Rowing

gowans · 05-11-2009, 10:20 AM

Hi,

Was wondering what bodyparts indoor rowing works, is it compound or isolation? Also is it a effective way of working muscles ie, adds lots. then finally what distances i should be doing a week and how often. I DONT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT RESISTANCE.

Cheers (reps for best)

GOWANS

Catchpole · 05-11-2009, 10:25 AM

Indoor rowing as in like a rowing machine with sliding seat and cable?

WCP1200 · 05-11-2009, 10:40 AM

A rowing machine is good for cardio but not for building muscle. 5 km would be good for cardio but like i said you need to lift weights to build muscle.

Xtr · 05-11-2009, 11:02 AM

Rows work the rhomboids in the back and the biceps as far as I know.

flipnch1nese7 · 05-11-2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowans

Hi,

Was wondering what bodyparts indoor rowing works, is it compound or isolation? Also is it a effective way of working muscles ie, adds lots. then finally what distances i should be doing a week and how often. I DONT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT RESISTANCE.

Cheers (reps for best)

GOWANS

Hey man! I'm a novice rower at my university, hopefully you're talking about an erg (rowing machine w/ slide and handle) and not a seated row type machine haha!

It's a full-body thing if you're doing it right, really research technique and better yet, have someone show you. It's a three part stroke on the drive and three parts on the recovery, starting with a drive in the legs, using your torso and back to transfer that leg power through the handle, then finishing with the arms. The recovery is the reverse.

The best way to get a good workout is to do it competitively. Not start straight off going for the fastest times possible, but finding a program that lets you build over time and get things right before you shoot for some fast times (typical race distance is 2,000m).
You'll find two programs called the Pete Plan and Wolverine Plan at www.c2forum.com or www.concept2.co.uk/forum , could definitely try those out and get more rowing specific advice over there.

You should know three things:

Rowing will not necessarily build mass, it's cardio, after all. That said, your legs might grow a little if you stick to it long enough and it does work your lats and abs.

Rowing is a long-term commitment. More than 2-3 months.

And I know you didn't want to know anything about resistance, but just to make sure, the resistance level you put on the fan doesn't mean anything on the times. When it flashes your 500m split on the monitor, that's incorporating the resistance, and it's better for you to set it to 4-5 (drag rate of 110-135) to reinforce proper technique and get better leg drive.

gowans · 05-11-2009, 01:52 PM

hey cheers man yh i did 5000m in 25mins the other day could of easily done better drag rate was 5 or 6 cant remember so hope to inprove i will only have acess to the machine for a 2 hour slot once a week so not long. I'm fine with the technique pulling it into your abs etc. Abs and legs need work aswell so the cardio will help. one more thing i get my knees and ankles clicking whilst rowing any excercises to help this, and is a quick 10-15 minute run before hand a good idea.

thanks again

gowans

gowans · 05-12-2009, 10:59 AM

oh i weigh 64kg if that helps

DLTBB · 05-12-2009, 11:02 AM

64 KG at 136 lbs? That's about my weight and I'm closer to 62?

gowans · 05-12-2009, 11:11 AM

oh yh need to change that

flipnch1nese7 · 05-12-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowans

hey cheers man yh i did 5000m in 25mins the other day could of easily done better drag rate was 5 or 6 cant remember so hope to inprove i will only have acess to the machine for a 2 hour slot once a week so not long. I'm fine with the technique pulling it into your abs etc. Abs and legs need work aswell so the cardio will help. one more thing i get my knees and ankles clicking whilst rowing any excercises to help this, and is a quick 10-15 minute run before hand a good idea.

thanks again

gowans

Sorry for the late response man, couldn't find this thread again haha!

Your knees and ankles shouldn't be clicking, and nah, exercises aren't gonna help that, it might be a form issue. Technique is really everything on the erg, there's a LOT more to it than people think, especially at the higher stroke rates. check this site out!
http://www.concept2.com/us/training/technique.asp
Watch the animated .gif and read the info.
http://shu-rowing.co.uk/Erg_technique.htm

It's a very separate stroke, though should appear very smooth when streamlined - you want to have your legs almost fully extended before you break the back, and only after that's safely moving do you bring the arms in. Same on the way back down - extend the arms fully from the same finish position as before, then bring your back over your hips, and once your arms and back are fully extended start bringing your legs in. Sounds simple but it can get very tough at the higher stroke rates (30+).

