Rowing WOD 7/23:

5 Starts

20min Technique Row

2x 500m Row

1st piece w/ a Start

2nd piece w/ a Sprint

In order to develop elite fitness one must develop and continually practice a wide variety of skills.  By learning to row efficiently the elite athlete will develop many of the same movement patterns and skills they seek in the daily hunt for health and fitness.  Rowing itself provides many skills to focus on and develop, like control, posture, timing, balance, and connection to name a few.  

Today’s Rowing WOD is a perfect opportunity to practice those skills and improve your efficiency.  After warming up, perform 5 starts with about a minute of rest in between.  A start is usually a set of shorter strokes that progressively lengthen out to get the flywheel or boat up to speed.  A common start sequence begins with a stroke from 3/4 slide, then 1/2 slide, then 3/4 slide, then a lengthen stroke, then a full stroke.  After each start assess whether or not you were precise in your movement.  Have a friend watch you.  See if you can dial in the length of each stroke and get your split down as far as possible by the fifth start.

After that pick three or four aspects of your technique that you want to focus on and row at steady pressure for twenty minutes.  The stroke rating should remain around 18 − 22 strokes per minute.  About every 10 strokes cycle through a different focus whether it be level hands, body preparation, connecting the seat with the hands, or slide control.  By the end of the twenty minutes you should be more consistent and more efficient with every stroke.

To end the day perform two 500m pieces.  The first should be performed with the starting sequence you practiced in the beginning.  The second should be consistent from the beginning and finish with a sprint.

Post your technique focus and 500m times to comments.