Training to Train for Rowing

March 10, 2017 1:54 PM

Best way to prepare for a beginners rowing class in two months?

I'm taking a beginner rowing class in two months, which will include 8 person rowing. I would like to be somewhat prepared so I'm not the weakest link. How should I prepare? My upper body strength isn't great (this is one of the reasons why I'm taking up rowing), should I focus on something like push-ups? Is leg flexibility critical? I can't touch my toes.

posted by gagoumot to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

Best answer: If this will be in a racing shell with sliding seats, most of the power of each stroke actually comes from the legs. You won't need to be able to touch your toes -- the motion goes from folded up with knees bent, to legs fully extended with the upper body leaning back. You'll learn the rowing motion in your class, but basic aerobic endurance will help. Something like running or a bike will be fine to build up aerobic endurance. Lunges (or walking lunges) are good for the legs. For your upper body, push-ups are a great all-around exercise, but it's the opposite movement of rowing. Bodyweight rows are tricky, but if you have access to a barbell or cable-row machine, those would work well. Exercises where you pull perpendicular to your body or parallel (upward) would both be good. For rowing exercises, it helps to focus engaging the muscles in your back that do most of the work. Good luck!
posted by stopgap at 2:34 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Cardio. Serious cardio.
posted by MattD at 2:50 PM on March 10, 2017

Legs and general cardio. Most of the work in rowing comes from the legs and core, not the arms.
posted by Aizkolari at 3:47 PM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I used to cox a long time ago, and train with the crew. Running and interval strength training is great, lunges too.

Best would be to start trying out rowing on an erg (see photo in this article - I don't necessarily recommend these workouts). Everyone is bang-on that a lot of the strength needs to be coming from the legs, and on an erg, you can get used to using your legs to push yourself back on the sliding seat. Usually you can find ergs at a well-equipped gym, and I would recommend poking around on YouTube for some how-tos.
posted by Paper rabies at 4:06 PM on March 10, 2017

Squats, pull-ups, interval cardio (sprints).
posted by kevinbelt at 4:27 PM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Do you have any access to an erg? This is the major thing that will help. IME, they're pretty common in gyms, though there'll be one erg for every 20 or so ellipticals / stationary bikes / treadmills. Watch a video on technique before getting on an erg; most people I see erg at the gym do it poorly (slouching, utter lack of rhythm), which is a good way to develop bad habits for being in an actual boat. Doing 6ks on an erg (similar time/effort to running a 5k) and maybe some sprints (intervals of rowing 500m, resting for two minutes between) is a fine way to prepare.

I doubt a beginner class is going to have punishing workouts, because it takes a while just to learn basic technique and to work together as a boat, but it will help you to have enough mental toughness / cardio fitness / core strength to be comfortable being active for an hour or however long your class is. You never totally rest on a boat; even when you're not actively rowing you need to be aware of your surroundings and will often be hunched up a bit holding yourself in place (so the person behind you can row without hitting you in the back), so core strength and mental focus are good for that. Core strength is also important for technique, even though as others have said, most of the power comes from your legs. Flexibility and arm strength are nice but the lack of them isn't a big deal.
posted by orangejenny at 5:03 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

If your upper body is weak, only addition I can think of is scapular retraction with very low resistance (with a Theraband, *very* low resistance), a little ahead of doing the bodyweight rows stopgap mentioned.

(Because if you're weak, it's easy to rely only on parts of your shoulder to pull, but if you can really activate your back - literally put your back into it, ie your shoulder blades - it makes that movement way more efficient & easier on your shoulders [and elbows & wrists].)

I avoided the rowing machine for ages bc of wrist & shoulder pain. Just tried it out again recently after working quite a bit on scapular retraction (in addition to regular seated rows & lat pulldowns), and was amazed that I could do it for a good while. If the scapulae are in it, the energy stays in your back instead of travelling down your arms. Upper body shouldn't be that involved for rowing anyway, as people have said, and not everyone will need this, but if you are *really* on the weak or imbalanced or imbalanced side, it may help. )
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:39 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I started rowing just over a year ago! I love it -- I hope you do too. If your hamstrings aren't flexible, definitely work on that. My coach often says that if we're only going to do one thing in between practices (I'm on a casual team that only practices 2-3 times/week), it's stretching, especially our legs. I like to start out my day with (careful!) stretches in the shower; I feel like the warm water helps me limber up a bit. When I started rowing, I couldn't even get down to my ankles, but now I can touch the floor easily.

I would actually discourage you from spending much time on the erg before going to your class -- erging is really, really easy to do wrong and bad habits in rowing are hard to unlearn. At my learn to row class, we started on the erg before moving into a boat; my impression is that this is fairly common.

Do squats and stretch, buy some Spandex, and get ready to have fun and work hard!

PS I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're in NYC, message me! We might be at the same club!
posted by naturalog at 10:16 PM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you can get access to a good rowing instructor - one you find through Concept 2, not someone at a CrossFit box or Orange Theory -then get on an erg. Concept 2 also has videos and stuf.
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:48 AM on March 12, 2017

Everything said above is great advice, but I want to emphasize core work! Make sure your core is strong.
posted by ATX Peanut at 7:08 AM on March 15, 2017