Get Lean and Strong: The Rowing Machine

Rowing machine. Rower. Ergometer. Erg. Whatever you call it*, the erg is your best choice for a full-body workout, whether strength, weight loss, or fitness is your goal.

Rowing is a "strength-endurance" sport - physiologically, it's like lifting a weight again and again and again. It's not pure strength – all those "reps" limit the amount that you can lift. But neither is it pure endurance – all that weight will put a cap on the number of reps. Because it's both – and because rowing is a full-body motion – you can use rowing to enhance a wide variety of training dimensions.

*FYI: the usual term for a rowing machine is an “erg”.

JBSC (Just Burning Some Calories): Rowing for Fitness

If calorie burn is your goal, rowing to lose weight is a great option. Rowing machines are used by many trainers (and are featured on shows such as The Biggest Loser) because training on rowing machines burns more calories per hour than just about any other activity. Three critical elements: rowing with correct form, easing into rowing as 100% of your workout, and adding variety so that you don't get bored.

Rowing correctly

Check out Concept2's how-to or (shameless self-promotion) my NYTimes Well.Blog video for a quick intro to the rowing stroke. Ideally, get a friend who knows how to row to show you how, or check out a class at a rowing gym for actual instruction. If you're using correct rowing technique, it should feel challenging, but not like you're going to die after two minutes. Aim to take between 20 and 24 strokes per minute and try to go at least 5 to 10 minutes straight before taking it easy for a minute. The "fan setting" on the side of the machine, if there is one, should be at around 4. (Setting the fan at 10 will not give you a better workout on the rowing machine!) Adjust the feet height so that the straps run across the widest part of your foot.

Easing into it

If you've never run for a long (or short) distance before, the smart thing to do is run for a few minutes, walk for a minute, and repeat. Eventually, you'll be able to take shorter and shorter breaks until you can run continuously. The same goes for rowing. Aim for consistency, good form, and simple, strong strokes. Start out aiming to get in 20 minutes of rowing with 5 minutes of "paddling", or easy rowing (total workout length: 25 minutes). Break up the 25 minutes as 1 minute paddle, 4 minutes rowing, and repeat. Warm up before and foam roll/stretch after. Your legs, back and shoulders will thank you for it!

Add variety

The erg screen/monitor (right) and what it means!

Especially once you start getting comfortable with longer sessions on the rowing machine, you'll want to mix it up. The two ways to do this are stroke rating -- how many strokes you take per minute, usually between 20 and 30 -- and power, which you can monitor through your split -- the time it takes you to row 500 meters. Try breaking up your session into pyramids of different ratings or power - or both. For example, row 19 minutes as 4'-3'-2'-1'-2'-3'-4' at stroke ratings 22-24-26-28-26-24-22. Go faster (decrease your time per 500 meters, that is, your "split") as you increase the stroke rating.

More Rowing Workouts

Them Backs Though: Power Rowing

Rowing helps with Olympic-caliber strength (David Banks, left) and more power and endurance in your WODs (right).

It's no secret that rowers have some pretty nice backs. And legs. And arms. And abs. Part of that is that aside from rowing, most competitive rowers incorporate a good amount of strength training and core work into their training plans. But the rowing stroke is a great way to increase your "pull" strength and complements many Olympic lifts and related muscle chains. The keys: form and power.

Correct rowing machine technique

Check out the videos above for a visual on form. Even if you're rowing for power and strength, skip the underhand or alternating grip. The idea is to compress with a supported, upright body towards the flywheel, and then drive out powerfully with your legs, layering in a dynamic body swing and the arms finishing the stroke. Think 60-70 percent legs, 20-30 percent body, 10 percent arms. Just like a power clean or a high pull from the ground, the arms are mostly important for connecting the work you started with your legs and your back to the bar (or in this case, the erg handle). On the "drive", the powerful part of the stroke, you should feel engagement in your quads, glutes, core, and lats, and mostly be feeling the contact points of your feet on the footplate and the handle in your hands (more than your butt on the seat).

Power rowing

Some of the muscles activated in the rowing stroke. Image courtesy of GymNomads.

To build strength on the rowing machine, focus on taking powerful strokes at a low stroke rating. You will be able to do this at ANY fan setting; the harder you work, the stronger the machine's resistance will be. Do sets of 10-30 strokes as powerfully as you can with correct form, then "paddle" to recover for 10 strokes. Aim for a total of 80-120 strokes to start.  This is a work-recovery pattern similar to that of football, rugby, lacrosse, and many other sports: short bursts of power followed by some rest. Power-focused rowing is a great addition to just about any lifting program.

