Very pleased to announce the release of my new eBook, 'Row Your Fat Off!'. If you have just began using the rowing machine or recently purchased a machine for yourself, THIS is the ultimate guide to get you started in the right direction towards your fat loss goals! You can check it out from the link in the description box above! THANK YOU for all of your support!!
@Austin of Training Tall I’m a newbie to the Rowing community and my hip flexors were on fire. At the 1:00 min mark about Henrick Stephonsan....how does he continue to pull himself back to the catch so quickly without fatiguing his hip flexors? I’ve seen your other videos and I believe you recommend to slower your strokes per minute in order to use the core to help come back to the catch. How can I increase my strokes per minute without activating my hip flexors on the way back to the catch???🤔
Double exhale per stroke is a old technique I learned while rowing for the USSR in late 70's - mid 80's. Then I moved to the US and people around me were surprised to hear me doing that - in the boat and on the erg. I'm glad to see this being promoted as it definitely works well!
Thanks for this post! I sat down to do a 10K this afternoon and used this pattern for breathing... I took my time from 43:32 to 42:42 and did it with a lower heart rate (down from 148 to 144 bpm) and average power increase from 157W to 169W!!! Not bad for just starting at the end of December and 50 years old! I’m so stoked! Thanks!
I watched this video and thought it was a little stupid at first, to be honest. As a long time bodybuilder its hardwired in me to exhale on the concentic and inhale on the eccentric. The extra breath in the middle felt very awkward when i tried to apply it in my rowing. I forgot about this video and continued with my way of breathing. As times gone on ive found ive started naturally doing this extra breath more and more, especially on my 500m sprint intervals...it helps tremendously to feed my body the oxygen to keep the pace up. I was mindful of my breathing today after re watching this video and manged my first ever 1min 32sec 500m...which i was actually rather pleased with after 5 or 6 weeks of taking my rowing seriously. Rowing is a full body exercise so makes sense to have as much oxygen as possible. Thanks man.
Hey DP! Thanks for your input, man! Love the insight and I totally agree that it is quite unorthodox compared to weight lifting breathing cues. Glad it has helped you out, though!
As a mediocre exerciser that was also how I believed breathing should be done but yeah, I have to try this method out. Might feel a bit weird at lower efforts but I guess establishing this rhythm would help me keep my breathing even and steady at maximal effort.
This just changed everything for me! I’ve had my C2 for about 6 weeks and working hard towards getting un-fat and back in the game. Hardest part has been breathing. How do I take a big breath at the catch with my belly in the way. Dude this worked so well! No panic, no gasping! Calm and centered with all the gas in the world through my 5k today. Best rowing workout I’ve had yet thanks to you!!!
I struggled to get my cal/hr above 750 until I saw this video. I tried the technique for the first time this week and I saw my cal/hr go beyond 1000, it gives me so much more energy. Thanks so much for the tips!
awesome tip! during those moments of max intensity effort the breathing can become a real source of stress and conflict with each stroke. that is what made me come searching for information about breathing technique. As you suggested, i slowed down my strokes-per-minute to practice the technique using 2 breaths-per-stroke until it felt natural (which happened very quickly.) and once i picked up the pace it became uber important and uber helpful! to keep that pattern and rhythm i realized i only needed to think about that out-breath: one out-breath at the end of the stroke; and one out-breath at the catch. no need to even think about the in-breath because that happens all by itself without any conscious effort. i also found it helpful to make a forceful exhale with some sound to it ....the sound of that "phwew" helps to keep the rhythm. thanks again austin, for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for rowing! Concept 2 should put you on their payroll!
That is AWESOME, Merlin! Way to take things slow to figure them out... sounds like the practice is paying dividends now! Keep up the awesome work - and thank you for the kind comment!
Since I have cycled for so many years, I have a natural tendency to breathe in fitness activities, however learning anything new is worth learning everything about the performance correctly.
I keep this breathing pattern, too. Coming into the catch, as a queue, I like to think about my quads pressing on my diaphragm, forcing all the air out of my lungs. Obviously this isn't literally what happens, but it helps me exhale fully. Then, on the drive I imagine my lungs filling up, taking up space and pushing my quads back away.
