Concept2 Forum

edit--I think I should have used the word monorail instead of slide.

I'm using too much arms and my upper back is usually sore after a row. Probably bad forum or because I have a weak upper body compared to my lower body.

I just got done rowing and paid attention. I am most certainly using to much of the slide. I go so far forward sometimes the seat hits my heels. Then I am in a bad position to drive with my legs and it puts pressure on my knee. I need to fix this.

When I watch videos, I see dark horse using only half the slide. (the seat only moves on the back half of the slide).
when I watched Phil Clapp do a 500m in 1:09 seconds, he was only using about a quarter of the slide.

when I row I use about 3/4ths of the slide. Am I using too much slide?

what should my arm and shoulders be doing on the leg drive?

Am I leaving my arms loose and straight so the tension goes to my shoulders or am I flexing my arms a little bit trying to take some of the tension off of my shoulders?

thanks for the replies, in hindsight, I think rowing is exactly like running.
If today I decided I was going to be a runner, would I do 200m sprints or would I jog a few miles.

I think I would jog a few miles. That's what I am going to do on the rower.

If my goal is to put up the best 500m time I can, what should my work out look like?

I have only done 4 or 5 work outs. I do very short explosive (for me) intervals. 200m 1 minute rest. This is tough, I am out of breath and sometimes pause at the end of my stroke for a coupe of seconds to rest. Then one time I do a slow and steady stroke with no rest where I just go faster at 60% or...

I'm more of a "me pull chain real hard, wheel make noise" kind of guy.
But I like you guys mathing it!

A four inch slack is normal and would suggest your technique is correct, using your legs first at the catch. I typically row at 20-24 spm, and as best I can tell when I use the erg there's no perceptible slack at all - I can feel the load immediately ramping up with very little motion of the handle...

What happens when I pull on the drive part of my stroke the chain comes back out and the first 4 to 6 inches there is no resistance. It is not until I get past those 4 inches that the resistance kicks in. Is my machine working correctly? That is a "missed catch". Your handle speed must match the fl...

I'm new to rowing. I just bought a new PM5 rower. I'm not sure if mine is working right. I have never been on a rower before. Forgive the incorrect terminology. I'm getting my stroke down. When I move forward to the catch I lean and stretch out my arms a little extra to get the chain to retract into...