More Rowing Workouts

Rowing for Endurance and Cross-Training

It's always a hot debate whether rowers, swimmers, or cross-country skiers are the fittest athletes of all. (It's rowers, obviously.) Besides burning calories and building power, rowing is a great way to improve your endurance, whether your end goal is more rowing or another sport entirely. Rowing for running? Rowing for triathlon? Rowing for Ironman? Rowing to help your 10K, half-marathon, or marathon training? Rowing because you are recovering from a sports injury? Rowing will get you fitter! The keys are: good technique and breathing.

Rowing technique

Because rowing is a full-body workout, it's a great training supplement and even recovery tool to help you get in good training and strengthen your non-sport-specific muscle and endurance systems. If you've tweaked a foot or other body part in your training, rowing may allow you to keep training while giving that a rest. Check out the videos above and descriptions of good rowing technique to get started.

Breathing while rowing

Don't forget to breathe!

Whether you use rowing for interval training or to log miles, it will improve your aerobic system. Your goal while rowing should be to keep breathing well by sitting up and supporting your upper body. Most rowers take two breaths per stroke. Take a breath, roll up to the "catch", exhale on the "drive" (which will help you engage your core), then breathe in and out as your arms and body come back up the recovery. Then breathe in again as you roll up to the catch. Timing your breathing to the stroke, just like running, swimming, and cycling, will help you practice relaxation and efficiency.

More Rowing Workouts

Rowing Workouts to Lose Weight, Build Strength, and Get Fit

Power Rowing

•       Minute On, Minute Off. 5 minute warm-up: paddle, get loose, and take a few hard 10s (driving hard, get the stroke rating up between 25 and 30 for 10 strokes). Workout: 1 minute "on", driving hard at stroke rate 28, then 1 minute "off", paddling at stroke rate 20. Do 10 interval sets (20 minutes total). 5 minute cool down. PRO TIP: Try to match your speed or go a little faster each "on" interval.
•       1, 2, 3 Pyramid. Workout: 3'-2'-1'-2'-3'-2'-1'-2'-3' "on", with one minute paddle between each interval (i.e., 3’ on, 1’ off, 2’ on, 1’ off, etc.) Do your 3-minute pieces at stroke rate 22, 2-minute pieces at 24, and 1-minute pieces at 26. PRO TIP: If you're worried about keeping track of what piece you're on, use the menu [Select Workout: Intervals: Variable] to set up the whole workout ahead of time.
•       Rugby Workout. 5 minute warm-up: : paddle, get loose, and take a few hard 10s (driving hard, get the stroke rating up between 25 and 30 for 10 strokes). Workout: 1250m - 750m - 500m - 250m - 750m. All pieces are at max. Rest between pieces is 2'-90"-1'-90". You can also do this workout with a partner, where your work is their rest and vice versa. PRO TIP: Go for consistency as well as aggression - your fastest pieces will be when you hold one speed or get a little faster as the piece goes on.
•       Partner 500s. Workout: 8x500m, as fast as possible. Your partner's piece is your rest. PRO TIP: Use your average speed from your first piece as your starting point for subsequent pieces. "Negative split" (get faster within each 500m piece) for maximum training benefit.

Rowing Workouts for Fitness and Endurance

•       Playlist Workout (The Hook Brings You Back). Make a 20-, 30-, 45-, or 60-minute playlist. Press play and start rowing. Every time a song's hook or chorus comes on, raise your stroke rating 2-4 beats and "drop your split" (speed up) 3-6 seconds (i.e., from 2:15 to 2:11) and hold the faster speed and pace for the full hook/chorus. When the hook ends, transition back to your original speed and stroke rating. PRO TIP: Harmonica solo optional. Need to get started with a playlist? Check out the ones right here!
•       2K Variety. Set the monitor for 2000-meter intervals with 2 minutes of rest (you'll do four total). Treat each piece like four 500-meter pieces. Alternate, so that Piece 1 and Piece 3 are stroke rates 20/22/24/22 per 500, and Piece 2 and Piece 4 are stroke rates 22/24/26/24. "Paddle" (row with zero effort) or stand up and stretch during your 2' rest. PRO TIP: Keep consistent speed at each stroke rating from piece to piece - your stroke rate "24" 500 on Piece 1 should be the same speed as your "24" on Piece 4.
•       Miles for Miles. If you're looking to go for longer distances and times, still try to mix it up with different stroke ratings and speeds. To boost training, don't stay at any one stroke rating for longer than 1K to 2K (4 to 10 minutes). As you row for longer sessions, aim to keep your stroke rating between 18 and 22, and your heart rate between 130 and 160.