If it makes more sense to you, coming from a weightlifting background, it's sort of like doing a horizontal deadlift. You don't wanna break your back before the legs get their work in, and you're using your arms not really for strength but to transfer the power of the leg drive through the handle (or the barbell).

The more I think about it the sweeter that analogy sounds haha!

Do work at the lower stroke rates, 16-22. This will reinforce technique, require stronger power application, and really engage the muscles more, which is what you're looking for. The reason I really love rowing is that it's a sport that demands consistently high power output over a long period of time - which is what makes it so different from running as cardio, the strong leg drive!

Again, rowing shouldn't be hard on the knees, and if you have a strong finish your abs should be a little sore the first couple times.

That's actually a pretty good starting time man haha, you'll be surprised at how fast it'll drop, too!

gowans · 05-12-2009, 11:19 AM

hi again yeh cheers

had problems with knees and ankles there always clicking runnning machine, so i get used to it, quick question the resistance should i keep it the same and try and beat it next time? yh last time i could of done it miles quicker. my stroke rate was averaging about 30-35 spm.

i will check out those links thanks again

Gowans

Willift · 05-12-2009, 11:21 AM

trapizius, deltoids, and biceps

gowans · 05-12-2009, 11:41 AM

not abs???

fiveten · 05-12-2009, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowans

not abs???

abs and erectae act as dynamic stabilisers but are not innovative muscles in the rowing movement

think rhomboids, lats, biceps and brachioradialis

gowans · 05-12-2009, 11:46 AM

cheers

cheesecake0 · 05-12-2009, 12:33 PM

i quit rowing cos it took up too much time and i couldn't gain any mass.

VERY good cardio though.

rob1992 · 05-12-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiveten

abs and erectae act as dynamic stabilisers but are not innovative muscles in the rowing movement

think rhomboids, lats, biceps and brachioradialis

what about legs?
thats like the biggest part of rowing if you're doing it right....

flipnch1nese7 · 05-12-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiveten

abs and erectae act as dynamic stabilisers but are not innovative muscles in the rowing movement

think rhomboids, lats, biceps and brachioradialis

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob1992

what about legs?
thats like the biggest part of rowing if you're doing it right....

Yeah, legs, hands down. Our top rower on my college team cleans 275 and deadlifts in the mid-400's, not astronomical numbers but very good ones regardless.

After legs, I'm gonna argue lower back and lats. You don't just engage the lats when you swing the back, but at the finish when you pull your arms in - when you finish the stroke with the arms, it should be yours lats pulling in, sort of like a cable or seated row (hey! it's called a row!). Your biceps will be used, but only in conjunction with the lats, and the arms are the weakest part of the stroke.

They're more for transferring the power from the drive and keeping it streamlined rather than adding a ton of explosiveness. That said, you want to ideally accelerate the handle along its part from start to finish on the drive.

So legs, lats/lower back, some biceps.

The way our coach explained it to us is that the drive is 70% legs. Don't try to muscle it out too much with your upper body, 'cause the legs have much better endurance as well because you walk around on them all day - even if you somehow manage to pull a good split on an upper-body-centric stroke, you won't be able to hold it for too long.

gowans · 05-12-2009, 02:55 PM

ok are triceps worked at all?

flipnch1nese7 · 05-12-2009, 03:00 PM

Not really, sorry. No resistance is placed on them.

gowans · 05-12-2009, 03:07 PM

ok final thng my hands start to get blisters whilst rowing sometimes and thing to stop them (not just gloves) am i gripping to tight?

flipnch1nese7 · 05-12-2009, 05:37 PM

You're not gripping too tight, it's probably just happening. Our team didn't have the problem with ergs (we got ours very quickly once we started rowing on the water with oars, not the erg handles), but I can see it happening.

Either tape it up or wait until it gets calloused, sorry.

gowans · 05-13-2009, 01:00 AM

ok thats fine thanks again