This is a quick article and instruction on how to row correctly and efficiently. There are 2 main ways we calculate how far or how much we have rowed in a session. Meter’s and Calories. These are settings on a concept 2 rowing machine that can be easily switched between.
Rowing for Meter’s:
When our Rower is set to count meter’s, it will ascend at the speed and power in which you are creating. Typically in CrossFit we have short sessions where we only row up to for example: 500 meters. This is usually a session that takes anywhere between 1min 30sec – 3min. Time it takes you to complete 500m completely depends on you power output. Our rower gauges this output as a fraction, for example: 2:00m/500m. As an athlete generates more power this number decreases, for example: 1:50m/500m. This athlete will complete a 500 meter row in exactly 1min and 50 sec. An athletes pace will directly affect how long or how short it takes to finish rowing however many meters they are trying to row. This exercise is a staple for CrossFit and/or and type of high intensity training.
Rowing For Calories:
When our rower is set to count calories, again it will ascend at the rate at which the athlete is generating power. On a concept 2 rower an athlete can see his/or/her’s Calorie per/hour. This is how we measure the power output of an athlete during a CrossFit Workout. For example: If the WOD (Workout of the Day) was a 50 calorie row for time, the athlete would begin by reseting the rower to 0 and when the clock starts you would begin rowing. Measuring power output is the same as how long it takes the athlete to finish the 50 calories. We measure this by again, a fraction. This time it is (Calories/hour). So if an athlete is rowing a let’s say 60 calories/hour, it would take exactly 50 min to reach their goal which is 50 calories. As with meter’s, the time it takes an athlete to row a certain number of calories completely depends of their power output.
Rowing Technique:
Everyone has a different rowing technique, this mostly depends on body type, size, weight, and or height. Typically a larger athlete can produce a higher output. This is not always true. Proper technique will aways trump natural talent, regardless of size, unless your that Thor guy from Game of Thrones. If you’re not him, we do suggest you learn how to row as efficiently as possible. A technique we teach is called “sweet spot rowing”. We explain this below.
Sweet Spot Rowing Technique:
Sweet Spot Rowing is a style of rowing that involves not only doing the same thing consistently but keeping your mechanics as efficient as possible. We Typically start with our feet strapped in and two hands on the rower handles. Our position should be similar to a starting position of a Deadlift, Back Flat, shoulders upright and not sloped down. Our arms are completely locked and not bent. This movement begins with a drive of the legs to create force, now as the rower handle reaches the top of our knee’s it’s now in the “sweet spot”. This is where all of the power of our Quads, Hamstrings, Lower and Upper back are utilized. This is where we create the greatest force of the entire pull to accelerate the spin of the flywheel which in turn counts calories and/or meters more quickly. After the handle has past above our hips we are no longer able to use these same muscles. This is where we finish the pull with our Arms, Shoulders, and/or upper back. This last part of the pull does not create as much force, typically we tell athletes to take this part as time to take deep breaths in and/or out. An athlete must pull the handle until it reaches/touches the chest or upper abdomen area. The last step is to extend the arms forward towards the front of the rower, this allows the chain to reset itself inside the flywheel and also continue its spin for as long and far as possible. This in turn creates a greater power output which in turn burns more calories/ and or counts more meters. We hope you like our Rowing 101 Page. We are CrossFit Downtown Heights, Tampa, Florida’s not so hidden gem convientely located directly between Downtown Tampa and Tampa Heights Neighborhood.
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