Common Rowing Mistakes

By Carlos Terron, CPT, CF-L1

There’s usually two common mistakes I see on the rower. The following quick and simple technique reminders could help you produce a more powerful row.

Rounded back: Keep your back rigid and engaged, especially the lower back. Opening up and rounding forward puts us in a compromised position and could lead to injury. Additionally, there’s a ton of power that is lost. We’ve all heard about the proper position for a deadlift and power clean. The start and finish of a row should carry some of the same principles when it comes to posture and back position.

Bending the knees first on the way back: By doing this, the handle has to travel up and over the knees. The order of business here should be 1.)legs 2.)body, and 3.)arms. In other words, we push off with our legs first, engage our body and lean back, then finish with a strong pull. On the way back, we reverse the order; arms, body and legs. This creates a straight path for the chain and we are able to produce optimal power.

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