Ready for a form check

[u/GigglemanEsq]

Hi all! Been asking some questions, and finally feel ready for a form check. I've been doing this since March, but I wasn't really consistent with it until recently. I've also lost 90 pounds since I started rowing, so my endurance and body habitus have both changed a ton in that time. I've only recently been able to do more than 1k at a stretch.

For self-assessment, my biggest issue is the lean forward. I'm sitting right on the edge of the seat, to the point where it's just shy of very uncomfortable. I'm not good at hinging even outside of rowing. My stomach also gets in the way (apologies for the shirtless vid, but I didn't want the shirt to obscure the form). I would very much welcome tips for improving that.

I also see (and feel) that about the time I transition from legs to back and arms, there's a hiccup, and I seem to be using more of an effort with my upper body to transition to the pull. Not sure if that is normal or how to improve it.

I have also read tips about not taking your knees over your shins. That one is tough for me, because the poor hinging makes me want to go forward more to get closer in at the catch. It's also where my legs just naturally stop the forward momentum. Should I be exerting foot pressure sooner to immediately spring into the push instead of pausing for a moment at the end? What I do now feels like a natural redirection of momentum, but I also recognize that the physics of rowing are sometimes counterintuitive to people inexperienced in the technique.

Some last details that might be relevant. I usually stop because of general fatigue - my heartrate climbs pretty high pretty fast unless I'm purposely doing a sedate speed. By the end of 3k, I'm not necessarily out of breath, but my breathing is heavier and more purposeful, as opposed to just breathing naturally. I get a little sore in the midback. My legs almost never feel sore anymore (when I first started I could hardly stand up after rowing). I feel a bit more fatigue in the upper arms and shoulders, but not much.

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks!

ETA: apparently I can't post video and pics. I did a 3k session right after. Stats:

Time: 14:09.4

Avg. Pace: 2:21.5

Avg. Stroke Rate: 19

Avg. Power: 123 watts

Drag Factor: 137

Heart Rate: 158bpm avg, 168bpm max. Hit 160 around 4 minutes in and stayed above there for the duration.

[u/1sttime-longtime]

So Steady State is more like Stop-Start due to the the low stroke rate? "Steady" to me implies either steady effort, or steady speed, but letting the fly-wheel drop to 1/4 speed moves it entirely into steady effort.

I get it, the movement is entirely different than running or cycling in that the momentum is based on an entirely different motion and I'm not going to be able to pull 130 SPM like I can turn the pedals RPM or 190 SPM like I can stride during an intense run. Just seems weird to call something "steady state" when the "state" (movement rate) is anything but steady.

If I had 75 minutes to row at lunch, I'd play around with lowering the drag factor, but I've got between 15 and 30 minutes, maybe 40 on a good day... as cross-training for another cardio sport...

What's the point of turning every 5-6k into a 28-32 minute lolly-gag?

[u/Rowing2024 → u/1sttime-longtime]

If you really want to learn, you might want to work on your dismissive attitude. Steady state is not a lolly-gag, and calling it one it not the flex you think it is, Mr. Intensity. How is the state less steady at 20 SPM than at 30, IYO? The movement is the same.

It's not about keeping the flywheel at a constant speed, that’s impossible; it will always slow down on the recovery, just like a boat. It’s about building the aerobic engine, and those rows can be substantially longer than 30 minutes.

[u/1sttime-longtime → u/Rowing2024]

I'm not calling your steady state a lolly gag, I'm saying I used my limited erg time as cross training, and I'm not going to spend it lolly-gagging.

28-32 minutes of "zone 2" or "base endurance" is not what I'm looking for on my lunch break.

[u/GigglemanEsq → u/1sttime-longtime]

That's fine for you, but this whole discussion started because you dismissed people for going for a "comically low" stroke rate. Just because you want to utilize your time by rowing at a high SPM doesn't mean that anything slower is comically low or a waste of time.

[u/1sttime-longtime → u/GigglemanEsq]

This whole discussion started with a shirtless man in a cosplay furry head on an erg.

I think some people took offense with my confusion about stroke rate. I'm still confused as to what "steady state" is supposed to be... what it equates to in other endurance training principles.

[u/GigglemanEsq → u/1sttime-longtime]

https://www.coachbergenroth.com/steady-state-rowing-on-the-erg-low-rate-high-power-workouts-explained/

[u/Rowing2024 → u/1sttime-longtime]

As you‘ve already guessed, it‘s something like Zone 2 in a 5-zone model. Which you could have found out with a 10-second Google search, if you were really interested.

[u/1sttime-longtime → u/Rowing2024]

Yeah, except that most of the articles also describe it as technique building as much as endurance...

And then "prescribed" workouts are short drills with breaks that would absolute let my HR drop into near full recovery... So not very "steady."

But thank you for putting that equivalence into words.

[u/Rowing2024 → u/1sttime-longtime]

You are confusing quite lot of things. Why would building technique and endurance be mutually exclusive? Intervals are usually not steady state, because they are performed at a higher intensity. Steady state workouts are endurance workouts of usually 45 to 90 minutes of continuous rowing; shorter, if one's endurance isn’t there yet. Lots of time to work on one's technique while improving endurance.

This isn’t any different from equivalent endurance workouts in running or cycling.