CFit-Specific Workouts and The CrossFit Open

•       For a faster Jackie and help with CFit Open workouts as soon as they're posted, check out my awesome teammate Erin Cafaro's YouTube channel for Crossfit Rowing tips.
•       Need help now? Tweet me: @estherlofgren.
•       What other rowing questions do you need answered? Post to the comment section below!
• 
  

Fun Times in the One-Times:How to Succeed in the 1x without Really Trying

It's summer again. Championship racing is either just over or just beginning for you. And chances are, you will be hopping in a single at some point this summer, whether to race it, because there's an odd number of rowers at practice, or because your coach has told you it will be "good for you."

It's no secret that the single is the most technically difficult boat to row. While some might claim it’s the naturally-asymmetric pair—perhaps also because of the pair feature that the late coach Mario Katunarich explained as, "If something is wrong, it’s either you or the other guy…and it's usually the other guy”—the responsibility of moving the single rests entirely on you. Unlike an eight, where there is a coxswain calling "Ports—tap down at the finish!" or "Catches in!", in the single there is simply a constant internal monologue: "Row better—me!"

The women's team has spent most of this year sculling, in singles and larger boats, and we are currently training in singles for at least one practice every day. Although I've been sculling for more than ten years, this is the first year that I've really felt I can move a single well. Every day is still a learning process, though! I talked to some of the best scullers on our team, who are also rowing in singles right now, to see what insights they had on rowing the boat. Believe it or not, the best scullers in the world are thinking about the same things that people just learning to scull should be thinking about! Sometimes, it's funny to me how simple our sport is (although rowing the single is anything but simple!)

--The single only moves forward when your blades are in and your leg drive is connected to them. The single actually moves very slowly. For steady state, unlike an eight, you could actually keep up just by running along the shore. Therefore, it’s that much more important that you make sure you are connected before you drive, because an ineffective catch will not only add less speed, it will make the heavy boat even heavier and slower before your next catch. Stesha Carlé, who raced the 2x at the 2010 World Championships, says that one of her favorite drills to build a good leg drive is the reverse pic drill.

Sit comfortably at the catch with blades flat on the water, feeling your body weight down in your hips, with your core engaged so that your chest isn't supported only by your quads. Square your blades and bury them. Tap down with both hands and "bounce" in the water, fully submerging and fully releasing both blades, about one catch every second or two. By itself, this catch placement drill is great for feeling comfortable in the boat and confident at the catch.

To build off of the catch placement drill: after ten catches, use your last catch to connect and take a top-quarter stroke (use about 4-6 inches of your track, moving only your hands—to catch—and your legs to drive). Row top-quarter on the feather for ten, then lengthen to legs only for ten strokes. Take your time, making sure you can feel the blade submerge before you drive the legs. Add the body: place the catch, drive the legs, connect the torso. Don't jerk the finish to yank the blades out—tapping down lightly at the end of the connection will pop them out. Finally, add the arms. Don't worry about your boat speed; just try to feel the connection from the catch all the way to the finish in a smooth, aware motion. Try to carry that feeling over into the rest of your row.

--The worst thing that can happen in the single is that you'll flip. Okay, actually, hitting something could be worse, but most of what holds us back from trying to make technical changes is the fear that we'll lose our grip on an oar, catch a crab, or do something else that will cause that long, slow, tip over, as the thought "Agghh! I knew this would happen!" flashes through our minds. All in all, though, flipping's not that bad. Imagine being a pole vaulter or a ski jumper and having your coach tell you that you need to make a technical change. At least we're not 25 or 80 feet in the air when we realize we're having an "Oops!" moment!

We all try to be comfortable in the single—the boat’s inherent instability is one of the reasons it’s so difficult to row well—and pause drills and square blade rowing are the means to achieving better comfort and a feeling of control. Multiple-time NSR1 single winner, Head of the Charles Champ Single winner, and U23 World Champion Gevvie Stone says that core awareness and square blade rowing help her stay balanced and level in the single. “Not only does square blade rowing help the balance, but it also helps me to be more horizontal on the drive and recovery,” said Stone. “It also helps me have a cleaner release and catch,” she added.

Besides square blade rowing, the same pause drills and catch placement drills you did with your high school, college or club program in sweep boats are very useful for improving in the single. Drills such as a double pause at the finish—tapped down, blades off the water—and then at the gunwhales—with knees relaxed, arms extended and body over—can help you find relaxation on the recovery and a confident catch. Stone focuses on engaging her core and feeling connected to the footplate through the entire stroke to keep rowing well, even through the final strokes of a race.