Thanks for the great breathing tip, I have been rowing for about a month now and hadn't thought much about it. I watched this last night and tried this 2X exhale breathing pattern this morning. My previous 2k best was 8:07, I did 7:47 just now. :) Damper setting was 6, at 28 strokes/min except for the last minute where I bumped up to around 32 s/m. Lots to learn, this was a big help, thanks very much!
Wow Donn that is awesome!! What an improvement... that is a result of all of your hard work and you should be proud. Hope the rowing is still going well for you!
Austin, I've found your vids helpful, but kudos on the breathing technique tips--exhale at catch and finish. I feel much more relaxed and confident, better results. Thanks!
Thanks, this makes a lot of sense to me....I've only been rowing a few months, and I'd been trying to figure out how to breathe while rowing. I was exhaling at the end of the drive and that felt natural/good, but I felt like I was holding my breathe too long. So I tried exhaling at the catch, but then I couldn't drive hard enough because I wasn't breathing again until to the next catch. Now I realize what I was doing wrong - I was only exhaling/inhaling once per stroke instead of at the catch and end of the drive. I'm going to give this a try when I go to the gym later today... I've watched a bunch of your videos and always learn something, which has made rowing more fun for me. So thanks for that!
Thank you Austin. I'll try this. I've been inhaling when I pull and exhaling on the return. I'm a reasonably fit 73 year old so my sessions on the rower are pretty moderate though. I love using the machine, I liked rowing as a kid but unfortunately the boat didn't have a sliding seat so my legs got little exercise. However I developed strong abs, back and arms
I viewed this real quick before I went rowing. I was able to go from 1 minute to 2 minute "sets" and add 14 minutes over all. Before I would be out of breath, light headed and my eyes dim. Thanks man
I've tried this in the past and felt it to be awkward. Yesterday I tried it during OTF's Arc rowing benchmark and was able to find a good rhythm. While my distance was just OK considering I'm only 1 month back at it after being out for 2 months of shoulder surgery recovery, I found that my lungs were not burning like they have been on the 2,000m row with my 'traditional' breathing. Thanks!
Personally and for others where i’m from it is very usual to breathe like Hendrik if you are rowing high intensity with lack of breath. But usually at warm up or where i have the possabilty i breathe in by the start and out at the finish. In this case there is no right or wrong it’s just how your lung compacity is and you should only do what’s best for you as long as you have a rythym. when it comes to 2k for most rowers it would be to on a to high intensity at the end at least to only breathe out once per stroke. Im not saying im right and every one else is wrong but this is my perspective and experience as a rower
When I started rowing 2 years ago, I learned a lot from you. Great stuff. Got to chime in here and say this is incorrect though. Never breathe through the mouth. Keep it closed always and only breathe through your nose. You lose so much oxygen when you breathe through the mouth. It might feel uncomfortable and awkward in the beginning but you will actually increase your nose organ’s capacity when you keep using it. If you study breathing you will learn that the nose is the only way to do it properly.
Thank you! However, I will have to disagree with you considering how all of the top athletes are performing when it comes to power endurance. I think what you're saying makes sense maybe for long distance running/triathlon. But the effort needed for 2000m is far too great to keep things strictly nasal - and that's evidenced by how the pros are rowing now.
Omg, so I have been breathing the 2 breaths per stroke for forever and I have been trying and trying to bring it down to 1 breath instead for a long time. I start rowing do the single breath but switch over to two breaths as soon as it gets difficult. Imagine my surprise finding out I was doing it right all along naturally.
Austin, I used this breathing model and....well here's the results of your challenge to do 2 sets of 7.5 min @ 1300m. My first set timed out at 1419 m and second set timed out at 1412 m. So using Stephenson's double breath pattern I was able to rack up a 40% increase in meters rowed/workout with no feeling of being winded. Takeaways 1) more oxygen works. 2) the stroke has multiple components: compression/drive/swing/finish....
Yep, feelin' great....and yesterday was B'day #74.....yikes! Also, noted the erg profile on the Concept 2 showed a massive increase over my older, unorganized stroke.
Probably unintentionally, i just did what you're explaining before watching this vid. Maybe my body was feeling that I was not breathing right... Gained instantly 5 s/500m on a 2000 m distance. Awesome
Go to 4:20 for the demonstration and bypass the looong pre-amble. :) Then after, you can go back and listen if needed. Overall, great information, I just wanted to get to the demo right away.
