Rowing is one of the most popular at-home disciplines thanks to its low-impact nature and ability to target multiple muscle groups at once. While there are plenty of positives that can come from even a short rowing workout, athletes really begin to see the benefits once they match their sleek at-home equipment with a proper rowing stroke.
Now, if you’re just realizing that rowing is a skill set and there’s an actual right and wrong way to use these machines, don’t fret. We spoke to Austin Hendrickson, lead trainer at Aviron and owner of Training Tall, to identify some surprising tips to help take your strokes up a notch (or seven).
Why Proper Rowing Form Is Important
Because rowing employs so many muscles in a singular movement, you want to ensure you do it properly not just for efficiency's sake, but safety as well.
"One of the most common injuries we see with people using improper rowertechnique is lower back injuries," Hendrickson says. "That's because of the dynamic body lean and swing that we see throughout the stroke. By having good form, you can essentially eliminate all injury risk, whatsoever."
Tip 1: Ensure Your Footplates Are Set Properly
One of the quickest ways to set yourself up for success is to strap your feet in properly. Many athletes overlook foot placement as it relates to the entire stroke, but your foot height can greatly impact your performance throughout training.
“Ideally, you want your feet to sit as low as possible in the footplates where it's still comfortable,” Hendrickson says. “That ends up being, for most people, with the strap going across the widest part of your foot right below the big toe.”
While having the foot strap below the widest part of your foot — i.e., your shoelaces — may seem more secure, Hendrickson warns against it. This presumably correct setup can actually force your knees and feet higher into your stance during the constricted catch position, which can influence your ability to achieve a proper forward lean.
Tip 2: Sit at the Right Angle
It may seem intuitive enough, but Hendrickson cautions against just plopping yourself down ahead of a workout. Instead of sitting on the “meaty” part of your buttocks, think about sitting in a more anterior (forward) pelvic tilt, what Hendrickson calls “sitting on your junk.”
“Sitting on your junk is helping to get your lower back and whole spine into a good, natural position, so that when you get up to the front of a stroke, you’re not seeing any excessive rounding in your lumbar spine,” he says.
Tip 3: Find that Complementary Lean at Both Ends of Your Stroke
While it’s popular for trainers and other online resources to give a 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock reference point for the finish and catch of a stroke, respectively, Hendrickson states that these time-based metaphors may be a little too aggressive for indoor rowing. “If you really look at a clock and look at 10 o’clock, that’s a lot of layback,” he says.
Picturing yourself facing to the right, he recommends leaning back toward an 11 o’clock body positioning at the end of your finish sequence, and a complementary 1 o’clock stance at the start of your catch. These angles are less aggressive and can be better suited for transitioning energy throughout your stroke. They can also be great for adding some extra inches to your stroke length overall.
Tip 4: Use a Wide Grip
Another common mistake that novice rowers make? Grabbing the handle with too narrow of a grip. Instead, place your hands out near the edges of the handle. “If we get narrow, all of a sudden we get some funky wrist torque that, in the moment, you may not feel, but over time can develop into some wrist issues,” Hendrickson says.
A narrower grip also isn’t the most efficient when it comes to generating power from all your muscle groups. A wider grip along the handle can better engage your lats and other back muscles, leading to more powerful pulls as you transition from the catch to your finish and beyond.
Tip 5: Keep Your Transitions Fluid
If you look up the proper sequencing for a rowing stroke, it’s likely to read somewhat rigid: for example, with the recovery phase, advising you to punch your arms out followed by your torso and then bend your legs back into your catch sequence. While this “technically,” is the correct ordering of events, it’s wise not to take it too literally.
Instead, Hendrickson recommends taking a more natural, free-flowing approach to your returns by first dropping the arms down from the chest and then out to extension. Not only can this feel more comfortable and less engaging across the shoulders, but also the flowing nature can more easily pull your torso into the recommended 1 o’clock positioning.
Tip 6: Separate Your Leg Drive and Torso Lean
While keeping things fluid is recommended, that doesn’t mean actions need to happen simultaneously. One major area needing separation between sequences is in your drive back from the catch position, particularly in your leg drive and torso lean.
Rather than trying to lean back toward that 11 o’clock position at the same time you are straightening your legs, hold your 1 o’clock torso stance right up until your legs are completely straightened. “It’s the same reason why the deadlift is one of the strongest exercises you can do, that hip extension," Hendrickson explains. "That swing back, that use of the glutes."
Tip 7: Ask a Pro (Soon)
When it comes to rowing, bad habits can die hard. As such, Hendrickson advises seeking professional advice in the form of coaching or hands-on consultation.
Naturally, he recommends following along with coaching programs, like the ones you’d find with Aviron’s Strong Series Rower, as these can help keep mental cues and notes of emphasis upfront throughout your training regimen.
Additionally, his Training Tall platform offers personal coaching that addresses your own individual stroke. “People basically film themselves rowing and send it to me," he says. "Then, I can talk through it, draw over it, and send it back, and we kind of do this back-and-forth thing until their form is good to go."
Identifying “good” and “bad” rowing form is very difficult on your own, Hendrickson notes, which is why he recommends professional insight from the jump.
“My biggest advice is to just be patient with yourself and do your best to either follow along with a coach program or get some professional technique advice before you get too far along in your journey," he says." Once you’ve been rowing for many years without the proper instruction, you can end up developing habits that are harder to break down the line."
