Improve the Stroke - Knee Position after the Rowing Finish (+ Common Problems)

Please look at the examples below and review your own positions or that of your crew. Anthony Edwards, 5 times Olympic athlete demonstrates common issues.

It is important to have "soft" knees at the finish, just as the oar is leaving the water, ie: the first part of the recovery. This makes it easier for the hamstrings to allows for the pelvis to rock over correctly especially for those less flexible athletes.

Soft knees also encourages the athlete to relax when coming down the slide. This leads to better boat run and a better catch.

Correct Position before Rockover:

Here Eddy demonstrates the correct knee position at the tapout, in the image below he shows the correct position at the rockover.

It is important to relax the knees as you tap out.

Soft Knees - why?

Correct Position after Rockover:

Here Eddy demonstrates the correct knee position at the rockover

Pausing at the rockover position

Legs locked down before Rockover:

Here you can see that the knees are locked down at the finish. This makes it harder for the pelvis to achieve the correct rock over position and leaves the athlete tense rather than relaxed at the start of the recovery.

Using the Pelvis at Rockover - Eddie

Legs locked down after Rockover:

Here you can see the same issue after the rock over, easily corrected, simply relax the legs as you tap out.

How to pivot the pelvis during the rowing stroke

Knees too high before Rockover:

Here the knees are too high with the effect that they will interfere with the handle movement. In addition having the knees in this position at the tap-out probably means that the stroke was not completed fully and that additional effort will be required to rock over. Injuries can also result.

Back Injury - The importance of pelvic rockover with Kellie

Knees too high after Rockover:

As you can see here having the knees too high at the tap-out discourages an even recovery as the seat has already moved a significant amount before the rock over has completed. Often this will mean that the body continues to rock over as the athlete moves down the slide. This can result in the athlete "falling" into the catch.

Rock n Row - a good exercise for beginners