Hey Austin, awesome Video really helpful..... Thank you! Did 500M 2mins 14 secs so not too bad....had a play on an aqua feel ergo, but still prefer the good old trusty Concept 2!! 😃😃Have a great weekend! Katie.
Wow awesome!! I prefer the trusty Concept 2 as well ;) Keep up the awesome work, Katie! With your positive attitude and mindset, there is nothing stopping you!!
Thank you Austin!! And Your videos have been such a big help too, Thank you! 3 work outs completed this evening and almost 6000M that's my longest to date, I LOVE THE ERGO!! Any advice on getter leaner legs? I'm in a calorie deficit and training 4/5 times a week Gym swim Run / Row.... Many thanks Katie 😊
last night (my second time on the machine ever lol) i tried the 'inhale on recovery, exhale on drive' technique. somehow i found myself breathing in a reverse of this pattern subconsciously about a minute in, after i lost focus. time and time again, i had to correct myself when focus came back. tonight i'm going to try this 2-breaths per cycle technique.
@@trainingtall i kinda defaulted back to my yesterday's one. i think if my performance goes up over time i will be able to switch to this one, but for now i cant do very high intensity.
Might sound like a silly question - So when do you inhale? Through the middle of the stroke? Could you maybe slow down the movement and spell out each breath in and out? This techinique could help my time, just did a 2k erg test at a 6:49 - not bad for an old man (43) that started rowing 6 months ago - btw, loving your vids man!
Wow, Matt! 6:49 at 43 years old is incredible! You are a true athlete! Yes - the inhale in this case comes from the middle of the stroke and during the recovery as well. Did you know that RU-vid has a 'video speed' function at the bottom right hand corner where you can change the speed of the video down to 0.25x speed! Maybe that would help out a bit? Keep up the great work - I look forward to hearing how you progress. Let me know if you have any questions!
@@trainingtall To clarify: you are inhaling during the power phase between the exhale at the catch and the exhale at the finish? And then inhaling, exhaling, and inhaling again on the recovery?
Thanks for your videos. I didn’t feel resistance first time on the rower so I haven’t tried again, your videos have given me all the knowledge so I can get the best workout!
Thank you. I’ve been trying to figure out when and where to breathe in my rowing. It generally felt most natural to exhale at the end of the stroke but I’ve kept being told to exhale at the catch. Still not certain how I will work in 2 breathes per stroke but it’s something to work on.
Hey Jentri! Thanks for the kind words :) I think you pinpointed the idea - "...it's something to work on". Let me know how things go! I hope you find a breathing pattern that works for you!
When explaining the exhale at the catch, many people including this vid, fails to explain why this is so important! At the beginning of your stroke, your crunched up, knees against the chest. You can not effectively draw in a lot of oxygen. As the workload increases, your limited by the volume of O2 that you physically can inhale.
Nicely done Austin! Some quality and informative content in your channel! Keep it up! And as a vegetarian athlete you've got all my respect! :) :) Cheers!
I exhale at the catch and inhale at the top one breath per stroke,because at the catch we are pushing the abdomen and diafragme with our legs thus not maximizing the amount of air (good for living) in the lungs.More air in the lungs more oxygen and less fatigue.
