newbie with a question about foot straps

[AlexD]

Allow myself to introduce....myself.

I've always wanted to try rowing, but never been somewhere at a time when it's been possible to do. The gym I belong to here (Knoxville, TN) has a Concept2. After my wife had our daughter about a year ago, I no longer had time to make it to the gym on a consistent basis. So I bought my own Concept2 rower so that I won't have any excuses for not getting into shape (aside from being lazy, of course).

Anyway, a problem that I noticed on the machine at the gym has manifested itself on my machine as well. The foot straps loosen on their own after about two minutes of hard rowing. They don't loosen a LOT, but it's enough that it's annoying to me and I have to break my cadence to tighten them back. Any tips on keeping them tight?

I tried searching on the topic, as I'm sure I'm not the only person who's noticed this. A search for "foot straps" brought back like 500 results, and none of the ones I scanned had any info. So my apologies if this has been re-hashed multiple times. A useful link to a previous discussion would be helpful.

Also, I noticed in my search that a lot of people seem to recommend rowing strapless, and that the strapless technique seems to more closely mimic on the water rowing. I've never rowed on the water, and never had a trainer or anything like that. I think that for someone in my position, for the time being, I'm better off sticking with the foot straps.

There is a crew club in Knoxville that I'd like to get involved with eventually, but that'll have to wait till things calm down at home (if that ever happens).

Thanks in advance for any advice/insight you might be able to provide!

Regards,

Alex

[Byron Drachman]

Hi Alex,

I think some people take the loose end of the strap and tuck it under the strap. Eventually you probably won't care if the straps come a little loose.

While I'm here, let me offer some advice. Check out Xeno Muller's training DVD's (gorow.com). You could start with DVD #1. They're great fun and if you watch Xeno and try to imitate his stroke, you'll get a good technique and will be less likely to get an injury.

Byron

[Alissa]

Allow myself to introduce....myself.

I've always wanted to try rowing, but never been somewhere at a time when it's been possible to do. The gym I belong to here (Knoxville, TN) has a Concept2. After my wife had our daughter about a year ago, I no longer had time to make it to the gym on a consistent basis. So I bought my own Concept2 rower so that I won't have any excuses for not getting into shape (aside from being lazy, of course).

Anyway, a problem that I noticed on the machine at the gym has manifested itself on my machine as well. The foot straps loosen on their own after about two minutes of hard rowing. They don't loosen a LOT, but it's enough that it's annoying to me and I have to break my cadence to tighten them back. Any tips on keeping them tight?

I tried searching on the topic, as I'm sure I'm not the only person who's noticed this. A search for "foot straps" brought back like 500 results, and none of the ones I scanned had any info. So my apologies if this has been re-hashed multiple times. A useful link to a previous discussion would be helpful.

Also, I noticed in my search that a lot of people seem to recommend rowing strapless, and that the strapless technique seems to more closely mimic on the water rowing. I've never rowed on the water, and never had a trainer or anything like that. I think that for someone in my position, for the time being, I'm better off sticking with the foot straps.

There is a crew club in Knoxville that I'd like to get involved with eventually, but that'll have to wait till things calm down at home (if that ever happens).

Thanks in advance for any advice/insight you might be able to provide!

Regards,

Alex

Hi Alex!

Wow, there's a lot to talk about in your post...first, congratulations on your new family (and your daughter's 1st birthday--one doesn't get say all of that in the same sentence very often! ).

Strapless rowing is intended not only for OTW rowers, but for rowers who don't want to "waste" some of their effort. The "waste" is the force you've produced with your legs that you are not channeling into the chain. You're using the straps to absorb it. You can check to see if this is true for you by trying strapless rowing. If when you try it, you feel you are at risk for flying backward off the rail at the finish (release or transition position) without the straps to catch you, you are wasting force. Given that your straps have loosened after only 2 minutes, I suspect this is the case.

The other use for the straps is to "pull yourself back up the rail"...but to the extent you need that (other than in a frantic sprint), the heel cup, combined with the angle of the rail, should be sufficient to allow you to return to the catch, since the recovery should be at a more leisurely pace than the drive (one most often hears about aspiring to a 2-1 ratio, recovery to drive...).

