Thank you for all the good comments ! Please, don't forget that the rower who was doing the demonstration at that time was a beginner rower and by doing this video I wanted to show you that you can use the rowing machine as a beginner without any problems. I was asked by many different rowing clubs, TV programs and GYMs around the World if they could use this video for helping the athletes and the general public understand how to row on the rowing machine because of the very simple demonstration and explanation of the rowing technique on the rowing machine. Enjoy it and keep on rowing, because rowing is one of the greatest exercises in the World !
I come back here every few months to check my technique. Even though I've watched this video carefully several times, there's always something new to learn. Thank you!
I'm no rowing pro but do encourage customers in my gym to row as I think it's the best excercise. I've just looked at probably 10 rowing videos on youtube and this is the one that i will recommend for technique.. Thanks to Lubo Kisiov for the link!
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CAME TO SEE OUR VIDEO. NOW WE ARE AT 250 000 HITS AND NUMBERS ARE GOING UP. FANTASTIC !! YOURS IN ROWING. LUBOMIR KISIOV P.S. - NOW I AM THE HEAD COACH OF THE TURKISH ROWING FEDERATION.
+phili878 There are some issues with it. I wouldn't rate it down, but there is some early back opening that should not be demonstrated as proper rowing form. Pause at 5:51 for example.
+Trevor de Koekkoek there are always issues with any rower physiologically speaking. We are not 1:1 robots, but I can only recommend this instructor if he would let's say, teach new kids how to row or use the concept.
+Trevor de Koekkoek , the rower that is doing the demo is a 100% novice, so he is great for this demonstration. If you start judging the rowing technique on the erg to the one on the water, you would be doing a mistake. Don't forget that this video has only one purpose - to show a proper technique on how to row on the rowing machine for people all over the World. The video has been used to teach people in the GYMs and in different fitness TV shows all over the World, so they don't get injured or look funny when rowing on the ERGO. Most of the high performance athletes in rowing have their own technique on the ERG, so when they do testing on the ERG, they can do their PB. Many of these athletes don't look so nice on the ERG, but they pull very, very hard and in a way they feel most comfortable, so they could do their PB. That's it. Cheers.
+Lubo Kisiov Good points. I guess what made me comment is someone saying it was perfect. It is a good instruction and I've sent it before to people, but there is room for improvement. And I know when I post my own technique videos I will get criticized also. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Trevor, All the best and don't worry about people commenting on your technique. This is You Tube after all :-) Anyone can say anything, with knowledge or without any :-) Cheers
Like so many others, this is just what I needed to get me started. The proper technique is very important for many sporting endeavors; this helped a great deal. I am sure I'll "consult" it again from time to time.
Many thanks to you, Lubo, for this excellent video. I bought my first ever rowing machine a week ago and have watched a lot of videos trying to find the correct rowing technique, but yours was the best I have seen. It has helped me a lot. Thank you.
Well explained coach... just like I learned at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in '78. Our Erg was a Beauty with a switchable side ore handle, heavy flywheel and actual break with resistance weights. She was a true heart killing machine.
I joined Crew at my school this year, and we have our first Erg race on Friday. I'm just preparing anyway I can, and this video was great. I haven't had a really full demo from an angle like this, so thank you! Very helpful to see such good technique. Wish me luck (:
Great to see someone laying down the true basics and WHY they are basic. It may sound silly to take note of when your knees will get in the way, but if you don't think of it at first... ::grin::
Dear rowers, dear coaches it is that time of the year again when we all hit the water not only for training on the water but for racing. I wish you a very successful season. I want to send my best wishes to the rowers and the people from Japan, who are having a very hard time now. I was trying get in touch with Diethelm Maxrath, who is a good friend of mine and the Head rowing coach of Japan. I will let you know what is going on with the National team and what plans they have in the situation
I thought my form was off because my back was arched like his in the video but I guess it's not too bad then. Thanks for the video! I'm training to do 12 hours
the best video so far. easy and simple with everything a beginner needs to know. the arms warm up is a must that everybody not familiar with rowing doesn´t know. Brilliant
This was great. I appreciate you breaking it down into several parts and showing each one separately, and then as a whole movement. I have always been intimidated by the rowing machine for fear that I would do it wrong and injure myself. I am going to do it now!
I tried the ergo for the first time today, as a warmup for a strength training session. But now that I watched this video, I'm sure I'll do better next time. Thanks for the thorough demonstration.
