[Sportsandrec] Rowing machine

[Kelly Thornbury]

LM, 

While I'm not a rower competitively, I would think the finer points of technique would depend on whether or not you want to take the skills to the water. Finishing the stroke to the abdomen would put less biomechanical stress on the shoulders, possibly reducing the risks of repetitive use injuries, but on the water you probably want to pull a little higher up your torso to get a good bite of the oars in the water. At least this is my experience in oar rafts on the river where you often have to row with the hands up near face level. Maybe, to work the muscles at slightly different angles, varying where you complete the movement would be a better approach. 

Remember when rowing, like any other cardiovascular endurance activity, how you design the workout depends on your goals and current level of overall fitness. Just like running, swimming, or cycling, you can perform long, slower sessions at a lower intensity (65-75% of MHR), or intervals alternating high and low intensity, "tempo" up at 85% MHR, or even "race pace" over 92%. If you are able to get some exercise metrics (heart rate, pace, distance, strokes per minute, etc), you can perform a test to find out where you are at in the beginning, then design a routine incorporating intervals that work you above those metrics separated by lower level segments. Look at the numbers and set a goal like "I want to row further in the same amount of time," or "I want to row that distance in a faster time," or whatever. Your goals could be a lower heart rate at a given intensity or speed, to increase your average strokes per minute, to row a certain amount of kms over a given time, or whatever. 

The beauty of rowing is how it incorporates so many muscle groups at one time...The beauty of any dynamic cardiovascular exercise is that the training principles and techniques are pretty much the same. 

I'm sure our rowers could be much more specific and provide much better advice. 
Kelly