Tomorrow makes 1 year since the 311 lbs version of me decided to change my future... I have been rowing 30 mins a day 6 days a week for 9 months on a Concept2 PM5. Thanks to Austin, I am approaching 7500m per 30 min session and have lost over 130 lbs in the last 12 months as I currently sit at 175lbs. These vids are life saving gold. Thanks brother!
You're doing 7500 meters in 30 minutes? That's 30 minutes straight at an average split of 2:00? If you don't mind my asking, how old and how tall are you? Were you a competitive athlete before you went to 300 lbs?
I just started rowing about 6 months ago, and I have lost about 45 lbs(IF and Keto as well), but I still can't row like that. The best I can do is about 2:15 split. Today, I found out I was doing the rowing all wrong because of RU-vid due to taking a Crossfit class. It seems the S/R is not as important as the pull. I was thinking it was all about the S/R. Tomorrow, I start over working on my form and not achieving 35 s/r.
@@DS316316 I’m 37 years old now… 5’11” Never any kind of an athlete before the weight loss. Best distance currently 7698 in 30 mins I received my Concept2 million meter club shirt in less than 6 months… 1,000,000 between 1/4 and 6/28 of this year!
@@DS316316 When I was 30, I used to routinely do 6000 m in 24:00 with a split of 2:00. I was in decent shape, but not great shape, only I was willing to work pretty hard. Three decades later I'm back in the gym. This evening I did an hour on the bike at 150 W (not very hard, upper Zone 2 heart rate), and then 220 W average on the erg for 6:00 (about 1:58 split), which was pretty darn stressful-perhaps because I started hot at 275 W. Sigh. I can barely sprint faster at this point on the erg than the pace I used to grind out. 2:00 is a good but not great half-hour pace, unless you're teetering into geezerhood, like me.
I'm glad that reviewing all our rowing forms has made you realize that we're all a little shorter, fatter and more inflexible than yourself. Lol. Great tips though, when you had me drop my foot plates it made a HUGE difference! Still working on the flexibility, and the belly.
Thanks so much for addressing adapting to a larger midsection! I've been rowing daily to lose weight (I'm down 35 pounds in 7 weeks!) and I feel like I'm stuck between not being able to breath (knees together) and not being able to drive as effectively (knees apart). I feel like I'm just biding my time until my gut goes away enough that I can use proper form. You offered two solutions: 1) don't compress legs as much so you can maintain focus on hip swing or 2) compress legs but separate them so that your breathing isn't as restricted. Which one should I be using while I'm rowing for weightloss/calorie burn/overall fitness gains? I remember the video you put up some time ago where you tucked a pillow under your shirt! :) That one was great, too!
Just bought a new rowing machine, and your videos really helped me. Never done it before, but things are getting better every day with your help, so thanks all the way from Norway
I’m brand new to rowing and really enjoying it so far. Your videos have been incredibly helpful in my journey to learn proper technique and how to get the most out of my rowing workouts. Thanks a BUNCH!!!
This was awesome! Thank you. I haven't rowed in about 10 years and find myself making these mistakes. I appreciate your thoroughness in talking about each part of the row and how to fix these mistakes
I just started with my Hydrow! I really wish you were the coach for the beginner Hydrow videos. I have learned SO MUCH from your youtube videos. @Hydrow put this guy on my machine!
This is the single most useful rowing instruction I have watched to catalyse a breakthrough in my performance/efficiency. I wish I saw this years ago. Thanks Austin
i can't thank you enough for all your videos and shorts🤗💕🤗a creamy wall of peanut butter! now go do it!! wishing you all the best with all your endeavours. i row on concept2 4 times a week to prepare for coastal and the workout is super awesome fun because of all your demos so thank you a million times 😊❤🚣❤😊🚣❤️🤗
I've been thinking this point for years but always seeing the 60% leg stuff. Instinctively I knew it was not true. Thanks for an excellent explanation and how it applies to those who are starting who are overweight and just starting to row. I've been rowing steadily for years and it has changed my life. I am 62 and just did 11500 meters in one hour yesterday. Felt great. I am also a Concept 2 fanatic. Nothing is better or a better value. Great video.
