13: Video Review: What do you think of your form?

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Video Review

From time to time it can be beneficial to look at yourself on camera. No we don’t care about the aesthetics or the fashion. We’re looking to gain feedback and a mental picture. We’re looking for just one or two cues that might give us a smoother, more powerful stroke. What’s going right? What’s going wrong? What can we do better?

You should be asking yourself, “What do I look like now? How do I move now? What could use some extra focus and improvement next time?” Don’t dwell on to many things at a time, just find one or two things that might make your life on the erg or in the boat a little better. Go work on them. Then reassess in a couple of weeks.

The Renegade Rowing Club has agreed to help everyone by taking a look at their strokes. If you’d like feedback similar to this, post a 20 second clip of you rowing to YouTube and share it with us in the comments of this post. I’ll do my best to give you a couple of things to work on!

For each of the following videos I’ll be ranking each rower on their posture, control, and connection. I’ll use a five point scale where 1 = poor and 5 = perfect. When dealing with posture we’re looking for the torso to be stacked and strong at all times. When talking about control we are looking at the smoothness of the recovery and how the seat moves toward the catch. Does it rush forward for the next stroke? Is there control in the last few inches of the slide to change direction without pushing the boat backwards? Last and most important, connection, are the seat and handle connected and moving together into and out of the catch as if connected by a belt.

Take a look and share what you might focus on next time you row!

Posture: 3, Control: 3, Connection: 2

Feedback: Nice job getting the body over. Don’t let the seat stop at the catch. Be ready to push with the legs the second you hit the catch and keep the seat and hands connected.

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Posture: 3, Control: 3, Connection: 4

Feedback: Nice horizontal hands. Don’t let the handle pause at the finish. Focus on quicker hands away as if there were opposing magnets on the handle and your chest trying to push those hands away out of the finish.

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Posture: 4, Control: 3, Connection: 3

Feedback: Great posture and nice job getting the body over. Try not to be so rigid and don’t break the elbows as you initiate the drive. Relax a little on the recovery and make everything smooth.

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Posture: 3, Control: 2, Connection: 3

Feedback: Nice job getting the arms extended and ready for the catch. Try to not be so robotic and rigid at the finish. Focus on quick and smooth hands away. The handle should always be moving.

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Posture: 4, Control: 3, Connection: 2

Feedback: Good posture and nice horizontal hands. Don’t let the shoulders and torso reach for more at the catch. Focus on staying connected as you approach the catch. See if you can get the body over and find that reach earlier in the recovery, before you get to half slide.

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Posture: 3, Control: 4, Connection: 2

Feedback: Great work getting your body over on the recovery and getting prepared by half slide. Don’t let your posture go as you approach the catch. Focus on bringing the handle with you as you push the knees down. The first inch or two of the drive you are shooting the slide, so keep a big chest and solid abs/back as you push.

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Posture: 3, Control: 3, Connection: 2

Feedback: Nice power and push on the drive. Try to keep your hands on one level plain and don’t let them drop coming into the catch. Focus on pointing the toes as you finish and then getting the proper sequence of arms away first, bodies over, and then knees come up during the recovery. Everything blends, but that’s the order of firing in terms of sequence.

Rowing WOD 12/11/13: 4Rds Max Reps – 1′ Row, 1′ KB Snatch, 1′ DU, 1′ KB Snatch, 1′ Rest – Post Score

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 12/11/13:

The RRC warming up on Monday night with Good Mornings and Goblet Squats. Who’s ready for the Renegade Rowing League December 21st?