--Don't pull so hard! When you're trying to learn to scull or make technical changes in the single, one of the worst things you can do is to get competitive and try to go at a certain speed or beat someone else on the water. If it's a piece that your coach is timing or a race, don't hold back. But if it's a technical row, treat it like a yoga class—it's not about "beating" other people, but about focusing on yourself and improving the things you need to work on. If you're only focused on beating someone else, chances are you're not thinking about putting your blades in before you drive, or you're going to tense up in the boat because you're not working on the set.

"The single is reactive—you can't throw yourself around," says the stroke of the 2010 World Championships quad, Natalie Dell. "Everything has to be three times smoother and more patient than you think it needs to be." Taking deliberate and effective strokes will ingrain good habits, so when you do bump up the pressure, you'll be able to think about racing, not just whether or not you're going to catch a crab!

For those looking for a magic bullet: unfortunately, the best way to get better in the single is to...take more strokes in the single! But if you focus on these things, you will find yourself rowing better very quickly. Just remember to relax, breathe, and maybe even enjoy it!

**Photos courtesy of Katelin Snyder and USRowing**

Notes on 1x Training

So this may be more of a personal training journal entry than a blog entry, but I had a really great training session in the single yesterday and thought I would share some of my realizations. Well, mostly the things that Linda told me to think about, because I have been rowing and racing and training in the 1x since my junior year of high school, and I made more effective changes in the 45 minutes I spent with her than I did in the last 5, 6 years of trying to figure things out on my own! Part of me thinks I should be upset about that (think about how many training sessions I have spent working so hard at taking bad strokes!), but instead I am so happy to finally be starting to have a more effective technique that that doesn't even enter the equation. Anyways, here are the 4 things Linda had me focus on:

1. Wrapping my hands further around the oar. This feels slightly uncomfortable, because the sensation is one of diminished control over the feathering and squaring of the blade. The goal with this is to have flat wrists when the fingers start to roll the oar out at the finish, so the wrists are actually slightly lifted at the catch and throughout the drive. When this is done properly, the work can be felt as locked on through the arms throughout the drive, and the legs' drive is effectively translated through the lats and then the arms onto the blade.
2. Holding my shoulders down and engaging the lats just before the catch. This is tricky because it doesn't feel loose and relaxed, the way it's easy to think a recovery should feel. When I was able to do this, the catch was quicker and the leg drive more effective off of it because my whole body was ready to go as soon as the blade was buried. The feeling is almost like I'd imagine it feels to wear those big football shoulder pads, sort of a solid locked feeling in the shoulders which pushes them down. Then, off the drive, the only feeling in the arms is after the elbows break for the finish, and all of the work is down in the lats--it feels like all the power is in the engaged lats, swinging low back, and the quads as they drive the hips back.
3. Transfer of pressure on the hands from drive to release. Linda gave the visualization of the left-hand handle as a clock face as you look along the shaft towards the blade. As you pull in, the pressure is felt in the fingers and is geometrically aligned at "3 o'clock". At the finish, the pressure switches instantaneously to "12 o'clock"--there is no transition through 2 and 1, and no pushing around at 10 or 11 to get the blade out. In order to do this, the stroke has to finish a bit earlier than with maximal layback--essentially a visualization of releasing at almost the shorts line, which results in a finish a couple of inches in front of the shirt. The result is a powerful drive the entire time the blade is in the water, and a quick release that doesn't slow the boat down or wobble the set with an uneven blade extraction. This is helped further by keeping the elbows high during the drive and at the release, which feels kind of like a bench pull into somewhere between your sportsbra line and bellybutton while swinging the elbows out from your sides (I suppose like a narrow-grip bench pull, then).
4. Lowering the hands slightly and gradually from release to catch. This results in the blades being high enough off the water to square them cleanly, while also better enabling the lats to pre-engage (1). Thinking about bringing the blades from a fairly high release a few inches in front of the shirt, closer to the toes as the seat starts up the slide, results in more room to square up just before the catch. This is one of the things I need to work on the most, since it feels a bit like I need training wheels once I have that much more space in which to work!

Anyhow, those are a few of the things I am learning and working on...It's kind of difficult to hold all of them in my head at the same time while steering and trying to stay clear of crazy high school crews, so I end up thinking about one or maybe two for twenty strokes at a time, but I feel like a new rower! Hopefully, this extremely helpful coaching will result in me being able to move a boat more effectively…and feel faster and more powerful…which is really what this whole sport is about anyway!