Chronic issues on the water with boats and technique.

Hi Rowers and Coaches,

Yesterday as I was communicating with a couple rowers over the internet it occurred to me that I ought to write about chronic problems that I encounter and hear about of technique and rigging issues, here goes:

This is not good enough of a hang either :-)

Scullers and sweep rowers seem to be chronically rigged too far into the stern, which forces an insanely uncomfortable lay back.  This leads to washing out of the blades at the finish and contributes to a sore lower back.  The biceps are overdeveloped and the latesimus dorsalis underdeveloped. The finish posture leads to a bunched up recovery where arms away is combined with a forward body angle similar to the hunchback of Notre Dame, and a skyward tug of the knees which is solely the result of contracting the hip flexor, totally leaving out the far more important hamstrings.  The movement of the seat arrives too early to the end of the track which stops the knees and allows a lurch of the upper body which leads to a drop of the handle height, a late squaring and skying of the blade.  In a women's  eight, the shoes are usually set too low making over-compressing of the knees likely and perpetuating the lurch at the catch.  The leg drive tends to be shortened through the steeper angle at which the legs are at extension because of the low foot board position and over-sized shoes.  Men in sweep and in sculling are rigged too low, while women are rigged too high.  In sweep rowing, the inboard handle is either too short, or the span too wide.  The sculls and sweep oars are held in fists instead of fingers creating blisters in the palm of the hand.  Shoulders during the drive look like they are attached to the rower's earlobes.  That catch occurs when the boat sits deep in the stern instead of when the hull comes out on its own buoyancy. During the drive the notion of hanging of the leg drive is fuzzy.  Hanging does not mean contracting muscles above the hip joint while pushing with the legs.  Heels come off the foot board at the finish creating and perpetuating the lack of support in the lower back and the lack of use of the hamstrings to lever the swing of the upper body against the last quarter of the leg drive, which is the most powerful angle, but also the shortest distance the seat travels, creating a drop of the knees indicates the loss of connection between leg drive and upper body swing.  Catches are performed with an early opening of the back, clearly showing that the knees/legs are not the primary driving force of the rowing stroke.  Arms are used in similar manner as a squirrel holds an acorn, which slows down the extension of the legs and uses up the draw too early in the stroke which then prevents a supported finish position.  Foot boards are usually too flat instead of too steep.  Larger junior teams spend more time lining the boats up than worrying about training at target heart rate and building torque.  Junior teams tend to train too little at the aerobic zone, and too often at and above the anaerobic threshold.  Such training leads to injury, mental and physical plateau, an angry coach, because the team is not improving, a dislike of returning to the boathouse, low self esteem.  Coxswain are the most underrated assets in a boathouse.  If the coach new how to coach, the coxswain would make the coach's life a living dream.  Coxswains feel boat and hear what the team is saying without the coach hearing it.  The coach is to a crew what a five star general is to an army, therefore the coxswain is a four star general. 
Ok, got to quit I have a couple stroke analysis to do.
You can find me on www.xenorowingcoach.com and @rowingadviser on twitter.  You can row with me at www.row2go.com.
Happy February and know that I am certain that you can go 20 seconds faster on a 2K if you have never been coached by me or have made it to the national team.

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