4 Rounds for Max Reps of …

1min Row for Calories

1min Left Arm Kettle Bell Snatch

1min Double Unders

1min Right Arm Kettle Bell Snatch

1min Rest

Today’s Rowing WOD will be a good burner to get your lungs going and allow you to really focus on a solid core. The double unders and kettle bell snatches are technical and require a higher focus on skill and efficiency. For the double unders try to keep your wrists loose and get into a good flow that you can maintain. A good goal would be to go unbroken for a minute. With the one arm kettle bell snatch focus on driving through the heels and getting good hip extension to move the weight. A bonus for the KB Snatch is that it requires you to keep a stable core and not allow your torso to rotate. Any movement that involves an anti rotation component and stabilizing of the core is good for rowing. Every time we reach out to the rigger in sweep rowing there is both a compression and rotation on our spines, which can lead to disc injuries over time. By strengthening the core and resisting rotation we can prevent those injuries from happening. So keep that chest up and don’t let the shoulder drop too much through the bottom! Here is a good link from Rogue Fitness on the Kettle Bell Snatch: http://youtu.be/6l2Iu26oWW8

Post your total score and thoughts to comments!

Rowing WOD 12/10/13: 5x800m w/ 2min Rest – Post Splits

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 12/10/13:

Greg is ready for the Catch!

5 x 800m w/ 2min Rest

1st @24 s/m

2nd @26

3rd @28

4th @30

5th @32

Some of our best results are found when training at high intensity. In order to develop as an athlete you’ll need to develop an ability to go hard and bring your “A” game. Today’s Rowing WOD provides an opportunity for just that. Set the monitor for 800m of work and 2 minutes of rest. While the stroke rating starts out low, there should be a focus on power per stroke and solid intensity across all five pieces. The increasing stroke rating will give you a chance to see where you’re most effective. Ideally whenever the stroke rating is increased the split should decrease. Try to pick a split for each stroke rating and commit for the whole piece. The last 3 should be around race pace.

Post your Average 500m Splits for each piece to comments.

****Renegade Rowing Club****

Last night we worked on goblet squats to the erg in the warmup to complement the explosiveness we want in the legs at the catch. We also reviewed the strap drill to feel suspension through the whole stroke. Keep working to turn the legs on and suspend at the catch. Here is a picture of Renegade Rower Thor getting after that suspension and explosiveness.

Keep Crushing It Thor!

Rowing WOD 12/9/13: 4x10min w/ 1min Rest – Post Splits

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

Rowing WOD 12/9/13:

4x10min w/ 1 min Rest As Follows:

4min @18s/m Steady, 1min @20s/m Pressure, 4min @18s/m Steady, 1min @20s/m Pressure
1min Rest
4min @20 Steady, 1min @22 Pressure, 4min @20 Steady, 1min @22 Pressure
1min Rest
4min @22 Steady, 1min @24 Pressure, 4min @22 Steady, 1min @24 Pressure
1min Rest
4min @24 Steady, 1min @26 Pressure, 4min @24 Steady, 1min @26 Pressure

Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? Are you good at long distance pieces or do you lose focus and consistency? Are you strong during 500m pieces but can’t maintain power for anything longer? Or perhaps your peak power needs improvement?

In Training and Rowing we are constantly trying to improve our skills and strengthen our goats. Take a look at your performances and accomplishments for the month of November. What needs work or could use some improvement? Take that to heart and if you can only fit in a couple of Rowing WODs per week, focus on the ones that will strengthen those weaknesses.

Today’s focus is developing the consistency and aerobic base to maintain pressure at race pace for longer pieces. During the Steady State portion try to pull the same 500m Split every stroke. Effort should be such that you can hold a conversation, but you are aware of your breathing. During the Pressure portion ensure the split drops as the stroke rating increases. It should be harder to get out full sentences during the one minute of Pressure.

Post your Average Splits and what you plan to focus on in the coming weeks!

Rest Day 12/8/13: Poll – What does your facility offer? Rowing, Strength, or Both?

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Renegade Rowing

I’m always curious to hear what everyone has to work with. If you have a quick second please fill out the poll below. Someday I dream of opening a boathouse that has enough room for a legitimate gym where rowers can get all of the strength and conditioning they need and other athletes can give rowing a shot in their off-season. If you know of one please let me know!

Checkout members of the Renegade Rowing Club working on their connection and speed with rowing and olympic lifting last week!