Thanks for this great explanation. I was concerned that my legs weren’t doing their part in the rowing stroke. Next time I get on the rower I will pay attention to my hip opening.
Good stuff. I definitely had my foot plates set up too high and was overthinking eg drive. I couldn't figure out why my catch and stroke just felt better and more powerful in the boat.
Thanks for giving me “permission” to let my knees go out to the side! That’s what I’ve been naturally wanting to do, but I’ve been fighting it. But as a chubby person, I do struggle to get the body lean without it.
Great explanation. I am in week 3 of your 8 week eBook program (which is excellent by the way!!) and tomorrow is a steady state row. It will be a perfect opportunity to work on my stroke and focus on my hip swing. Thank you so much.
One other thing worth mentioning, you need to make sure that your pelvis is in a neutral vertical position at the 12 o'clock position. Many sit with the pelvis tipping back which will automatically limit forward swing.
If people are having an issue with the correct forward body lean that can be a sign of inflexible hips in particular internal hip rotation. Also known as "hip impingement". I don't know how widespread this issue is for other people but increasing this flexibility made a world of difference for me and I'd recommend at least mentioning it in a video.
Austin, you are absolutely correct! One of your best videos. The leg push for me is about 30 to 40% tops...the rest is the swing back and arm pull! no doubt
This is me! A larger midsection means when I try to go forward I’m restricted and my knees splay out. I’ve been rowing seriously since May and as I’ve lost weight the knee splay is reduced but still need to lose more from the middle. It doesn’t help that I’m very stocky and only 5’ 6” tall.
This has made the biggest difference for me, I finally have a better blast off from my legs (sorry don’t know the lingo yet Lol) I finally feel it in my legs
That was a great breakdown of the forward and back lean as well as the use of the legs. I will be definitely using this knowledge at my next rowing session and look forward to seeing great results. Thanks for the info Austin.
Very helpful! I am only 3 days into my Hydrow, and was a bit concerned about my mid section being too big for my knees to stay together. I let them drop to the sides (as is my only choice), and was hoping that was still an OK form. I am able to achieve the correct angles from my hips leaning forward. Thanks for the explaination!! I feel more confident now.🙂
I miss rowing so much! All of our gyms (and sadly, Orangetheory) are still closed here in Montreal. So excited to get back on it soon, I'm losing my mind over here!! 🥺
Swimmer here. To go reasonably fast in the water you need to fold your feet so as to get them as closely in line with your body as possible. I do this (took a few years to develop the needed ankle flexibility) - and I find leaving my feet in the 'down' position makes my calves tight enough to limit my forward position on a rower. I found the 'put foot against wall and lean in' stretch you showed in a previous video useful. Thanks for that! Oh, FWIW, I hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Not sure I need more than 15.
Thanks for this video/tip, Austin. Despite having worked on it, my ability to hip hinge is poor. This appears to be impacting my position at the catch and, subsequently, impacting the power that I am able to generate. I will try this ‘reduce-the-compression-in-order-to-achieve-proper-swing-forward-position’ technique.
Doing certain kind of drills will also help implement your issue. Legs only drill, keeping the shoulders ahead of the hips while driving down with the legs “only”. Doing a pause drill with the hands/shoulders ahead of the hips while in the recovery portion of your stroke will also help
@@cher4all Many thanks, Cheryl, for your suggestions/recommendations. I’ve actually been doing these exercises (and other exercises designed to improve one’s hip hinge). I’ve certainly learned that this is going to be a process/journey and not an ‘over-night’ kind of thing! Again, I appreciate you taking the time to offer/contribute your suggestions.
The Planet Fitness finally got the row machines fixed. Been rowing twice a week for 20 mins sessions. When I row, I pretend I'm dead lifting without weight and keep my heels flat; back angle goes to 2 o'clock. You can feel more of the hamstrings and glutes activate. I do pushups every 5mins off to the side of the machine to get some upper chest action. But you mentioning the 11/1 o'clock angles makes sense. I haven't been leaning forward much but am now. Also the lower the food plate is a great tip. I see a lot of people just row crazy with their arms and not use their legs for momentum. They're more or less using the machine as an upper body workout/seated lat pull. lol
Oh my God 💡💡💡this makes so much sense now! Thanks so much for helping out a beginner with all your videos! Really tempted to get your book to support just as a thanks! Could you link!? 😇
60% seems right if not more. The core another 20-30% and the arms about 10-20%. At a 95# high pull I burn out after 2 minutes. Even a 45# bar at 22 reps a min fails after 5 or so minutes.