i have not given much thought to breathing during rowing - i have sorted it out OK in my swimming - i breath out most of the air in my lungs when head is under water and this means i do not need to take much effort to breath in when i turn my head to take in air - it seems to go in without much effort. Also the rhythm of my breathing while swimming is very similar to my normal breathing pattern as i make sure i time my stroke to fit in with this - it does not vary whether i am doing say 500 metres , or sets of 200 metres when totaling say 2km. So next week i will give some thought to how i am breathing while rowing to at least understand the pattern. for most things i do i like to keep to a normal breathing pattern where possible
Thanks for your excellent explanation and demonstration on position, rythm, speed and now breathing! But I'm a little confused by the "exhale at the end of the drive" thing... While rowing I constantly either inhale or exhale, there is no point where I hold my breath even for a moment. For me exhale is an ongoing process more or less throughout the whole drive after an actually suprisingly short inhale in a split second between recovery and catch. Second inhale is of course at the begining of the recovery and second exhale nice and easy at the end of the recovery when the knees are up and the chest gets compressed a bit and is happy to release the air. Another thing: I normaly do no warm-up but start my program right away with like 24 spm and a 1-breath technique. 1 exhale on drive, 1 inhale on recovery. Depending on the level I want to do that day and along with the rising heart rate I switch to a 2-breath technique and 21 spm after like 1 to 5 minutes into the training. The step from 1-breath to 2-breath and lower spm is a bit of a challenge though and I sometimes actually do a 1,5 breath technique in between. Haha, yes, its true. I do a somehow asynchroneous 1,5 breath rythm with inhale on 1 drive and exhale on the next drive. After geting used to it it works nicely and makes a good transition between the 1- and 2-breath phases and the 24 and 21 spm slow down. Speaking of rythm: I often compare the drive/recovery ratio as a 3/4 time rythm with 1 segment on the drive and 2 on the recovery. Makes it a nice slow walz... hehe But yes, most of the time a solid 2-breath strategy feels just right and usefull.
Great video very help full info, I will try. Thank you very much. But could you kindly tell me what to do with the numbers selection small wheel little above the feet on matrix machine and how we can effectively take more advantage in less time.
NBS-1: Where are the inhalations? They are hard to hear or see if all the fireworks are being spent on the exhalations. Maybe this could be demonstrated with graphic support or with a better sound mix...?
Thanks. Great vid. I find myself changing my breathing rate from one breath per cycle to two during the last 500 or so meters when I am really hammering down. I think I'll try two breaths from the beginning to set a ryhthm. It always kind of through me off during that last push during the breathing change up.
I'm 71 and only took up rowing by buying a Concept 2 just before lockdown to keep fit. My 2000m time is 9:05 that I row at around 26spm. Wearing a chest strap, I tried the 5000m this week and started thinking about my breathing, first trying exhaling at the catch and breathing at the finish, then the opposite and I found the latter dropped my heart rate by 5bpm, so I concluded that must be the best method for me. Any comments?
I don't think so - and even if it does, it is still the optimal way to do it! Check out Eric Murray 1 hour erg (youtube search) and you can see that he uses this technique and rows at 32 SPM+ for a full hour!
Excellent lessons. You put a lot of interest in your delivery. I honestly get confused regarding the computer system. I have a abilica rowing machine. Any tips?
I have a problem with my right knee. I missed the medial, the lateral meniscus and a ligament. That is why I have known the ergometer rowing, it is a low impact activity. But I feel that I do not apply the same force in both legs, the left is always stronger. Do you have any tips to help me with this? Thank you very much, your videos are amazing and very instructive!
Hey Soraia! Thanks again for reaching out... I am sorry to hear about your knee! My only recommendation would be to really try to start off slow and do your best to apply even pressure and over time work up to adding more and more intensity! I hope you can find some good remedy for your knee... that's a real bummer! Wishing you the best
@@trainingtall wooow! thanks for your attention! right now I am doing the HIIT training that you explain in one of your videos. uau its really amazing! I use to row 20 or 21km a day, but increasing this 15 intervals on my training is really effective to burn fat! God bless you man! thanks a lot for those videos! keep going! Im hear learning a lot with you.
Exhale at the front or 'catch' of the stroke, inhale during the drive of the stroke, exhale at the end or 'finish' of the stroke. Inhale on the recovery back up for the next stroke!
I got a question for you if you are willing...I just bought a $1200 rowing machine and some were putting it down due to tension on it. I have used rowing machine for years and to me tension is not that big of a deal. You want it so you get resistance to stop you from flying backwards due to lack of resistance, which is a bad thing and can injury you. Seems others look to the rowing machine as a upper body building machine and want the machine to have even tension to get a upper body work out equal to weight lifting. From all the different rowing machines I have been on I have not found a machine that doesn't have tension levels to fit the majority of people, which makes me doubt these people's needs for higher tension. I would be curious for the input of others on this...how much tension should a machine have and what settings should the average person aim for...for a balance workout?
