Post by alanbrandenburg on May 31, 2008 10:22:09 GMT -5
This came in yesterday's newsletter from US Rowing. Commit all of it to muscle memory by the next work out.
Want to Keep Your Balance? Don’t Rush!
by Mayrene T. Earle
We have all rowed in or coached boats that fall off balance at some point during the stroke cycle. This article looks at what’s happening when the boat falls off to one side at the catch and offers some suggestions for correcting the problem.
Let’s use the example of a boat falling off to port at the catch. When this happens, you often see a portside rower rushing into the catch and dropping the upper body. This causes the rower to arrive at the front stops too early then, in the effort to keep the body moving while waiting for the other blades to enter the water, fall down into the catch. This “rush, stop and drop” checks the boat’s forward motion.
If you watch the blade, you can identify the dropping of the upper body by looking at blade heights – you’ll see the blade “sky.” If you watch the body, you can easily detect the rush and drop of the upper body.
It’s important to remember that technical problems are caused long before you see their symptoms or consequences. In other words, if there is a problem at the catch, the problem begins in an earlier phase of the stroke cycle. In this case, rushing is quite often the issue.
Here are four actions that can cause the boat to fall off at the catch, with corrective drills for each.
1) Problem: Lack of Body Preparation. If you fail to establish your body angle before starting up the slide, you end up rushing without control, creating what I call a “thundering herd” effect on the recovery. Those of you who sit in the stern of a team boat know the feeling.
The Fix: You can correct lack of body preparation by putting in a pause at the body-over position. I call this “doing your homework.” By homework, I mean finishing the stroke you’re on in preparation for the next stroke. Establishing body reach before heading up the slide allows you to hold this position more effectively when coming into the catch. If body angle isn’t established, the body will tend to collapse onto the knees.
2) Problem: Rushing. Even rowers who have good body preparation often rush the slide from mid-recovery into the catch. This rushing also causes the boat to fall off to one side. One way to avoid this is to focus on using the lower half of the body during the recovery. I tell my rowers to imagine that there are eggs beneath the balls of their feet and to take care not to break the shells (and create scrambled eggs) as they use their legs to control the transfer of weight onto the stretchers. This is a great visual.
The Fix: Pausing at ½ and ¾ slide are helpful drills. Often, I put both of these pauses into the same recovery drill. Coming out of the pause(s) there will be absolutely no movement of the upper body as you come into the catch.
3) Problem: Over-reaching. When a rower drops the shoulders at the catch and it is not a result of rushing, it is often because she or he is over-reaching in an effort to lengthen the stroke.
The Fix: To correct over-reaching, pay attention to the legs at full compression. Often, a rower will reach for more length by letting their knees come apart and flop out to one or both sides of the boat. The legs and knees must stay in alignment with the hips and the feet. When they don’t, it is often because a rower lacks flexibility. If you’re unable to improve your flexibility, try lowering your shoes towards the bottom of the boat to compensate.
4) Problem: Improper finishes. Another thing that creates falling off at the catch is when a rower does not have a clean release or finish. Often, this is because the rower stops the handle from moving continuously during the transition from drive to recovery. This stoppage makes the rower late, forcing her to rush to catch up with the others.
The Fix: Aside from working exclusively on releases (always a good idea), a drill I use to correct poor releases that stem from tense shoulders and lack of fluidity is placing the hands on top of the handle in a karate chop position prior to taking the blade out of the water. With the hands in this position, the rower cannot restrict the momentum of the oar handle by pulling the oar too far into the body. The karate chop position allows the hands and oar handle to swing easily away from the body and encourages the rower to keep the shoulders relaxed.
Here’s your takeaway: Many balance problems are caused by rushing. The fix lies in identifying and correcting the underlying issue that’s causing you to rush.
Mayrene T. Earle, M.Ed., is founder of MastersCoaching. She conducts camps and clinics for masters rowers around the world. Her next three clinics are in Boston in late June. To register, contact Mayrene at mayrene@masterscoaching.com . Copyright 2008 © Mayrene T. Earle. All rights reserved.
