row2k Features
The Release and Move Out of Bow
April 28, 2016
Charlotte Hollings, Calm Waters Rowing

Establishing body angle

Last month we wrote about the hands - specifically finding the proper grip - as well as the squaring and feathering of the blade. For us, that logically leads into the release. We coach the feathering of the blade as the beginning of the recovery as opposed to the end of the drive. It should not be a separate part of the stroke; instead everything is continuous, like a conveyor belt.

As a brief recap, let the thumb push against the oar handle as the fingers roll the handle away from the body. At the other end of the oar, the top edge of the blade comes out square, then the bottom edge feathers out and over the water . This is the transition point from the drive to the recovery. The first part of the release is to stop pulling, allowing the oar handle to briefly coast into the body as we release the pressure off the face of the blade and gently tap down to let the top edge of the blade come out square.

Top edge of blade comes out square
Top edge of blade comes out square
What we coach a little differently at this point is to focus on body out of bow, not just hands. As the body rolls out of bow, the boat will accelerate in the other direction, as every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Imagine yourself on a swing set - if you want to go higher, you pump your legs and body. If you want to slow the swing down, you stop pumping. Think of the release like pumping your body on the swing. Use your lower abdominal muscles to roll the body forward and at the same time, that motion will actively keep powering the boat to bow.

Another reason to focus on the body out of bow is to establish early body angle. Just about every coach will ask for full body preparation by half slide so focusing on the body at the release sets us up to achieve this. If your body is not set and you then try to extend for more at the catch, you will create additional check by adding pressure on the foot stretchers. This last minute body positioning also leads to skying the blade, which makes a good catch much more difficult.

Body and hands move out together, knees raising as hands get to knees
Body and hands move out together, knees raising as hands get to knees
While the body is coming out of bow, relax the arms, keeping the elbows loose and not locked. In this way, if the boat wobbles, we’re better able to make small adjustments in the arms to regain the balance as opposed to moving the entire body and making the set worse. Think of a tightrope walker - they don’t have straight arms while holding onto the balance pole. They stay loose and flexible. A loose muscle is more responsive than a tight muscle. Loose arms will make it easier to keep the body still, both as we approach the end of the slide and as we make the catch. Then after the catch, we can lock into our lats, as seen here and here. However, if the elbows are locked, we more easily connect to our traps.

Lats engaged
Lats engaged
At the same time, keep the knees from locking down. For masters rowers this is important, since as we age, we tend to lose flexibility. If we try to hold the knees down until the body is set, many masters won’t get much body angle. While you obviously don't want to hit the knees with your hands as you roll out of bow, you can easily start to raise the knees just as the hands get to the knees. This will relax the hamstring, allowing you to get full body angle before half slide.

As you look at the photos, note the layback. For years now we’ve been seeing the Olympians move well beyond the standard 15 degrees layback to 30 plus degrees. Difficult to do if you're intent on arching the back but quite easy if you relax the pelvis and roll the body back into bow.

Layback position
Layback position
All photos were taken from the row2k gallery posted the week of March 21 - 27, 2016: Olympic Training - Chula Vista TC - USA Women

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