If you discover you are bleeding force off with the straps (so that you can change directions), you might benefit from learning the "strapless" technique. So that you can get the benefit (in pace & distance) out of all of the force your legs can produce.

Since (I gather) you've been doing all of this without benefit of coaching on technique, and you know of a nearby Knoxville crew club, you might want to check them out and see if a technique coaching session would be available from one of their coaches now. Even if you won't be taking up OTW rowing anytime soon, it would be better to sort out your technique now, rather than ingraining something you'll need to change later.

Notwithstanding all of that, you can tighten the straps by shimming them. Normally, you pull down on the straps on the outside of your feet to tighten them, and push down on the top of the buckle to losen them. You can shim with the end of the strap (on the underside of the buckle on the edge opposite the one you would move up to loosen the straps) so that the force of your movement doesn't allow the top of the buckle to be pushed down by your movements, loosening the straps. Be very careful here. I understand that there are some nerves on the top of the foot which can be stressed and cause either pain or numbness by injudiciously applied force on the top of the foot. Some people have seen this from either the straps or from shoes that are too tight.

Is your wife also using the erg? There are a number of moms of young children who post here and enjoy the camraderie available...

Nice to meet you!

Alissa

[michaelb]

Like you, I don't row on the water, but I would still recommend that you row strapless for much of your training/working out on the erg. Some of those 500 posts should discuss strapless erging in detail. I rowed straps loose for a long time before shifting to strapless, so loose straps might be a decent compromise to start.

I vaguely remember this complaint before, primarily about the foot straps on the model D. C2 might have even acknowledged an issue with slipping on some early model Ds and/or suggested a solution. Some people might tuck the straps back somehow to keep them on better. That discussion would predate this forum, so it is on the old archived forum or the now disappeared old, old, forum.

Although I have had a strap loosen a few times, that doesn't usually happen to me when I use the straps on my model c.

[AlexD]

Thanks folks, I appreciate the input.

Byron, thanks for the suggestion. I'll certainly check that out.

Alissa, yes, I think I'm wasting a lot of effort in my motion. I've done some bicycling in the past, so my approach with the straps was similar to that of those on bike pedals...I was using them to pull myself quickly back in my stroke. I think my technique and my workout would certainly benefit from trying it out strapless.

Thanks for the suggestion on checking out the local rowing club. I'll have to see what they've got available. And thanks, too, for the well-wishes for my family. It's incredible to watch a baby grow and develop.

My wife would like to start erging. She pulled something in her back last week, though, so she's waiting for that to heal completely before she gives it a try. I think that if we can observe each other, we can probably give each other pointers on our techniques. I know she's looking forward to getting back to doing something active.

Michael, thanks for the tips. It sounds like strapless is the best way to go to maximize my time on the erg and reduce my chances of injury.

[Byron Drachman]

Byron, thanks for the suggestion. I'll certainly check that out.

Hi Alex,

You're welcome. I should add that Xeno uses slides with his C2 on the DVD's but you don't need slides to use his DVD. The only modification you will need to do is during the short part on DVD#1 where he uses just one leg, you can use both, or else slide one foot on a slippery surface or on a skate board or something like that.

Byron

[Alissa]

Thanks for the suggestion on checking out the local rowing club. I'll have to see what they've got available. And thanks, too, for the well-wishes for my family. It's incredible to watch a baby grow and develop.

My wife would like to start erging. She pulled something in her back last week, though, so she's waiting for that to heal completely before she gives it a try. I think that if we can observe each other, we can probably give each other pointers on our techniques. I know she's looking forward to getting back to doing something active.

You're welcome. And I would 2nd Byron's suggestion to check out Xeno's DVDs to learn technique--what I know of the stroke, I've learned from Xeno at his rowing studio, the Iron Oarsman. The DVDs would be a great resource for you since you won't have a class to encourage you...and technique will be particularly important for your wife, since rowing can be somewhat two-faced when it comes to backs. Bad technique can cause back injuries, but with good technique, rowing can strengthen backs.

Be sure to have your wife check out the Women's Forum on the board when her back is better.

Have fun!

Alissa