So here i am doing tabata intervals on the C2 rower. I’ve quit using my legs till the end when I get tired. Instead I keep my legs slightly bent and my back straight and use only my hamstrings, ass and upper back/arms.
The logic behind this is that I want the glute/hamstring explosiveness and endurance to get nose up after I get sprawled in wrestling/BJJ/MMA/w/e you want to call it.
I used to extend legs and all that but quit in favor of a more hamstring dominant movement. I also get way better short distances like this
Then this little girl, paper thin and riding one of those bikes that doesn’t move, tells me on my second interval:
“You are going to kill your back doing that. do it like this… blah blah blah.” and I don’t respond because I have 6 more puking intervals to do. After I’m done I go and apologize for not responding and explain myself as above. She says: “even guys on the national team who, no offense, are way bigger than you (I loved this part) do it like this (demonstrates proper technique).” I explain my wrestling oriented situation and tell her I can do a 1:29 500m so I know how but choose not to. I then get back to helping my buddy train his intervals.
But Are there any rowers here that can confirm that I will indeed fuk my back even if it’s straight as hell (ah la deadlifts, good mornings etc.) and I’m looking at the roof, chest out? I’m sure I won’t but now I’m going to ask my chiro and ART. I’d rather feel it in my ass than in one of my quads only. If I want to burn out my thighs for no good reason I’ll go on the bike that doesn’t move.
I’m not a professional rower, but I do tabatas on the C2 rower, and it doesn’t hurt my back one bit. I’ve been doing them for a couple of months, and haven’t noticed any pain in the back.
I’m with you, I use my legs as little as possible, and I try not to use it on the last set, but sometimes, you have to.
A lot of people screw up rowing technique, so she probably thought you were one of many people who were never taught to do it properly.
Will you hurt your back? Hard to say. I can see why you want to do it that way, but I wouldn’t do it personally. That’s a lot of repetition on the lower back, even if you keep it straight.
Proper rowing technique intentionally gets the majority of its power from the leg drive, with the arms and lower back relying a large part on the momentum from the first portion of the pull.
If you’re looking for power in the posterior chain, I’d rely on weight training for that, not rowing. That way you’re only doing 30-40 reps instead of thousands.
There are no professional oarsmen – it’s one of the last truly amateur sports.
I was on several national teams (selections for events are endless… no one is on ‘the team’ as long as they would choose) and will gladly offer you any advice I have – feel free to PM me, too.
Anyway, we did miles of hips drills and back-only drills and scap drills and all sorts of things that involved different back angles and no legs. About the only thing that I believe will truly screw up your back are the things that hurt – the very things you wouldn’t do while deadlifting. I wouldn’t worry too much.
I think that’s the same sort of thing Leafblighter just said, and his (?) advice to leave posterior chain work to weights is not an unreasonable one; the erg’s rolling seat means the angles can be constantly changing under tension unless your knees are locked out, which can be bad. Keep your shoulders pinched back as much as possible at the finish and keep your back straight from the catch and you shouldn’t be risking much.
Of course, without a coach to watch you, your mileage may vary (caveat, caveat, …)
yeah sounds good to me. I typically use the weight for PC work. Like right now my hams are on fire from some over-acheiver front squats last night. I can’t even walk right.
So since I only row for less than 4 minutes in any one session I’ll keep my straight back and less leg drive form up. I knew I’d seen “real” rowers doing it before on a documentary.
But im too sore right now to even think about it so THX for the perspective lads.
One question for you RPB, why are you doing this? I think you’ll get plenty strong in the areas you described by doing it with normal form. Heavy lifting should take care of the rest.
Edit: Sorry missed previous post, answered my question
[quote]realpeanutbutter wrote:
yeah sounds good to me. I typically use the weight for PC work. Like right now my hams are on fire from some over-acheiver front squats last night. I can’t even walk right.
So since I only row for less than 4 minutes in any one session I’ll keep my straight back and less leg drive form up. I knew I’d seen “real” rowers doing it before on a documentary.
But im too sore right now to even think about it so THX for the perspective lads.
-chris[/quote]
If you’re only rowing for 4 minutes, you have nothing to worry about (unless you crank without a warmup).
I can direct you to instructional stuff if you want – PM me if you find you’re ever interested.