Want to Keep Your Balance? Don’t Rush!
by Mayrene T. Earle
We have all rowed in or coached boats that fall off balance at some point during the stroke cycle. This article looks at what’s happening when the boat falls off to one side at the catch and offers some suggestions for correcting the problem.
Let’s use the example of a boat falling off to port at the catch. When this happens, you often see a portside rower rushing into the catch and dropping the upper body. This causes the rower to arrive at the front stops too early then, in the effort to keep the body moving while waiting for the other blades to enter the water, fall down into the catch. This “rush, stop and drop” checks the boat’s forward motion.
If you watch the blade, you can identify the dropping of the upper body by looking at blade heights – you’ll see the blade “sky.” If you watch the body, you can easily detect the rush and drop of the upper body.
It’s important to remember that technical problems are caused long before you see their symptoms or consequences. In other words, if there is a problem at the catch, the problem begins in an earlier phase of the stroke cycle. In this case, rushing is quite often the issue.
Here are four actions that can cause the boat to fall off at the catch, with corrective drills for each.
1) Problem: Lack of Body Preparation. If you fail to establish your body angle before starting up the slide, you end up rushing without control, creating what I call a “thundering herd” effect on the recovery. Those of you who sit in the stern of a team boat know the feeling.
The Fix: You can correct lack of body preparation by putting in a pause at the body-over position. I call this “doing your homework.” By homework, I mean finishing the stroke you’re on in preparation for the next stroke. Establishing body reach before heading up the slide allows you to hold this position more effectively when coming into the catch. If body angle isn’t established, the body will tend to collapse onto the knees.
2) Problem: Rushing. Even rowers who have good body preparation often rush the slide from mid-recovery into the catch. This rushing also causes the boat to fall off to one side. One way to avoid this is to focus on using the lower half of the body during the recovery. I tell my rowers to imagine that there are eggs beneath the balls of their feet and to take care not to break the shells (and create scrambled eggs) as they use their legs to control the transfer of weight onto the stretchers. This is a great visual.
The Fix: Pausing at ½ and ¾ slide are helpful drills. Often, I put both of these pauses into the same recovery drill. Coming out of the pause(s) there will be absolutely no movement of the upper body as you come into the catch.
3) Problem: Over-reaching. When a rower drops the shoulders at the catch and it is not a result of rushing, it is often because she or he is over-reaching in an effort to lengthen the stroke.
The Fix: To correct over-reaching, pay attention to the legs at full compression. Often, a rower will reach for more length by letting their knees come apart and flop out to one or both sides of the boat. The legs and knees must stay in alignment with the hips and the feet. When they don’t, it is often because a rower lacks flexibility. If you’re unable to improve your flexibility, try lowering your shoes towards the bottom of the boat to compensate.
4) Problem: Improper finishes. Another thing that creates falling off at the catch is when a rower does not have a clean release or finish. Often, this is because the rower stops the handle from moving continuously during the transition from drive to recovery. This stoppage makes the rower late, forcing her to rush to catch up with the others.
The Fix: Aside from working exclusively on releases (always a good idea), a drill I use to correct poor releases that stem from tense shoulders and lack of fluidity is placing the hands on top of the handle in a karate chop position prior to taking the blade out of the water. With the hands in this position, the rower cannot restrict the momentum of the oar handle by pulling the oar too far into the body. The karate chop position allows the hands and oar handle to swing easily away from the body and encourages the rower to keep the shoulders relaxed.
Here’s your takeaway: Many balance problems are caused by rushing. The fix lies in identifying and correcting the underlying issue that’s causing you to rush.
Mayrene T. Earle, M.Ed., is founder of MastersCoaching. She conducts camps and clinics for masters rowers around the world. Her next three clinics are in Boston in late June. To register, contact Mayrene at mayrene@masterscoaching.com . Copyright 2008 © Mayrene T. Earle. All rights reserved.
