front end so as to not put any momentum going the opposite direction. You are not stopping at the catch, but changing direction, I like to think of it as an oval (a very narrow oval).

HAVE FUN! Let me know how your next session goes.

So are you just doing erg workouts so far (ergometer = rowing machine)? In that case, here's a tip to protect your back:

Make sure that you're swinging from the hip when you come forward. Keep your back long and extended out of your pelvis, not curved or bent from the waist. The real power all comes from your legs. Pull all the way through until you squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the stroke, then swing all the way forward again from your hips before beginning to bend your knees.

Oh also, are you posting all of your workouts?
Because it might just be an issue of building up your fitness, to be able to incorporate everything. Add a little at a time.

yes, finally i see that. i must step back, step back, step back and scale down my short term plans and wishes and that's it. thank you for helping me realising that. no pink challenge for me, yet.
well i guess if i spent 20 years sedentary then i must be patient now. i just have to stay persistent.
oh yes, our silver 2004 olimpic man's double (Skelin brothers) turned out to be gold! i'm so happy for them.

That's very cool. I've been hearing good things about Croatian rowing. Sounds like you're surrounded by knowledgeable people there. Just take it slow and you'll do great.