Rowing for wellness and the reasons for this blog.

Hello readers,

My name is Xeno Muller. I am 36 years old, married and father of four children. I live in Southern California, Costa Mesa to be exact. I run an indoor rowing studio, called the Iron Oarsman, sell indoor rowing workout DVDs and I coach on the water.

My rowing background goes all the way back to when I was 13 years old. My first strokes were taken on the Seine river in France. Six years later, I rowed for Brown and competed at three Olympics. In 1992, I almost made the finals in the men's single scull, but missed qualifying by half a boat length. In 1996, I made it and won gold in the single scull. In 2000, I returned from Australia with silver.

There is plenty more to write about myself, but the point of this blog is to further help people achieve there personal goals. After five years running the Iron Oarsman, I gained a lot more perspective about rowing and its beneftis, which goes way beyond the competitive aspect of the sport.

99% of our members at the Iron Oarsman, have never rowed on the water. I learned of their personal reasons and motivations, as to why they started working out with us. In this blog, I will write about training for competition, but also on rowing's health/therapeutic & wellness benefits.

In my opinion rowing is still completely unknown to the rest of the world. Yet so many would love to row to feel better and improve their quality of life without ever planning to compete in their life time.

I am looking forward to doing research and blogging here on Row2K.

So for now I wish you a great fall/spring depending hemisphere.

All the best, Xeno www.ironoarsman.com

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Come row a WaterRower at our Indoor Rowing Studio afterwards you can walk along the Pacific Ocean.

Hello Rowers,

You might want to come visit the Iron Oarsman and row a WaterRower.

I took these pictures last night with my IPHONE. It so happens that the lighting was just perfect for the lower photo resolution of the IPHONE.

See you soon here in Southern California.

Xeno

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

The latest with my WaterRower rowing machine on youtube.

On Youtube

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Breathing technique while rowing.

Hello Rowers,

It came to my attention that breathing technique is not a commonly understood in rowing.

I had two Olympic coaches, Harry Mahon, and Marty Aikten.  They were respectively from New Zealand and Australia.

Harry and Marty taught me to row effortlessly.

Here is in words what such rowing technique is:  At the catch ready to engage the leg drive, the upper body is at a "forward body angle" with the lower back supported so that the tilt occurs by hinging at the hip joint.  The shoulders are set forward relaxed, arms are straight at the elbow, handle held in the finger tips.  The head neck and back form an ergonomic line.  The shins are vertical, and for most the ball of the foot is connected to the foot board, while the heels are off the board.  

The drive is started through the legs, the heels descend onto the foot board as soon as the first quarter of the seat travels on the track.  The body angle starts engaging the swing in the last quarter of the leg drive, when the legs are the most powerful and the seat travels the least.  Engaging the upper body swing in the last quarter of the leg drive is key to being able to lever the short yet powerful travel of the seat/body.

The finish position has a supported lower back.  The upper body is slightly beyond vertical.  The forearms are parallel to the ground/water.  Wrists are flush with the back of the hand, forearm, and first two row of knuckles.  Chest is "out" because throughout the entire stroke cycle the back is ALWAYS supported.  The handle travels to the body through the CONTRACTION of the latissimus muscle.

Recovery has the entire body relaxed.  Hands travel away from the chest.  Arms and upper body REST on the handle of the oars or the handle of the rowing machine.  As the arms straighten out at the elbow, the shoulders and then the upper body follow, HINGING at the HIP JOINT.  The knees stay straight until the hamstrings feel engaged, the rolling back into the catch occurs because of the contraction of the hamstring, AND NOT THE contraction of the hip flexor.

Key to efficient rowing is to HANG off the leg drive, letting the legs do the work,  while the shoulders and arms hang straight.  

Therefore breathing is key to the above technique:  Absolute relaxation occurs through exhaling.  With lose lungs, hanging of the leg drive is natural.  As the acceleration progresses and the upper body swings OPEN the lungs fill with air and provide a strong finish position.  

At higher intensity the breathing is doubled up.

Some rowers breath in on the recovery and exhale at the finish.  This leads to a shorter stroke length and early use of the upper body.  A the finish when exhaling the posture "crumbles" on the lower back, and usually knees buckle, instead of staying straight to connect through the foot board.

That is it for now.

Xeno

 

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

The sound of water, beautiful to listen to and quiet enough for family life.

This afternoon I "went" for a row in my living room. I wheeled my WaterRower next to the TV as my children and wife were watching Dancing with the Stars. The sound of the water swishing around, as I was rowing, created a peaceful white noise. Before, when I used a rowing machine with loud air resistance, I had to find a place different from our home's common area. I didn't like missing out on family time.

I like a daily routine, which encompasses two workouts. In the morning, I run a class at our indoor rowing gym, The Iron Oarsman. Later in the day, at home, I jump on my WaterRower for a tranquil 10 kilometer row. This daily workout rhythm makes me feel great and gives me a peaceful state of mine.

I absolutely love how I can simultaneously be with my family and push stroke after stroke enjoying my workout on the WaterRower.

Here is the information for WaterRower.

Story in a British newspaper.

Xeno

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.