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Should indoor rowing technique mirror on-water technique?
Treve Edwards: I am a great convert to indoor rowing, from about 12 months back, so much so that I am now a qualified instructor and hope to go on the crew rowing course in March. Recently I coached in a nationally known sports centre and I help my friends in my own local health club. I went to the championships in Birmingham and was most impressed by everything. My question springs from that meeting.
I was amazed by the raw power of Andy Ripley and his superb fitness and strength. I was also amazed by his technique, which broke all the normal coaching rules and meant that at the end of the drive Andy was almost completely on his back with the handle under his chin. I've tried this and it does increase one's speed but probably only someone of Andy's power could cope with this for more than a minute or two. My students watched in wonder!
My point is this: should indoor rowing try to replicate water rowing in reality so that there is a natural transition to the water? Or should indoor rowing be a sport or activity in its own right? I've always thought the former but as a former athlete and coach I was quite happy to dispense with training manuals if necessary, the end product being the important factor.
Terry O'Neill: Although indoor rowing did start out as a way for rowers to train when conditions prohibited outside rowing, it certainly has moved on from that to a recognised sport in its own right. This doesn't mean we have to re-invent the wheel and we can use tried and tested training methods and technique.
To your specific point about Andy. In a rowing boat, the longer the stroke the longer the motive force is applied and therefore the faster the boat can travel. This can be achieved by variations to the gearing, which is done by changing the relationship of the oar length to the position of the axis.
With indoor rowing the physics are the same in that the longer the stroke the greater the force applied to the flywheel and therefore the faster it will spin. Unlike rowing in a boat there is not the facility to change the stroke length via a gearing mechanism and so it has to be achieved by increasing the range of movement of the body.
Outside of the recommended range of movement, however, the efficiency of the muscles drops off greatly. What the monitor does not show is the cost of effort, it only records the force applied to the flywheel.
The technique that we recommend is the most efficient way to row. For the majority of people the Ripley variation would not work as the cost of effort would be greater than the benefits.
Having said that, there are always exceptions to every rule and Andy Ripley is an incredible athlete.
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