by GRP Row Coach S. Hap Whelpley

Rowing is inevitably a pulling sport. We have an object in front of us, the handle, that moves towards us as we apply force to it. The first definition for "pull" is: “exert force on (someone or something) so as to cause movement toward oneself.” Therefore, by definition, rowing must incorporate a pull.

However, I have found that many movements are enhanced by considering and then emphasizing things that are ancillary to the primary concept. This helps to regulate the expenditure of our effort by redefining the movement and recruiting additional musculoskeletal support. For example, if one does the strength exercise known as a deadlift, he or she will inevitably utilize posterior muscles like the erector spinae, glutes, and hamstrings. That doesn't mean I step up to a bar on the floor saying, "Go, go, gadget back muscles!" and wrench my back as intensely as possible to lift the weight. Instead, I often find ways to focus on my core lifting my spine in support of the effort. This helps to both keep me in the right position while also detuning the overworking of my back. Ultimately, it allows me to lift more.

The evolution of rowing equipment has allowed for an evolution of the stroke. The most substantial innovation was the sliding seat by John C. Babcock in 1857. Before that, greased bottom rowers only had a skid, swing, and arm draw to complete the stroke. With the invention of the sliding seat, rowing incorporated substantially more leg drive. While the sliding seat allowed for a greater use of the legs, the cockpits were far from bespoke. The resultant style featured a leg push that overlapped with a back opening and a predominantly C-shaped back.

Edward Hanlan – D. Patterson Photography, Kincardine Canada. (From the Bill Miller Collection) via https://heartheboatsing.com/

In the current era of rowing, smaller innovations in materials and engineering allow for a much more ergonomic position in the boat. Feet can be wider, seats altered, angles changed, and shoes raised or lowered with relative ease. Additionally, the boats have gotten sleeker while still sparing as much room as possible in the cockpit thanks to carbon. While there could be more comfortable barcaloungers, the cockpits of boats are more accommodating of an athlete's position than ever before. This coupled with a greater understanding of anatomy, power application, and biomechanics has created a more isolated leg drive. Rowers now work to articulate their pelvis, adjusting their sit bones to allow for a neutral spine at all times through the stroke cycle. This pelvic movement allows for the leg drive to be further isolated and for the transfer of power to happen more safely and effectively.

I would argue that the longer you can prolong the push of your leg drive, the more you'll gain from the intrinsic pull of the rowing stroke. Using your legs prior to the pull can feel as if someone else has generated helpful momentum ahead of your pull. This is akin to focusing on your core lifting and supporting your spine through a deadlift rather than just throwing your posterior chain at the problem on its own.

Granted, things can feel more powerful and heavier if you overlap the arms or the body opening with the start of your legs. However, my Craftsburian brain will quickly note that the sensation of work in the body does not necessarily mean that fruitful work is being done. Effort does not necessarily beget efficiency.

Likely mentioned before, but the pelvis is often referenced as a bowl in an effort to simplify what might be the Bermuda Triangle of our bodies. It involves the space in front of the ilium and sacrum and above the pubic bone. There's a mix of muscles and organs within it, and those muscles can help provide a lot of foundational strength for our spine. Reorienting your pelvis will also affect the head of the femur as well.

While this might be an oversimplification, look at these bowl representations of the pelvis in a rowing shell.

Looking at the half circle shape and the sticks that represent a leg, foot, and toes, the only thing that has changed between the shapes on the left and the right is the rotation of the entire system. No other angle was changed. The other vertical lines emerging from the pelvic bowl represent the spine. While a bit dramatic, notice how the spine can be straight to achieve forward body angle when the pelvis is tilted forward.

Again, this new position is helpful for a myriad of reasons, but I do believe if you can bide your time in the rowing stroke feeling a long push to begin the stroke, you will find more speed and less fatigue.

So how do we "prolong the push and delay the pull?" I think three P's make it possible:

Poise
Preparation
Push

In order to get into this position, you must find poise around the release of your stroke. If you let yourself swing too far to bow and roll your pelvis into a posterior position with your tailbone tucked underneath you, it's very unlikely that you will lift yourself from this pelvic position to a neutral one and then to an anterior one. This poise is very hard to achieve as it takes energy that we see as unessential. As I've mentioned before, we take a lot more relaxed repetitions and minutes of sitting than we do athletic repetitions in a seated position. The moment you sit loose, you will lose your pelvic floor and cascade to the bow with a posteriorly tilted pelvis.

If you maintain the poise, then you have the opportunity to execute good preparation. You need to hinge at the hip joint to shift your seat bones out from underneath you, pointing your tailbone out behind. This will put your pelvis into an anterior position. You can talk about this with a million different cues like "make a crease in your lap" or "shift your weight onto the front axle." Again, it's something we often miss because we don't see the energy it takes to do it well as essential (but it is).

Finally, you can push, but you must think about it. You must savor it. You must work with it. All of our intuitive senses and inhibitions will want us to pull that handle from the start, but you need to guide yourself down the path.

All these P's take purpose to make them happen. However, I believe they unlock some of what it takes to keep a boat running out.

Tech Tip: Prolong the Push