Thanks for a very useful video. I've just started using a rowing machine and my technique was clearly all wrong. Well directed by the instructer, great stuff :)
Thanks you for making and posting this video. I've enjoyed rowing at the gym for a few years now and have decided to hire one at home and give up the gym membership. I picked up some tips from this. The main improvement has been generating more power per stroke and lowering the stroke rate giving me better times and more endurance.
Thanks for the video and the reply :) It's a good thing you enjoyed making this video, it is enjoyable, informative and helped me out with proper movement!
Thanks for a great video. I've recovered from knee surgery but not allowed to do impact sports anymore so rowing is ideal for me. Video showed exactly where my technique was wrong. Used to suffer from stiff shoulders and lower back pain but thanks to this video I don't suffer as much anymore.
great explanation step by step and components of the row, i'm not a rower but i use rowing as a warm up and this will help a lot with my form in rows as well as doing my olympic lifts!
Here is the news from Japan - Part from Diethelm Maxrath e-mail......I am in Japan! Still going strong! Thanks god about 600 km away from the disaster............ and hope everything will work out OK. Yesterday the last two of our rowers got in contact with their families. They are OK but their houses are gone. Hope tp see you in Europe......This is the news from Japan. We are thinking of you guys. Lubo Kisiov
@SweetMoon666 What ever works my friend. Thanks for watching. Some people understand better - keep your back straight, some understand keep your chest up and some keep your head up. As long as you get the same result it doesn't matter what words you will use.They are all good and right. Keep training.
As someone already commented. All fitness instructors need to watch this. I see such poor technique being taught to people who get no reach pull just with their arms. This video helped a lot with my own technique, I had no idea I was over-compressing so much. Good rocking over is essential and you don't have to have a perfectly straight back (always gets me tired).
At that time Adam could of done it - I'm not sure about that today! We had a lots of fun with him making the video. We had to stop many times because of laughing. Cheers!
@Zipemova1 Dear Zipemova, first you have to see a doctor to tell you why you have a problem in your knee. If you are not a rower and you don't have to practice your rowing technique on the ERG you don't have to worry about your knees been bent at the finish. But if you are rower and have to do your technique on the ERG your legs have to be straight at the finish. Keep your attention on keeping your legs straight cause locked knees sounds painful to me. Hope this helps Your in rowing Lubo Kisiov
pbcmbeez22 -Thank you for your comments. Please don't forget that we are talking about technique on the Ergo. I want to ask you the following question - If your legs are straight, what would be the direction of your power curve UP or DOWN? At the point when your legs are straight and you start pulling with your back your power curve will be going UP or DOWN. In my opinion if you put your legs straight and only after that you pull with your back you will have two power picks stroke LEGS and BODY.
Hi there. It is not normal to use so much hamstrings but then again you are very new to this machine and for sure you are trying harder. Once you get better and more relaxed, then you will not use them so much. There is a natural slope on the rail on this machine, so try to use more if it when you go for the next stroke and less of the hamstrings. Have fun.
Hi treintayunoo, Adam was a recreational rower so he doesn't need the perfect rowers body. On this video he is doing a demo and for that he doesn't need the perfect body. He has the perfect body for a recreational athlete...:-))
oh boy how I miss the concept 2 rower. I,v just started indoor rowing again after 4 years of idolness lol..my goal is to try and better my pb marathon time of 2hours 26 min 6 secs.did that in january 2009..... wish me luck I,m gonna need it lol. by the way, hes got a good technique. respect..
Thank you for this very informative video. I'm looking at incorporating this into my workout routine tomorrow and I feel like I will be off to a great start after watching this. Much appreciated for your time and effort!!
Awesome video. Just when you think the guy is like a rowing instructor robot from space he cracks a joke: «you're so serious when you do that...» Pitch perfect.
Hi there. You don't have to go more strokes per minute to go faster. You have to row as hard as you can and go with the rate that will allowed you to go as fast as possible (or the split time that you could hold ) for the distance that you have set for yourself as a goal.as. I hope that helps and you understand what I am talking about. Cheers.
All good points, however your technique also depends on what type of boat you're rowing. Sweep rowers on a whole tend to separate their movements a little more, holding their back in place until the legs are down. Scullers on the other hand usually blend the movements a bit more, sacrificing a little power in favor of a more fluid motion. This translates to less unwanted movement or bobbing in the boat and overall more speed.
@TheFlinglish Hi there. You should try to keep your back straight (upper and lower back) .The slight curve that you see on the back of the Olympic rowers is not from not having the back of these athletes straight but from the position of the shoulders and the arms that are straight forward and the size of the chest that creates the visual illusion that the back is curved. We can't change the anatomy of our back but we have to try to keep the strong straight position of our back when we row.
