Rest Day 5/23/13: Check your Technique – Use the Force Curve! – Share Thoughts

Rest Day 5/23/13:

℅ Concept2.com - Come learn al about the force curve June 8-9 at CrossFit Boston!

℅ Concept2.com – Come learn al about the force curve June 8-9 at CrossFit Boston!

Check your Technique – Use the Force Curve!

What do you need work on?

Set the monitor to display the force curve during your next warmup to really dial in body awareness and technique.  Below is a video I took of :30 pieces that were programmed in January.  Listen carefully and you might hear me calling hustles for each Renegade to continue working on the changes they addressed in their warmup.

Use today as an active rest day and take 15 minutes to row light and focus on form.  Make everything feel smooth.  Watch your power curve on the monitor, is it a smooth inverted parabola?  Where’s the peak?  Throw in some pauses on different parts of the recovery.  Be in control of your stroke at all times and maintain good posture.  If you find something that seems jerky or out of control try to change it and make it different.  Experiment a little and have some fun!

Share your thoughts to comments.

Rest Day 5/19/13: Enjoy Regionals!

Rest Day 5/19/13:RR Recovering

Enjoy Regionals!

Athletes around the globe have been training all year for a shot at Regionals and a chance to make it to the Games.  Now is the time to see all of that hard work pay off.  Good luck to all competitors and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

On the water, rowers have been working hard all spring for the US Rowing Regional Championships.  This weekend junior teams from the Northeast will be competing in Lowell, MA on the Merrimack River for a chance to compete at Nationals in June.  Good luck to all crews!

Rest Day 5/12/13: Happy Mother’s Day! – Go for a Row with your Mom!

Rest Day 5/12/13:RR Sunset

Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope everyone gets a chance to hang out with their mom today and have some fun.  If you’d like to get her something special, consider giving her the gift of rowing!  Come to the CrossFit Rowing Trainer Course in Boston, June 8-9.  You’ll leave with a ton of knowledge, the experience of rowing on the water, and the tools you need to show your mom how to row better.

All the best!  – Coach Pat

Rest Day 4/25/13: Where will you be June 8-9? Register for the CrossFit Rowing Course in Boston!

Sunset on the Basin!  Boston is beautiful in the Summer!

Sunset on the Basin! Boston is beautiful in the Summer!

Rest Day 4/25/13:

Where will you be June 8-9? Share!

Register for the CrossFit Rowing Course in Boston! Click Here!

CrossFit Rowing Trainer Course – Boston, MA – June 8-9, 2013

Saturday, June 08, 2013 – Sunday, June 09, 2013
CrossFit Boston
114 Western Ave
Boston, Massachusetts 02134
United States
Spend two days with Coach Shane Farmer. The first day will be spent learning rowing technique, technical error analysis and correction, verbal cues, rowing physiology and kinesiology, how to structure a CrossFit rowing workout, maximizing rowing power and efficiency, increasing rowing power output for better WOD times/scores and more at this comprehensive workshop. The day will include lecture, rowing on the Concept2 indoor rowing machine, team teaching, and two CrossFit workouts. Knowing how to row correctly and teach rowing to your clients are invaluable skills within the CrossFIt community.

The second day will enable participants to take their rowing skills outdoors and into actual on the water racing boats. Transferring the skills learned on the indoor rowing machine to an on-water rowing experience will enable participants to further refine their technique and power output capabilities.

Day 2 – This day is set aside for those wishing to learn the basics of using a single person boat.  There is a lot to learn and everyone will face different challenges, but the focus is on having fun and learning the basics. No rowing experience is needed, however swimming skills are required. You should be able to swim a distance of 75 feet, tread water for 5 minutes and swim a distance of 20 feet under water. Everyone participating in the On Water Rowing will be required to sign a standard Athlete Release Form.

Here’s a peek at where we’ll be rowing on the water….

Rest Day 4/21/13: Where should we gather during the stroke? Share!

Rest Day 4/21/13:

Gather just before sliding forward.

Gather just before sliding forward.

Where should we gather during the stroke?

Come find out at the CrossFit Rowing Course being held at CrossFit Boston and Community Rowing Inc. June 8-9.

When performing cleans or snatches in a wod with moderate weight it is possible to touch and go.  In order to touch and go there is a gathering point just above the knee when returning the weight to the floor where athletes lock in their posture and prepare their body for the next repetition.  When rowing on the water many coaches talk about body preparation by half slide to be ready for the catch.  This usually involves thinking about or feeling a gathering point as the bodies swing forward out of the finish so that everyone in the boat can get together and time the catch correctly.  When rowing by yourself on the erg it is possible to slow yourself down on the recovery and gather yourself and your body preparation as you start to slide forward toward the next catch.

Take 5 minutes today to row nice and slow and see where you tend to gather yourself.  Too often competitors or athletes in the gym gather at the finish and dump their weight to the floor.  Instead think about the finish as a continuous movement and put a gathering point just after you swing the body forward and begin your slide.  This will save energy, improve your sequencing, and make everything much smoother.