Nice video on breathing Austin. As a new Concept 2 owner I am struggling with getting my strokes per minute consistent. I especially have trouble slowing down to those 16-20 strokes per minute. Can you share or perhaps do a video on how you count to be able to achieve a consistent pace? I feel like I am always waiting to be able to catch again on the slow strokes per minute rows.
Hey Lori! So it sounds like the issue you are describing comes down to your ability to "control the recovery" (aka the 'return' or 'come up' portion of the stroke). If you are 'waiting' to take the next stroke, I recommend trying to try to come up for the next stroke as 'smooth and steady' as you possibly can. But I see what you mean! And yes, I will do a video on this!
So at the catch, you begin an exhale? It would be helpful to know where in the stroke you start an exhale and where you start an inhale. Basically, we need to exhale from the catch and then inhale at the finish? This is not clear.
Hey Ron Swanson.. I mean, John Swanson. Sorry if things seemed unclear. Hopefully this will clarify it for you: You should try taking 2 exhales each stroke. 1st exhale at the catch, (inhale during the drive), then another exhale at the finish!
I don't think that technique will work for everyone. In the end, you have to find the breathing pattern that works best for you. Everyone is different! Keep up the great work and keep training hard, Antonio!
I was doing the exact opposite and had to really concentrate on exhale at the catch. Also was thinking that exhaling at the catch tightens my abdominal muscles instead of inhaling and expanding them? I'm old and only row for fitness and of course want my stomach muscles tighter... ;)
Austin. I'm doing well with breathing pattern of 2 breath. Only concern is I feel as exhale at finish of stroke is weak (exhale is not fully out). That push from your arms should feel strong at finish. Am I breathing wrong....!
Great analysis! And thank you for bringing Stephanson. -May one of my greatest alltime idols. ;) Also great work of showing the feasibility of porting this breathing technique to low stroke rates. How would you quote your personal experiance with the two breath technique v. the one breathe technique at low strokerates(or none special breathing pattern at all)? Is two breathe allways better or would you prefer other breathing at lower speeds?
Thanks, Hellboy! I find that at a lower SR (more steady-state like training) I find myself at times altering my breathing away from the 2-breath idea. However, I ALWAYS end a stroke with the exhale and that has always helped me keep my form and power distribution in check. As far as sprints and 2k performances, I use the 2-breath technique as it suits me best compared to other breathing patterns I've tried. I would say that there really isn't a 'golden rule' for breathing as everyone will be different. I think the 2-breath idea can at least help get individuals started on the right path towards finding their breathing rhythm.
You obviously exhale through the mouth, but I'm confused about the inhale. Are you inhaling through the nose or the mouth? It's not clear on the video even when I slow it down. If I inhale through my mouth in addition to the exhale...My throat dries out terribly! Thank for your help. I seriously appreciate it. Debra
I always exhale and inhale through the mouth. I also chew gum to keep my mouth from drying out. This mainly has to do with performing a max effort row, in which case one would sacrifice dry mouth for optimal performance!
Training Tall Thanks. That makes sense! Although I'm new to rowing, I feel better with this technique. I must need the oxygen! I'm going to try inhaling through the nose and exhaling through my mouth. Thanks Austin!
It's midnight but I rowed today. I went 46 minutes. Unfortunately, working my form sucked. I wasn't using my legs and using my arms and back way too much.
In my own personal experience, I don’t like filling my lungs with air on the catch, it just doesn’t feel natural while crouched up like that and it hurts my ribs… I inhale on the finish.
I do it as I'm approaching the catch. I think of it in terms of deadlifting, I would never pick up weight without inhaling and bracing and I would never initiate the drive without it too.
How do you fight feeling bored on the machines? That's what I really have to struggle with. The boredom on machines, the clock that seems to turn backwards and how to find new motivation...
@@SD_Alias Important point I think... If I may answer from my experience: what I do quite a lot during the training is to calculate the expected meters reached for any reached full minute and sometimes even half minutes for the particular planned speed/time. That keeps me busy and reduces the boredom. And another - contrary - experience: the more you ignore the monitor and its numbers and drift away in your thoughts the more you can reach a state of which long range joggers sometimes talk about and where you achieve a very good peformance without even looking at the numbers and time. For me the best drift away thoughts by the way are sexual phantasies... haha, its true!