@Sinosceptic There is just the proper emphasis on correct form. It doesn't matter if you are doing push-ups, sit-ups, or squats. Proper form EVERY time for most exercises is very important because the more tired you get, the less proper your form - and you CAN hurt yourself with bad form. Nobody wants that
Pasq, these are original cowboy boots from Calgary :-) No coaching is allowed if you don't have them on in UK. :-). I was all wet from the AM training. This was the only dry outfit I had at that moment..... The boots were good for the motorcycle.
Thank you for the instruction video. Would love to see an instruction video how to row for people who have back issues (lower back pain or even with herniated disc injury) I think the only difference is that you don't lean back and try to keep a straight back during the finish, but it would be nice to see an example.
@nico8080 With most sports you exhale when you exert force same for rowing so you exhaleon your stroke. And inhale on the recovery. When you recover you might bend your body but this doesnt significantly lower the amount of air you can breath in. And when you are in a race or trying to set a pr you have to pull hard making it almost impossible to breath in at your stroke.
in ref to my statement, 1) you should never pull. You push 2) by opening up you transfer the work from the lower body to the upper body, i dont know about you but i can leg press far far more then i can lift with my arms 3) you want to hold the body so that you get a full leg drive, only opening up towards the end. by doing this you help keep a constent speed in the boat and prevent it from slowing down / speeding up to much which in itself wastes power
@bugramps How are you doing? Your comment is very interesting. Yes, this is not professional video .The video is very pure and real. No photo-shop, no special edit, nothing that will make it win an OSCAR......But you know what - just because the video is raw we got more than 300 000 hits. Thanks for your comment and all the best to you !!
The machine shows you how many meters you have rowed, with how much power and with how many Calories. As well how long time. If you want to add resistance to your stroke, you can try sliding the handle on the left side of the drum of the rowing machine to a higher number. I hope that helps. Cheers.
@teewoods Yes, even in the Cambs-Oxford boat race they wont average over 30 spm, Relax on the recovery (way in), you should be taking twice aslong on the way in as when you drive. Notice how long this guy takes on the recovery part of the stroke. Hope this helps.
This is the best technique video on the web. I refer to this video whenever I am discussing technique with my athletes at Penn AC and Penn AC Gold. Please check out the Penn AC Gold 2011 Slide Show! We are looking for athletes for the 2011 Program.
@pxyz123lake Hi there. For sure at the end of the leg drive your legs should be fully extended and down with knees locked. Just think of how you do a leg press - at the end of the press your legs are fully extended. Same thing in rowing. Your legs are the strongest part in your body and in your rowing stroke. You should use them fully and 100%.
@teewoods You first have to get the basic stroke down before you start going fast, like... Try to get flat 2:00 for 2 minutes with an SPM between 16 ~ 22. Average long endurance SPM for men is 18 and 16 for women. Although it varies alot, between all sorts of people, this is how it usually is.
@MariosLasagna You can start with 3 sets by 10 min with 2 min off. Do not go to hard. Watch your pulse to be around 130 bids/min and that will give you the power of your pull. Go with rate/tempo 16 to 18 strokes/min. This workout you can do everyday or 3 times per week.. In 3 weeks time you have to change the workout. Have fun
caspervegan, yes it is the same concept as with weightlifting, rowing with a rounded lower back is incorrect and means you lack hip flexibility. if you round with a rounded back you are decreasing strength. focus on stretching the hamstrings and hip flexors everyday, as well as quads, I have had this same problem, lots of stretching will definitely solve it.
I am not sure what hook you are referring to. Are you talking about the handle holder that is placed on the body of the Erg? Is that what you call a hook? We are not using it, cause In the pulling mechanism of the Erg there is an elastic involved that you don't see. It is hidden in the body of the Erg. When storing the handle on the hook the elastic will be in stretched position and after time will lose elasticity. We prevent that from happening by not keeping the handle on the hook. Cheers.
@pbcmbeez22 and your POWER curve will have 2 picks and that is not something that you are looking for in rowing. Anyway thanks for watching the video and have a good Fall season.
Only to an extent. Yes, make sure that you're getting all the length you can, but if you're overextending at the finish to such a point that you've lost control of your core, it's a waste (you should be leaning back with your abs engaged, but not so far that it's a struggle to pivot back up for your recovery). As kellieur says, make sure you're getting power from your legs. Remember that when you're in a real boat, you'll have to row at the same rate as everyone else.
Hi, thanks for the note. I should point out that this is intended for someone who doesn't know much about technique on the erg, ie most people in gyms. If you row I'm sure you know better as this is me 6 weeks into my novice year. As for TRC yes we need to do much better! Adam