Thank you so much Austin, this helps a lot, I think that I feel what the swing should be (only now after trying this). Before I never felt that moment of the swing really. And another thing, this way by back does not hurt neither... very good video!
@@cher4all Something tells me that the graphics will be the weak point of the Hydrow at some point. I could be wrong, but the whole product relies on the screen/graphics. We shall see...
At only 5ft tall, I dont have a problem with body lean, but my bum tends to shift backwards when swinging back and I'll end up adjusting my sitting position throughout the exercise to avoid sitting on my cheeks. Any tips to stop the bum from moving?
Whenever I row, it makes my quads EXPLODE. It is so freaking painful. I am really athletic, but I have a hard time with rowing. It actually works my quads and legs more than squatting. After rowing a 5K, I walk side to side.
Any help form community on my predicament would be greatly appreciated. - Issue with body type and very short legs. Im 5'9" and my inseam is 29"; my legs are several inches "shorter" in proportion to my body trunk; my arms are long compared to my height. So I have : Short legs, long arms, long trunk; Everything but my legs says I should be 6' or 6'1" tall. It is what it is. When Im sitting with a group of people, Im usually the tallest in the group. Even against people that are 6' to 6' 2" tall. Should I be widening my legs so I reach more and get a better lean forward? It seems with my shorter legs, my leg length is hurting my lean backwards. Because for my short legs, it seems a good "swing" is not very easy
Good video. I wonder if the foot position on some rowers, like some of the water rower variants, with their higher foot position, might make getting into that "hips cocked" position more difficult. I like your other video as well: thinking about the movement as more deadlift than row.
I bought my rower, thanks for all the tips. I got 17k in so far, my only complaint is that it’s causing me some neck pain. I assume I’m doing something wrong, but I feel like I’m following your form advice. 🤷🏻♂️
Separating out the specific parts and tools for each of the seven step assembly process steps was brilliant on the part of the manufacturer. For the price, I am impressed at how sturdy this ru-vid.comUgkxvObaTzoHoHQLL4lHbJQmExHqsrZQm-f7 unit is and it does go together easily. Well, I was puzzled at first at Step 5 and maybe the instructions should mention that rail #62 needs to be tilted upwards a little to get the rail to fit into the main part #44. I like it that the rower can be stored vertically in a really small amount of space, but be forewarned that this rower is top heavy and for safety you'll need at least two bungee cords to keep the unit upright, attaching them to something; in my case to a third garage door. I have had this unit only a short time, and I will post an update once I've had it for a year. As for working your legs, I have to admit that I'm mainly rowing for upper body strength and I use other forms of exercise for leg strength (like walking fast, biking, or using a trampoline. But if you pull as far forward as possible, then you can give preference to your legs for the first 4 feet or so of travel. I also admit to not taking the two electronic connectors apart at Step 7. I simply inserted the two batteries while the other parts remained connected. By the way, there is plenty of resistance here, even in the lowest resistance settings. Kudos to Sunny Health & Fitness !
Please do a video emphasizing form aspects that most reduce injury separate from ones that are important for efficiency. Most lay people don’t mind being inefficient as that just means more calories burned but no one wants injury.
Austin I'm a larger guy just getting started and i was wondering is it more important to keep your legs above your ankles keeping me from getting much compression or is it ok to move my legs outward allowing for more compression? In this video you talked about keeping your legs upright but you didn't say not to let them swing out some. Appreciate your videos.
Uhhhh wouldn’t bending your knees out cause some issues for you down the line? It’s like doing a squat, you’re not supposed to push your knees out. Your knees need to be on the same line from your ankles to your hips, if they’re out of line then I’m pretty certain that can be VERY bad for you.
Summary: It is indeed 60% legs (and butt), unless you suck at the body lean; if you suck at the body lean, you're better off sacrificing the legs (quads) more than the hips (butt).
